Coilover "sproing"

[firelizard]

That's the best onomatopoeia I could come up with for it.

Basically what happens is that when I turn the front wheels (McStruts in the front btw) I hear a series of "sproing, sproing, sproing" noises coming from the coils. It sounds like the springs are binding, but I can't figure out why.

Is it likely the spherical joint thing in the camber plate? Forgive my lack of technical jargon, I fix things with a hammer.

If it is that, that's fine, I'll call the company and have it dealt with, but since I can't afford more than a day's downtime for diagnosis due to my car being a daily driver, the better idea of the problem I can get beforehand, the better.

:bigok:

[spool_sample]

If it sounds like an old door opening or someone scraping something against a metal washboard, then the spring is binding on the perch.

Take the coilover off, put some Torrington bearings on the spring perch, and see if it goes away.

What coilovers, BTW?

[Fred Allen Burge]

Sounds just like the problem my stock RH side has. Have someone turn the wheel while you look at the spring, you should see it bind then release suddenly causing the "sproing" sound.

Not sure how to fix it on your coilovers though.

Fred

[firelizard]

If it sounds like an old door opening or someone scraping something against a metal washboard, then the spring is binding on the perch.

Take the coilover off, put some Torrington bearings on the spring perch, and see if it goes away.

What coilovers, BTW?

Now that you mention it, that makes perfect sense. K-Sport Support did mention a bearing, and looking into it, I think there are replacement bearings available for just that purpose. I guess they just got gunked up/rusted after a winter's use.


PS: the coilovers are K-Sports (on the Protege)

Thanks!

[spool_sample]

Now that you mention it, that makes perfect sense. K-Sport Support did mention a bearing, and looking into it, I think there are replacement bearings available for just that purpose. I guess they just got gunked up/rusted after a winter's use.


PS: the coilovers are K-Sports (on the Protege)

Thanks!

Yeah, it sounds like the spherical bearing in the camber plate is seized, causing the spring to "skip" across the spring perch, hence the sound you hear.

When you replace the bearing, measure the inside and outside diameters of the spring perches and get some Torrington bearings to put on them underneath the spring. As I understand it, that should help relieve some of the load that the bearing sees, which will make it last longer.

[4bangers]

or can you put grease in there to help lower the friction and smooth out the motion of the bearing?

what about wd-40?

[nismoskyz]

I've got some Megans that are also exhibiting this same issue. It only seems to happen when I'm in a driveway or turning when the car isn't moving, other than that, I hear no noises.

Can someone please elaborate on the torrington bearings? As a quick search on google doesn't exactly show up the exact bearing I think I might like to use.

Also, SPL has these washers on their site, would they be able to solve the issue? Of course, they'd have to fit, first and foremost.

http://splparts.com/main4/parts/Universal/Suspension/Coilovers/SwiftThrustWashers.jpg

Swift spring thrust washers use a composite washer to allow the spring to freely wind/un-wind as the spring is compressed, reducing noise and improving performance. The washers are placed between the spring and the upper and lower spring perch. Order the appropriate ID to match the springs. Consists of 4 metal and 4 composite washers, enough to fit 1 pair (ie.2) of springs.


Thanks

[nismoskyz]

anyone that can chime in with experience?

[Def]

Amazon.com: Torrington NTA-4052 Needle Thrust Bearing Cage And Roller Assembly: Industrial & Scientific (http://www.amazon.com/Torrington-NTA-4052-Needle-Bearing-Assembly/dp/B000MNC6BG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248569957&sr=8-1)

That's what's commonly called a Torrington bearing(also known as a thrust bearing). You'll need two thrust washers for the bearing. That's for a 2.5" ID application.

They are not maintenance free, so plan on washing them out and putting some light oil on them every so often.

[nismoskyz]

hey thanks for that link, Def

With the Torrington bearings requiring maintenance, wouldn't it be simpler just to use washers, provided that they actually work. I was wondering if some thrust washers alone, that I posted above, would do the trick.

So, is this a problem with the pillowball mount itself? I've read about people having this same issue on more expensive coilover setups as well.

[nismoskyz]

Contacted MR regarding the issue, here's what I got, for those of you that may benefit from it:

This is called coil binding. You will need to have ZERO Spring Pre load and you will need to lubricate the isolators, bearings etc.

Thank you.

Please check the attach file.


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http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/6296/coilbindremedy.jpg