rlx015

I noticed this noise was becoming louder over the past several months, and recently had some work done in hopes this will go away.
Noise was there before the work was done and continues to be there after the work was done. I was hoping this would resolve it, but it apparently did not...
I had all struts replaced (front and rear) and mounts, both front lower control arms w bushings, sway bar links with bushings...




This noise is most noticed when someone is behind the steering wheel, and driving slower over slight bump. I recorded this video while entering and exiting my garage where there is a surface difference between the garage floor and driveway of about inch or so in two steps.
Please check this clip out and let me know if you had similar issue you were able to identify.

I am also taking car in for transmission service and rear differential oil change to Acura Dealership, but was hoping for some first hand experienced advice.

Thanks All!!!

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Upper control arms?

oo7spy

Sounds like a car. Can you describe the noise? More importantly, can you hear it with the radio on?

rlx015

This is what I am anticipating is thebissue, especially the left upper control arm because I hear it most on the left hand side (driving me crazy). Odd thing is, my regular mechanic told me upper both sides were fine, and needed lower ones... All the work is done, guess he will be giving a discount when he does upper ones plus alignment... I even told him dealer already mentioned to keep my eye on the left upper control arm, and he assured me it was ok.... So, yeah ... :/

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Don't really see what else it could be

rlx015

Reporting back after work was done: both upper control arms have been replaced and I do feel improvement in driving the car, however the noise recorded/posted above is still there. When going over slight bumps at the slower speed, I hear something randomly clunk to somewhat dull noise/sound but feel it in the steering wheel the most. Mechanic mentioned it would be some of the bushings, but that tells me "let us hunt it for you..." and I might add - $$$$s later nothing is found...
So pursue continues to find what the heck this may be. My next step is taking it to the dealer so they can test and tell me what it is... not sure what else I can do to find this annoying noise crap ... sigh

08KBP_VA

I know its a stretch and you said struts and mounts were replaced but are they snugged down?

You checked motor mounts and transmission mounts?

spheregrid

that sounds like your struts,

i recently replace my struts myself, but didn't torque to spec for my damper assembly. and was here that same sound you were hearing from the video
i went back to tighten the the dampers self locking nut and no more sound. hope this helps you, see below make sure it's 22lb pounds.

rlx015

Question: this noise was recorded before shocks were replaced (w mounts) ... After they installed new KYB shocks, same noise is there... So nothing really chamged... Is it possible it is due to 29lb ft piece missing - not being tight enough? I suspect that is the issue, but I will still do the 29lbft as advised... Thanks again!!!

spheregrid

i've installed the KYB shocks myself, but i didn't torque it to spec, didn't have a torque wrench, tighten a few turns and drove over bumps and the sounds was gone.
i did check the lower arm and upper arm and the bushing looks good.
jack your car up and try and wiggle the wheel, there shouldn't be any play at all.


check this video out to see what i mean.

rlx015

Thanks man... so here is an update:

1. got torque wrench off of amazon, tried to tighten it up and see what is currently sitting at: not sure if I was able really to do anything because apparently I have to hold the shock piece so the lock nut is turning - this way just trying to spin the lock nut the rubber piece just moves and returns into the same spot
2. noticed that passenger side where the shock lock nut is, has more thread visible when compared with the driver side one (see photos below)
3. recorded the video and noise/clunk feeling and sounding is still there. When car is sitting first 15-20 minutes it does not "clunk" noticeably, but after driving it more than 20ish minutes, you definitely hear and notice when going over slighter uneven bumps, roads, etc. and also when making a right turn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwvp6u8Qodc

4. this I could not record / capture on video but when accelerating from 0mph, there is another noise that I noticed now is also coming from the back-right side I think - like something is grinding on something for a quick 1-2 seconds and goes away... that noise was not there before all repairs took place. Also, there is another noise when I make right hand turn from full stop... as soon as I move somewhere in front area I hear same somewhat scraping plastic like noise for a 1-2 seconds and it goes away.
5. lastly, I laid down next to the car to see how everything looks behind the front wheel, to find out and see for myself that completely unrelated part is apparently bad / leaking oil or something. passenger side - like one of the rubber boots, tie rod - have no clue (see photo below):

I've had enough of this mechanic and this is pretty much IT - done with the guy even after 8-9 years of servicing cars, it just seems his business is going down, and he can't really work on Acura's, not sure what else I can say... if he and his mechanics could not see this oiled rubber boot leaking shi, I don't know if they should all see optometrist...

There is a certified Acura mechanic close to my house where I live, and will take it to him so he can assess and advise what is left to do to get rid of this BS...
PS If I known all this headache would happen, I am not sure now if I would invest all this money, but actually get rid of the car and call it a day.

Have no clue what else to really do, or say... taking it to Acura tech who will need to tell me what's the deal, not sure if there is any other DIY I can do to make this clunking crap stop...
PS2 sorry for my venting, and thanks for reading all this BS :/

rlx015

Additionally - just did more research and it looks that leak is inner tie rod - am I looking at he same part on this diagram?

Thanks!!

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Don't let a bad experience with your mechanic make you sour about the car. I'm not saying it isn't time to get rid of your car, but don't make the decision after this experience. Unfortunately, I don't think that simply fixing the inner tie rod will fix the leak. I would definitely take it to someone else at this point. If it's any help, I go to The Pit Shop in Libertyville when I have someone else do the work on my car. Drew is a former Acura tech who opened his own shop. Drew and Ben are the real deal. I will tell you in advance though, they are picky about the parts the use on a customer's car, in a good way. But expect that it might drive your total $$$ amount up.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

For housekeeping and future reference for all, I put this thread in the suspension subforum.

rlx015

Thank you. Definitely decided to take it to Drew and will no longer go anywhere but there.
I'll need him to check out other stuff (how struts/shocks and control arms were installed) plus get alignment all sorted out, because after they did upper ctrl arms front, alignment was done somehow that now I can easily hear my while interior creak and make noises when starting to accelerate, and when slowing down to a stop... overtightened something for sure.... additionally, will probably get both inner tie rods, and even outer if needed but will see what Drew says.

