Suspension & Steering Noises & Knocking 1998 1999 2000 2001 CG Accord Coupe

[Laird_Scooby]

What Brett said! ^^^ Thanks for explaining in English Brett!

[Mazda Man]

^^^^what Dave and Brett said. ?

[AhsyV6]

Guys, any thoughts on my issue. 

Last night driving the coupe over humps I started feeling (via the accelerator pedal)  and hearing a faint knock/clunk. 

Any ideas what it could be? 

[hughezee]

As we discussed over the phone buddy, it could be any number of the suspension components, ball joints etc, either way, would recommend getting the car up on the axles or better a ramp and inspect for play in the upper & lower suspension joints or even the driver's side engine mount???

[AhsyV6]

Cheers mate 

[Laird_Scooby]

My first thought was the engine mount as well Ahsy, could also be the ARB drop-links, especially if it only knocks when one wheel goes over a bump - if you can find a speed hump so you can get one wheel to stay level as the other goes over the bump, if it's more obvious then but doesn't do it when you put both wheels over the same bump, chances are it's the ARB drop link on that side - obviously vice versa if you get the other wheel to go over the bump and the other one level etc.

If you can get it into a low gear (can't remember the shift pattern on the 3.0 and mine is different) but say 2nd gear, drive down the road on a light-ish throttle and suddenly come off the throttle then go back on a few seconds later a bit sharp, if the noise comes again then chances are it's the engine mount.

When i say "chances are", these aren't definiteive tests but should hopefully point you in the right direction of where the fault is. Also check your wheel nuts i had one once and my nuts were loose!

[welland99]

I've got a creaky joint on my left rear drop link. The mot tester said he couldn't even mark it as an advisory item as it was working perfectly well.  

Was thinking of trying to squirt some wd40 behind the rubber boots - has anybody tried this?

[hughezee]

1 hour ago, welland99 said:

Was thinking of trying to squirt some wd40 behind the rubber boots - has anybody tried this?

Depends if the rubber dust cover can be moved enough to reach the metal ball, genuine Honda stabilizers the dust cover will be fixed in place, some will have retainers that look like they are off a key ring which can be moved like those pictured below?

Also never tried it. as lubricating it likely result in extra movement a fail next MOT time, personally I would just replace both links and not worry about it...

[Laird_Scooby]

Adding a penetrating type lubricant to a joint that is meant to be lubed with grease is, as Stu rightly points out, a recipe for disaster. It stops the squeak/creak for a while but dilutes the grease so it is forced out and no longer lubricates the joint - result - excessive premature wear and failure.

Three courses of action :

1. "Put up & shut up" 😛

2. Remove offending joint, the retaining rings and rubber boots, squirt fresh grease in after cleaning, pack the boot with grease, refit boots and rings, refit joints

3. Fit new ones. I'd also suggest adding some extra grease, lately many joints of this type have come with only a tiny smear.

In the case of 2 & 3, give the joint a good workout through its range of movement to help distrbute the grease.

[hughezee]

I had a squeaky noise steadily getting worse until the today when it was unbearable, probably the cold weather, swapped suspension arm(s) noise gone 😁👍

[Laird_Scooby]

Funny looking mouse! Still, if it stops it squeaking.............. 👍

[hughezee]

Any update on your motor Ahsy 😶

[AhsyV6]

No updates guys as I just don’t have time at present. With that said....weirdly I haven’t noticed the sound since🤔

[welland99]

Was there a lot of play in that bush? The rubber around the sleeve doesn't look in good condition.  

[hughezee]

These are tensioned bushes so they are fixed into position so when the car moves they flex as the shock absorber and spring move up and down, so failure is inevitable and moisture gets inside, so corrosion starts...

[DeanoCoupe]

Hi all been quiet lately new job and training its all go! The Coupe has had a brake fluid change and box reset recently.. Also changed a rear shock hoping to solve camber issue (thanks Stu for the shock😊) but alas it hasn't fixed it.... Will be going back on the ramp for further investigation hopefully this week really want to get to bottom of it as I fear something may be bent😑 Also have a intermittent vibration/wobble through steering wheel I think this is disc related and possibly a weeping caliper! Must admit the car has got me down a bit lately and I have considered throwing in the towel with her, engine is strong and leak free at 55k which makes it even more frustrating.. Hard to know what to do as don't want to keep throwing money at her but at the same time I have a vision of what she could be.. 

[hughezee]

1 hour ago, DeanoCoupe said:

Will be going back on the ramp for further investigation hopefully this week really want to get to bottom of it as I fear something may be bent😑 Also have a intermittent vibration/wobble through steering wheel I think this is disc related and possibly a weeping caliper! Must admit the car has got me down a bit lately and I have considered throwing in the towel with her, engine is strong and leak free at 55k which makes it even more frustrating.

Sorry to hear of your feeling dishearted but you have to remember its age and you're the first person to really drive it in its whole life so niggles from neglect are to be expected. Also didn't you mention it had evidence of welding on the rear subframe and if the camber issue is that bad the culprit should be easily spotted on the ramp? 

[Laird_Scooby]

Couple more thoughts - first, has the wheel alignment been checked, particularly on the back?

Secondly, have you tried swapping the front wheels onto the back? If the wobble disappears you know it's wheel related.

They might balance perfectly off the car but it's not unknown for a car with 5 wheel studs to have wheel balance problems, despite the wheels being balanced perfectly off the car.

[DeanoCoupe]

2 hours ago, hughezee said:

Sorry to hear of your feeling dishearted but you have to remember its age and you're the first person to really drive it in its whole life so niggles from neglect are to be expected. Also didn't you mention it had evidence of welding on the rear subframe and if the camber issue is that bad the culprit should be easily spotted on the ramp? 

Well the teccy in work couldn't find any evidence of this welded bracket which has confused me further!

[welland99]

On 12/8/2018 at 12:59 PM, Laird_Scooby said:

Adding a penetrating type lubricant to a joint that is meant to be lubed with grease is, as Stu rightly points out, a recipe for disaster. It stops the squeak/creak for a while but dilutes the grease so it is forced out and no longer lubricates the joint - result - excessive premature wear and failure.

Three courses of action :

1. "Put up & shut up" 😛

2. Remove offending joint, the retaining rings and rubber boots, squirt fresh grease in after cleaning, pack the boot with grease, refit boots and rings, refit joints

3. Fit new ones. I'd also suggest adding some extra grease, lately many joints of this type have come with only a tiny smear.

In the case of 2 & 3, give the joint a good workout through its range of movement to help distrbute the grease.

I chose option 1, and after a few more months of creaking,  the noise stopped.  ☺

[Laird_Scooby]

4 minutes ago, welland99 said:

after a few more months of creaking,  the noise stopped.  ☺

Probably worn away to nothing now!

[DeanoCoupe]

All bushes lubricated on ramp, we heard squeak couldn't pin point it... noticed it happens when you turn the steering wheel with engine running or at very slow speeds... any ideas?

[Laird_Scooby]

Can you get a video of it? Might help us to give an idea.

[PTR200S]

Steering pump?

Does it do it under load at standstill ? 

Fluid topped up or changed recently ????

[DeanoCoupe]

1 hour ago, PTR200S said:

Steering pump?

Does it do it under load at standstill ? 

Fluid topped up or changed recently ????

I did think pump but I get the same noise going over a bump too so not sure why that would be? Will check fluid levels anyway