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Old 06-01-2020, 10:19 AM   #1
alohaimmatt
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Default Coilovers squeak over bumps constantly

I'll preface this with saying I've read through numerous threads related to this but couldn't find an answer.

Last year I installed a set of base FA 500 coilovers on my car, everything was perfect and the car made no noises, after some time I began to hear a squeaking sound from the drivers front whenever I would go over bumps and the suspension would travel.

I sent an e-mail to FA and they sent me out some grease to place behind the dust boot, on the shaft that enters the shock body. That resolved the issue, but after driving for around 100km the squeaking came back.

I've tried the FA grease, regular WD40, and the white lithium WD40 all of which work but only temporarily. I'd rather not send the coilover back since I drive the car daily.

My current theory is before I had put on coilover covers I drove through some water, it went into the shock body and corroded some piece and that is whats causing the noise.

Has anyone heard of something similar, or has any recommendations on what to try before I begin disassembling the coil?
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Old 06-01-2020, 10:41 AM   #2
subaru4th
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Been through this I live in Montreal and running tarmac zeros on my 2010 legacy gt, I have the same issue and changed a whole bunch of parts on my suspension had them rebuilt and tried lubing near the top hats but it persist, and read somewhere it is just part of the coil over life and using the car all year round with the salt during the winter doesn't help. welcome to the club, at this point I just tolerate it. I only hear it over speed bumps otherwise it is quiet.

However if you do find a solution please share!!
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Old 06-01-2020, 12:09 PM   #3
subaru_gc8
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i live in California and I have had bilsteins, ohlins and feals, and they all squeeked. its just eonthing you have to put up with
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Old 06-01-2020, 12:53 PM   #4
alohaimmatt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru4th View Post
Been through this I live in Montreal and running tarmac zeros on my 2010 legacy gt, I have the same issue and changed a whole bunch of parts on my suspension had them rebuilt and tried lubing near the top hats but it persist, and read somewhere it is just part of the coil over life and using the car all year round with the salt during the winter doesn't help. welcome to the club, at this point I just tolerate it. I only hear it over speed bumps otherwise it is quiet.

However if you do find a solution please share!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru_gc8 View Post
i live in California and I have had bilsteins, ohlins and feals, and they all squeeked. its just eonthing you have to put up with
I just find it frustrating that re-greasing the input shaft fixes the problem, although temporarily. I can put up with the squeaking, it's just super annoying when I driving on a road that has any dip in it and it makes a noise.
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Old 06-01-2020, 09:17 PM   #5
subaru4th
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I hear ya !!!
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Old 06-02-2020, 10:50 AM   #6
alohaimmatt
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Video of the noise from a while back,

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mkq...ew?usp=sharing
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Old 06-03-2020, 01:20 AM   #7
GoFrogs
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alohaimmatt View Post
...I've tried the FA grease, regular WD40, and the white lithium WD40 all of which work but only temporarily. I'd rather not send the coil-over back since I drive the car daily.
WD (Water Displacement)-40 is not a grease. Sure, the lithium stuff might be, but what you need, if you are using this on the outside of the car is a waterproof grease that won't move/run. I don't know what the FA has as their grease, but you need something thicker than what comes out of a spray can.

Find some marine grease. Plenty of brands out there. Pick your favorite or let your budget dictate the choice; either way, I believe marine grease is your better option.

If there is nothing holding the grease in place, such as a boot/seal, and it is in a place that moves (up and own) a lot, you may need to add grease periodically and make a schedule (like the 1st of every month) and reapply said grease in the affected area.

Racecar parts need racecar mechanic attention.
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Old 06-03-2020, 09:09 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru_gc8 View Post
i live in California and I have had bilsteins, ohlins and feals, and they all squeeked. its just eonthing you have to put up with
Not necessarily true.
I have ASTs and they have never squeaked.
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Old 06-03-2020, 10:10 AM   #9
alohaimmatt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoFrogs View Post
WD (Water Displacement)-40 is not a grease. Sure, the lithium stuff might be, but what you need, if you are using this on the outside of the car is a waterproof grease that won't move/run. I don't know what the FA has as their grease, but you need something thicker than what comes out of a spray can.

