I recently replaced my front struts. They were not the quick strut style, so I assembled them myself. There is a really annoying popping noise when turning the wheels and going over bumps. I had someone turn the wheel while I looked for the problem. The noise is coming from the mount itself. I thought maybe I had overtightened the nut where the strut mounts to the bearing. I loosened and retorqued, but it's still making the noise.
cgarcer
Is everything torqued down to spec? The bolts should be torqued down with the strut in the loaded position (as if on the ground). For DIYers this is achieved by carefully supporting the steering knuckle a wood block until the chassis just lifts off the stand.
Also, there are notches on the underside of the mount. There are corresponding cutouts on the strut rod. These pop out often when you tried to tighten the rod nut. So I would inspect them too.
Another are the sway bar links. They need to be torqued down to spec, or they can make a knocking sound too, particularly when you drive diagonally up a speed bump or driveway (that's when the sway bar is tensioned).
Before removing and disassembling to inspect, you might want to check the sway links and make sure they're to spec. Also try the strut rod reset procedure from Monroe:
"With wheels on ground, loosen the strut rod (center) nut by 3-4 full turns.
Then use a 10mm hex socket to rotate the rod by around quarter turn (his instruction doesn't say which direction) until it locks into place (!). Then tighten the rod nut again to OEM specs (36ft-lbs). Drive the car to confirm issue is gone (or not). "
Monroe Quick-Strut rattle clunk - rod assembly & nut...
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Also, there are notches on the underside of the mount. There are corresponding cutouts on the strut rod. These pop out often when you tried to tighten the rod nut. So I would inspect them too.
Another are the sway bar links. They need to be torqued down to spec, or they can make a knocking sound too, particularly when you drive diagonally up a speed bump or driveway (that's when the sway bar is tensioned).
Before removing and disassembling to inspect, you might want to check the sway links and make sure they're to spec. Also try the strut rod reset procedure from Monroe:
"With wheels on ground, loosen the strut rod (center) nut by 3-4 full turns.
Then use a 10mm hex socket to rotate the rod by around quarter turn (his instruction doesn't say which direction) until it locks into place (!). Then tighten the rod nut again to OEM specs (36ft-lbs). Drive the car to confirm issue is gone (or not). "
Monroe Quick-Strut rattle clunk - rod assembly & nut...
Taking a closer look, and I found the problem. Looks like I didn't get the upper part of the coil seated properly in the mount. The top of the spring is what's rubbing and causing the noise. Off to get the spring compressor tool again. These were a pain to put together.
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