*** Parts I used were KYB, and Beck&Arnley ctrl arms and moog bar links

Thanks again!

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Any updates on what was found to be wrong with the car?

rlx015

Hey guys - just picked up my car from all the repairs today and wanted to provide the feedback on what went on with the car:

After taking the car to PitShopGarage, car was diagnosed with pretty bad engine mounts that were making noise identified in the video above. Besides that Steering column was leaking (picture posted above where inner right tie rod was showing signs of some issue - steering rack / rack n pinion was the culprit, however it was working ok, as the leak was pretty slow... and last thing found was rear driver CV axle that the boot was just starting to drip grease out due to punctures/smaller holes in it...

Besides these three repairs that were pretty much major repairs needed, additional services suggested were new tires, transmission service, flushing PS as part of the steering rack replacement, throttle body cleaning service, and some other services suggested... unfortunately estimate I received from PitShopGarage was almost $8,000 ... yes, you read right... $8,000!
While I am 1000% certain that Drew really is the best when it comes to knowing the work, living and breathing Acura and Honda cars in and out, I found this estimate to be extremely high even for dealer's prices... therefore I could not really choose that option as the car itself was not worth that much by a long shot...
If you wonder where the $8,000 came from... for comparison reasons here are some of the estimates on the parts alone that were given by the front desk person (not including the labor in these prices):

Steering rack&pinion part: $2365 .... dealer charges about $1200
PS Pressure Hose part: $534 .... dealer charges $280
Front engine mount: $310 ... dealer charges about $160
Right engine mount: $280 ... dealer charges about $150
CV Axle (rear right): $1100 ... dealer charges about $540
Air Intake hose: $62... dealer charges about $30
__________________________________________________ ____
So, all in all you can figure where the $8,000 number comes in...

What I decided to do was to buy all parts myself and find mechanic who will do it at the more acceptable rate:
Following were the parts I got and had all replaced:
1. Steering rack&pinion, complete unit with inner tie rods - rockauto.com total: $340
2. Power Steering Pressure Hose - rockauto.com total: $180
3. Return line part, OEM - ordered last available part in the USA from Las Vegas Acura (yayyyy), total: $80 (was not sure if I will need one, but went with it just in case since they were digging in to fix all)
4. Outer Tie-rods (MOOG) from rockauto.com - total of $40-50 for both I think
5. Engine Mounts OEM: online Acura Delray dealer, purchased all three front, side and rear one - about $460
6. CV Rear Left axle: got this part used off ebay ('08 RL with 60k miles, part in great condition) - $80
7. Air Intake Tube: got it from online Acura dealer for $30

When they started working on the car, I got a call that my radiator was leaking and was corroding from inside out, asked them to order parts and replace all for additional $320 (both hoses and radiator w lifetime warranty)...
In addition to all the parts purchased above, labor was $700 with included alignment - all in all, $700.
So, labor and parts for above listed was $2240... can't beat that comparing to $8000 estimate (which again did include some of the services, all four tires etc... but still I literally paid one third of a price going alternate route vs pitshopgarage).
With previous work I did, and including above $2240 tab, I invested total of $3400 for all the parts and labor - and car has never felt more comfortable. Really happy how everything turned out.

Next on my list are all four tires, and replacing the front brake pads and rotors with OEM.
As far as service goes, I plan on doing brake fluid flush and transmission/transfer case/rear diff. oil change as well...

Note: considering I have driven this car for 5.5 years and have not had one single repair on it, I consider this price tag to pay very cheap having in mind I plan to keep the car at least next few years (3-4 minimum).

Thanks everyone for all the help and advice!!!
Alex

RL09

Congrats!! and seriously, bravo on the rockauto move. that estimate was insane.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the update Alex! Honestly, I don't blame you for being scared after an 8K estimate LOL, and one of the things I have with Drew, which I think I mentioned before, is parts, which is interestingly the same thing that cropped up here too. At least you decided to keep the car!

As for tires, Discount Tire usually runs a president's day sale, which knocked off an extra 160$ at the time for me. I don't know if you can wait that long?

EDIT: Question for you Alex, did you buy the A1 cardone or the Atsco rack from rockauto? If you bought the A1 cardone, how was the experience sending it in for a rebuild?

rlx015

I got A1 Cardone, core was $115 and part was $330... I purchased the A1 part, installed it and getting ready to ship my old unit back to them to get the core refund back. Only thing I was not expecting is to pay for return shipping for the core unit ($17 via Fedex) but still I think that was no biggie.
​​​​​

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Ah, OK, I clearly misunderstood what was written on rockauto then. That seams much simpler. I was under the impression that they did they rebuilds on the part you sent in, which I thought was REALLY unusual. Thanks for the clarification!

oo7spy

on rejunvenating your ride! That's serious maintenance that will hopefully return a lot of miles.

Just my on the brake replacements, OEM equivalent is fine, but you will spend 2X more paying for Acura parts. Go aftermarket. There is nothing special about any of Honda's brakes.

08KBP_VA

OMG...I actually got one right for a change.

Rockauto has been my go to for years I am so surprised by some folks dismissing it, comparing their prices to local big box stores the differential is HUGE and parts are EXACTLY the same and shipping is crazy fast in most instances.

Congrats at identifying the root cause and for getting another grand RL on the streets