Find some marine grease. Plenty of brands out there. Pick your favorite or let your budget dictate the choice; either way, I believe marine grease is your better option.

If there is nothing holding the grease in place, such as a boot/seal, and it is in a place that moves (up and own) a lot, you may need to add grease periodically and make a schedule (like the 1st of every month) and reapply said grease in the affected area.

Racecar parts need racecar mechanic attention.
Yeah I don't mind re-greasing every once in a while but every second day is a bit much. I'll pick up some marine grease and give it a shot, also going to take a look at the pillow ball as I have been spraying that as well.

Apart from the FA grease that they sent me, the rest have been pretty thin so maybe that's it? We'll find out I guess.
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Old 06-03-2020, 10:46 PM   #10
alohaimmatt
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Sorry for the double post, but I fixed my issue in the dumbest way possible. I was driving home from work, and I accidentally sent it on a road I wasn't that familiar with. Hit some train tracks coming out of a turn and absolutely belted the corner that was squeaking. It stopped 90% of the squeaking, I looked them over after I got home and they seem fine. They do still make some noise but it's few and far between now, and it's what I would deem an acceptable level.

10/10 would not recommend doing that if you're having this issue.

/shrug
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Old 06-04-2020, 03:31 PM   #11
Jedi03
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rofl basically take hammer the weight of the vehicle to the suspension! have seen alot of people just throw stock style top hats back on due to not liking the maintenance...
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Old 06-04-2020, 07:16 PM   #12
alohaimmatt
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Ok... I lied, like a liar would. Everything was not okay when I inspected it in the day time.





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Old 06-05-2020, 08:58 AM   #13
Samurai Jack
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Liar!

So, looks like when you smacked it coming out of the turn you * broke loose " the suspension which was causing your problem. Maybe that corner was all jammed up or already failing.

Time to go back and re-check everything else in your suspension to see what other damage there may be in there / you may have caused.

At a minimum, you are going to need new camber plates. Hopefully you didn't bend the coil-over shaft or you are going to need to replace a set of coil-overs.
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Old 06-05-2020, 09:33 AM   #14
milab21
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Wow. You think they were broke like that before you took the hard turn or they broke at that time?

You should try out a set of Vorshlag camber plates, you hear a little road noise but they work very well. Also I have raised AST camber plates on my 5100's, they are really quiet but not sure if they can work with other coilovers. And another plate that I always seen a lot of good about is the ground control plates.

Good luck, I hope you get it all sorted out.
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Old 06-05-2020, 12:52 PM   #15
alohaimmatt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Jack View Post
Liar!

So, looks like when you smacked it coming out of the turn you * broke loose " the suspension which was causing your problem. Maybe that corner was all jammed up or already failing.

Time to go back and re-check everything else in your suspension to see what other damage there may be in there / you may have caused.

At a minimum, you are going to need new camber plates. Hopefully you didn't bend the coil-over shaft or you are going to need to replace a set of coil-overs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by milab21 View Post
Wow. You think they were broke like that before you took the hard turn or they broke at that time?

You should try out a set of Vorshlag camber plates, you hear a little road noise but they work very well. Also I have raised AST camber plates on my 5100’s, they are really quiet but not sure if they can work with other coilovers. And another plate that I always seen a lot of good about is the ground control plates.

Good luck, I hope you get it all sorted out.

I think that corner was already failing, and that's what was making the noise, this was just the final nail in the coffin.

I just got in contact with FA support, and they're sending over some new pillow ball mounts next week. Seems like just bad luck to me, FA support has been great though super helpful and responsive.

Time to buy an impact so take swap parts and I'll be back on the road in a couple ugga duggas!
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