Camber plates == clunking

[Armitage]

Installed a set of the hotbits camber plates with my AGX/Ground Control coilover setup. Worked great for a week or two. Now my passenger side front suspension is making an awful clunking noise everytime I turn the wheel. What's happening is because the pillowballs don't rotate, the entire spring assembly is turning, causing the spring to bind up on the coilover perch and it unbinds and clunks. Several times, loudly, each time the wheels is turned out or returned to center. Funny is that the spring seems to rotate freely on the driver's side.

So anyone have this problem? Solutions? Should the pillowballs be able to rotate to keep this from happening?

Thanks!

 

[CP]

Uh, I thought pillow-ball mounts were supposed to rotate /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif Mine do. They make some slight knocking noises on occasion at the beginning of a drive, but you get used to it.

 

My cusco plates wore out after about 5k miles, I got them used so I don't know how many miles they had on them before that. The spherical bearing just went to sh*t and it made a ton of noise.

 

You might have friction at the top of your strut's springperch & bumpstop and the bottom of the camberplate. Check there.

 

[skivittlerjimb]

"Please note the bushing in the picture goes between the top spring seat and the bottom of the bearing so that it will articulate. Without this you can snap the top pin off the strut as the spring seat will bind on the mount bottom." -Peter Reilly, HotBits.ca

I'll try to dig up the picture, but I belive the HotBits Camber Plates thread I started a couple of months ago has it. I put this small metal bushing where Peter said it should go and have not had any problems like you described. Good luck!

-Jim B.
1432/2000
167k

 

[Larry Parker]

YES!!! make sure that the spring force goes into the pullow ball only!!! If the spring hat can sit on the bottom of the camber plate and NOT just the ball you will break your shock shaft and destroy your camber plates...

Regards
LP

 

[Armitage]

I definately put that little bushing in when I assembled them.

 

[Armitage]

Quote:
YES!!! make sure that the spring force goes into the pullow ball only!!! If the spring hat can sit on the bottom of the camber plate and NOT just the ball you will break your shock shaft and destroy your camber plates...

Regards
LP



I believe this is the way I assembled it (without having seen it in a while):

nut on strut shaft
Camber plate
Bushing/shim thingy
washer
coilover top hat
coil spring
lower coil perch
strut

 

[Larry Parker]

Post pics! I will do so later when I get home of the proper stack...

LP

 

[Armitage]

Will try and take some pics later. Suspension is still on car but I may take it back out this w/e to try and pinpoint the problem. Can't go around driving like this.

 

[skivittlerjimb]

Quote:
nut on strut shaft
Camber plate
Bushing/shim thingy
washer
coilover top hat
coil spring
lower coil perch
strut



Not that it necessarily matters, but what I see missing from your list is the stock upper spring seat. I'm not sure that it's needed, though, but if you insert that between the washer and the coilover top hat on your list, that's how I installed mine.

-Jim B.
1432/2000
167k

 

[Larry Parker]

Looky looky

 

[Armitage]

Here we are. Doesn't seem like I put it together wrong. No evidence of any damage. Note that the spring is fully unloaded, so there's a space between the washer and the upper spring mount.




Any ideas would be great, I don't want to put it back together again just to have to take it apart later Thanks!

 

[CP]

Looks like the boot has ripped due to the twisting (I'll assume) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Did you get someone to turn the wheel with the car on the ground while looking over the wheel at the assembly to see if you could find where it's binding? I'd do that, trying to get it to repeat what you're hearing on the road. Obviously this will be a PITA now that you've got everything off the car. If it were me, I'd try to see why the spring was twisting, rather than the entire assembly. I can twist my coilovers around (like one of those carnival swing rides) when they're only attached at the top by the pillow mount.

 

U should be able to rotate the camber plate freely with the strut off the car, can you? Also it looks like the top strut nut is barely on.

 

[Armitage]

Quote:
Looks like the boot has ripped due to the twisting (I'll assume) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Did you get someone to turn the wheel with the car on the ground while looking over the wheel at the assembly to see if you could find where it's binding? I'd do that, trying to get it to repeat what you're hearing on the road. Obviously this will be a PITA now that you've got everything off the car. If it were me, I'd try to see why the spring was twisting, rather than the entire assembly. I can twist my coilovers around (like one of those carnival swing rides) when they're only attached at the top by the pillow mount.



The boot has been ripped for a long time, probably too much rallyx ;P

Yea, that's exactly what I did initially. That's how I found out the spring was binding and popping. Why it's happening I still have no idea.

The pillow mount articulates in any given direction but does not spin freely when the strut assembly is turned. Rather, the piston itself spins (less resistance).

 

[Armitage]

Quote:
U should be able to rotate the camber plate freely with the strut off the car, can you? Also it looks like the top strut nut is barely on.



I'll try that.

The top nut is actualy a large collar that completely surrounds the top of the strut and threads in down lower. It's fully secured in place.

 

[Larry Parker]

Is that washer the only spacer you have inb there? If so you need more...The shock rod should move 10-15deg whilest installed... Note the spacer on my struts is almost a half inch... Also if your springs are short they will come lose in rebound and will clunk when going back to comp....

LP

 

[Armitage]

Quote:
U should be able to rotate the camber plate freely with the strut off the car, can you? Also it looks like the top strut nut is barely on.



Okay I tried it out. When holding the strut body and rotating the camber plate, it rotates the strut piston as well. I wouldn't call it "freely" but it's easy enough to spin around.

 

[Armitage]

Quote:
Is that washer the only spacer you have inb there? If so you need more...The shock rod should move 10-15deg whilest installed... Note the spacer on my struts is almost a half inch... Also if your springs are short they will come lose in rebound and will clunk when going back to comp....

LP



Yes, apart from the spacer that sits between the washer and the pillow ball. What sort of spacer is required? More washers? As far as the springs being short, well. They never really fully unload under normal usage. When the car is sitting on a flat surface not moving, springs fully loaded, and I turn the wheel, the spring binds and clunks.