Alright so I recently Lowered my celica on Tein springs. It looks great and everything, Im really happy with the ride and everything, but there's just one problem. When the car is stopped or moving very slowly when i turn the wheel I hear a clunking sound, almost like what a ball joint would sound like.

The sound only comes when Im moving very slowly or stopped and crank the wheels pretty hard.
I looked at it with a few buddies and we saw that when you turn the wheel the strut and spring both turn as well. Now I don't know a whole lot about cars and this is the first one i have lowered, but should the spring be moving as well? or did I do something wrong?

I did my research before lowering it and even followed the instructions on the stickies, and I've never come across someone with this issue, and yes I did use the search button and found nothing.

Someone please help me out cause I don't know what i did wrong.




And Of course, here are some before and after pictures, and I'll post them once the springs settle as well.

BEFORE:



AFTER:


I think it looks waaaay better, and it rides great, all I need is some 18's and I'll be set

UPDATE: Got some new pcs I took quick with my point and shoot, Should have some legit photos once my rims come in which i order last week.









This post has been edited by jordisonjr: May 17, 2010 - 4:53 PM

Mmmm. Looks good! I'd get 17s though

it does look good! 18 are too big. get 16's, or at the biggest 17's.

it does look good. im diggin the meat on your tires...

hahaha yea i got those tires with the rims for real cheap so i wasn't too picky, but can anyone answer my questions?

Anyone got anything for me?

You didn't seat the springs properly. Make sure that the flat end of the spring is facing upwards. The bottom of the spring will actually "lock" into position on the strut, so it shouldn't be spinning at all. Remove the front assemblies and snap some photos perhaps they're just loose, but I think you might need to reseat the spring on the perch.

This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Apr 8, 2010 - 12:11 PM

Well there was a groove on the bottom where you lined up the end of the coil into the groove on the bottom of the strut i guess you could call it.

I was thinking that maybe we just didn't tighten the top nut on the strut enough, and that if i waited for the springs to settle a bit more, I would be able to tighten it more since there would be less pressure on it.

If the coil is sitting in the lower perch correctly then it shouldn't be turning, however if you didn't tighten the top nut that could be your problem. The top nut has zero influence on the spring settling. Take your wheels off and turn the coil until its seated correctly, and then tighten the top nut. Make sure to reach through the spring and hold the shock cylinder, as it will try and rotate while you're tightening it down. Then double check the top nut once the wheels are back on and the car is on the ground.

I had the same problem with my car man, tein springs as well, i was told to take it apart and grease up everything even the top of the spring and the boots they sit in, it makes all movement nice and greasy no sticking it worked well!

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yeah I have 17's and the tires are pretty lowpro (not the lowest) but cranked all the way I have about a 1/2" clearance on both sides. I wouldnt recommend 18'S

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i have 18's and they don't rub at all, and in answer to your question i have the same noise (the clunking) when i have it in the air whenever i put it back down it makes that noise until the springs settle, it goes away and i don't worry about it...nice looking Celi though, keep up the good work.

94celigts: So you basically greased everthing, like the top of the spring and the rubber boot it sits on, and like the bearing inside the mount and all that, and the popping went away?

azian_advanced: Thanks for the diagram, do you know exactly what causes that popping noise? Is it going to cause any damage if I don't fix it right away? or is one of those things thats just going to be annoying more than anything, if you know what i mean.Also, I'veseen this diagram before, and I looked for it on the back struts and I couldn't seem to find it, is it only on the front ones, or was I just not looking good enough?

mgnt232: What size 17's are you running, like what width, and what size tires?

ajmorris1977: thanks alot , unfortunately I can't cure my mod bug without any money so it's been tough, but I start work through college soon so hopefully Ill be gettin some more things for it.

Thanks everyone for the input, appreciate the help.

