I just got Eibach Sportline springs installed on my xb. The day I got them installed there have been clunking noises from the front springs everytime I turn or go over speed bumps, etc. The installer told me that there is only one way to install the springs and that they are installed correctly. He says that the top hats sometimes go bad when you install the springs so the dealer needs to warranty them. The dealer is saying the springs were installed incorrectly. So I'm not sure what to do? Has anybody ever ran across this problem.

 

I hope that the old rubber covers on the springs were put on the eibachs.

 

its the spring coils rubbing together most likely and it will stop if you put on the coil protectors... they are rubber/plastic spirally tube things that wind around the coils that are close together. look into getting some if you don't have them already.

 

Make sure all the bolts are tight. There are three bolts at the top of the strut tower and there is a nut in the center under the dust cover.

I just installed springs two weekends ago and didn't have everything tight on the one side. It was clunking as I drove. I came back in, tightened them up and problem solved.

 

There is a notch in the top of the piston on the strut that lines up with the groove on the cap that bolts on(before you mount the strut back in the car) if you don't have that line up it will do exactally what you are describing. I would take it back to the shop that installed them.

 

The installer keeps telling me that there is only 1 way to install springs and that his installation is correct. He will to take it all apart and if he finds nothing wrong he's going to charge me $150 again. He thinks the top hats are defective and the dealer should replace them. The delaer wants nothing to do with it - warranty wise.

 

You might want to post for some help on the forum for someone to come over and help you take them out yourself and see if they were installed right. If not ask for a refund from the shop. If they did the install right it would not do that. I haven't heard of anyone else's "top hats" being defective.

 

yeah.. and dealer wont warranty them if there was no clunking prior to spring install.... and now there is clunking after install... and the dealer didnt do it... pretty open/shut case of mod directly causing issue to void warranty

 

by the way what kind of springs are you running... I can ASSURE you that all you need is coil covers. I had a set of hotckis that didnt have these rubber coil protectors and i know the sound you talking about. I switched over the tein, which do have the coil protector and the sound is GONE. Some how fab up a way of covering those dead coils which cause that horrible sound.

 

You can get the noise stoppers. I'm sure that's what's causing the noise from your coil springs.

 

i installed my tein s-techs this weekend and now i hear a squeaking sound

what could the problem be?

 

that is not causing the noise he has, the squeak you get from not wraping your springs is nothing like clunking.

 

its the top hat plate. Happens everytime someone tries to install a set of springs on a Toyota and isnt paying attention. Ive done before myself a few times and its always that.

 

So do you need to buy new top hat plates and reinstall the springs? Or is there some advice I can give them when they take it all apart again?

 

Is there a chance that the bolts were removed from the swaybar and not torqued correctly?

I'm not a mechanic by any means but it seems like you would have the symptoms you are descriving.

Would be a nice easy fix.

 

No you dont need new parts.

Tell them when they take it apart again they need to compress the spring enough to where they can sit the top plate on top of the spring without having to push it down by hand to line it up with the flat spots. It should sit on there by gravity alone. You shouldnt be putting your weight onto the assembly to get the rest of it together.

What usually happens is when the spring is compressed, you dont compress it quite enough and when you put the top plate on, you push down a bit with your weight, throw the top plate and strut mount/bearing and top nut on. When you let off after getting the top nut started, the top plate can move off the correct position and then its tightened down wrong causing the clunking over bumps.

Look closely at the struts rod where the threads end, then go down about an inch. You can see there is a flat edge about 1/8th" thick. This is where that metal plate is supposed to sit. The flat edges are to keep it from rotating.

This is the underside of the top plate. If you look REAL close you can see the corresponding flat edges in the inner hole where that rod goes through. Im sorry I dont have a better pic but these were the best I could find in a hurry.

The problem is that these pics are taken from the scionlife.com spring install guide and the methods described in there on how to assemble the front struts arent exactly great....

 

Thanks for the info......that really helped. I'm going to the shop tomorrow and have them reinstall them the way you described.

What about the old rubber as one person mentioned? They were in the box when they gave me back my stock springs.

 

If the two big nut and bolts on the side flange (on your struts)are not torqued down, they will loosen up quick from vibration. If this happens, you will hear a clunking sound and feel like your alignment is off a little when turning, going over speedbumps, etc..This is the sound of your struts actually sliding back and forth on the wheel hub. If left to continue, they will come apart, and the bolt will slide out- and the weight of your car will bend your drive axle inward, causing your wheel to rip off of your car.
Seems like something nobody would miss, but sometimes its the crap in front of our faces that we dont see. Good luck.