This post has been edited by jordisonjr: Apr 8, 2010 - 8:13 PM

WHOA!! YOU DID A FULL HOUSE CONVERSION TOO?!!!! AWESOME

looks great man, good job

HAHAHAHA, nah its just the next door house, haha. thanks though, can't wait to get some wheels on it, can't really decide what though

the popping should only be coming from the front. the reason it pops is that the top hat is stuck and won't rotate. if you get someone to turn the steering wheel, you'll see that the strut rotates independently from the spring and the popping comes from the end of the spring popping off the groove on the strut where it's supposed to sit.

>

You have the clunk because you're on coilovers, and your springs never seat on the perch. These are springs.

One word. BEAUTIFUL.

Clunking after installing new springs, as others have pointed out, is usually due to having the springs incorrectly seated on the spring seats.

The issue is often the top spring seat, which is supposed to be installed in a specific alignment. Often that alignment is lost when the strut assembly is being bolted into the car, or the strut rod nut is being tightened. A pair of bent needle-nose pliers is an effective substitute for the SST to keep the upper spring seat correctly aligned.

And of course, there's always the question of whether or not you installed the spring seat insulators (the rubber rings which sit between the end of the spring and the seat) correctly. They also must be aligned to the seat.

So basically your saying tha ti may have it lined up correctly, but when i go to install it in the car, it may turn or shift to be incorrect? I don't really understand how it could be lost while tightening the strut rod nut, (thats the one at the top that keeps the spring compressed right? or how a pair of needle nose pliers would solve that problem.

Could you ellaborate more and possibly give a diagram?

Im almost positive that I alligned the bottom seats correctly.

Tomazws: Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

This post has been edited by jordisonjr: Apr 12, 2010 - 12:41 AM

damn that looks SO low for winnipeg streets. but looks nice though. i got 16 inch tires with 55 sidewall and it's riding like an SUV lol. perfect for winter. anywho your celi's looking nice. mine's getting painted black right now so i should have it back in a week to 10 days

Thats sick man, Maybe ill see you out on cruise night one of these days. Its actually not that low, the ride is Reallllly close tos tock and thats what I wanted. I didn't want it to be slammed either just to get rid of some of the wheel well gap. I haven't bottomed out yet either surprisingly, not even on speedbumps. Next up is rims, I can't wait hahaha. Isn't yours lowered too?

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The diagram is already in this thread, and the issue with the proper alignment of the top spring seat is even highlighted in it. The bent needlenose pliers can hold the seat in correct alignment while you install it.

No I'm actually riding stock height. I changed my tires from 45s to 55s though so it sits a little heigher now lol. Kinda got rid f the gap a little. Looks like I'm ready to go rally haha

This post has been edited by Goonter: Apr 12, 2010 - 10:54 PM

Haha yea Im pretty sure i have like 55 or 60's on my car. When I bought it it had 5o's on it from the dealership, then I bought some cheap celica rims and tires off a buddy of mine, and they were even bigger but I just needed something to last me till i got rims so I didn't really care.

Can anyone tell me if this popping issue is going to cause any damage if I don't fix it immediately?

it's really an easy fix. jack the car, undo the top 3 12mm nuts to drop the strut, realign the top metal seat plate & spring, put nuts back, drop. takes less than 30 mins. i don't think it'll do damage within a short period, but it sure as hell is very annoying!

i found another pic that might help you better stand. this is my old suspension setup.



the top spring seat plate and the bottom should be aligned like this ^. i'm willing to bet your top spring seat plate is not aligned with the bottom and is stuck against the inside of the strut tower.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: Apr 14, 2010 - 12:26 PM

Sorry I'm kinda slow with this, its really the first major mod I've done on my car. So the top seat and bottom seat have arrows on them, and they both have to be pointing to the outside of the car?

Could i just unbolt teh three 12mm on the top, and then spin the whole mount, and that should fix it?

thanks

The lower seat doesnt have an arrow, because it can only sit one way (otherwise how would you be able to bolt the knuckle back to it?)

the top hat has an arrow and says "OUT". Line this arrow up with the knuckle bracket on the bottom, so that the arrow is pointing away from the car.

Similar to this, but three studs.