I recently installed some coilovers which required me to take out my back seat to get the rear suspension off. Even though it was pretty straight forward, I found a DIY on here that was very helpful for getting the seat off.

After installation, I cant quite get the 3 metal clips on the top of the seat to go back down into their designated holes. They are half in but no matter how much pressure I put on them, they can't quite pop down. Because of this now the two bolts that hold the back of the center console and the bottom of the back rest down don't line up.

Anyone have and advise?

 

The three clips on the back of the seat don't clip in, they slide in.

I have taken out the rear seats at least 5 times trying to track down a stupid clicking sound. U can literally take out the rear seats in 5 mins.

Getting the back seat panel to register in those three slots for me at least was straight forward. The trick is getting the panel high up and then slide it down into the slots to register. They do not click, only the seats will pop/click.

Once the back panel is in place it should line up with the holes for the bolts on the bottom of the panel by the seat cushions.

So the key is the panel slides down into the slots, without pressure. U should not have to push at all to get them in place. Only the seat cushions need pressure to snap back into place.

If that does not work, you have something in the way preventing the seat from coming all the way down. Cause it literally falls into place

 

Thanks CL-S! The metal clips have three clear-ish brackets on them. Do these mount on the clips on the other side once they are through the metal? Mine are still on the metal clips on the topside of the metal holes they slide into.

 

Sounds like the clips came out of their spot in the car and are still attached to the seat tabs on the seat back.

No big deal really, just pull them off and put them back into their spot in the car. Glue them in if need be, or buy new ones if they still are available. But they might not clip in anymore once you remove them, like mine, they become resting locations instead of secure clips.

Has never been an issue with noise or anything so I cannot see why they'd need to clip in. But that's just my thinking.

The seats bottoms are the same. Only one side clips/snaps in anymore and one side iirc the clip came out and was still attached to the seat tab. So I imagine this is what has happened to you on your seat back.

Hopefully knowing that you can conclude your issue bud.

 

Thanks man! I am gonna take a look at it this weekend and see if that solves it. Yea the seats had no problem getting back in but the back rest has been the frustrating part.

I have a 1 inch gap behind the back rest and have soo much road noise coming through. I can hear every bump my rear suspension takes.. or is that just the Tein coilovers I put on them? lol

 

thats the coliovers bud.. the noise the seats kill from the suspension is minimal at best.. it helps kill road noise from wind and tires and trunk. but the suspension will clang/lnock around regardless of the seats being in or our.

trust me i removed the entire rear seats, back rest, speaker cover, trunk liner and covers and spare tire and jack and everything else back there and the noise was still there so its the coilovers.

i noticed on hotter days it tends to be less pronounced, but unless i take the coilovers out and send them to cali to be rebuilt i will always have that damn click coming from the rear....

my remedy is increasing the volume on xm radio!

 

Sorry I disagree here...the seat keeps a lot of noise out. It is pretty normal to hear some sounds back there without the seat fully in place, but if the coilovers are installed right it will not clang, knock, bonk, or bang at all.

If you are getting noises, even with the seat in place, your job isn't done yet...

 

I have never ridden in a cl on coilovers that did not clang, bonk, or bang. I have tried more than 1 set, had them rebuilt, installed by more than 1 shop plus myself, and replaced every single rear suspension component.

Now if I put my Koni shocks on it makes no noise though. It has to be the coils, plus I've had this last set of coils rebuilt twice.

Never had any noise from front coils, only rear coils. Noise is same even if I swap coils side to side. Still there with sway bar and end links disconnected. All bushings replaced.

Do you have specific experience on this platform, or just other honda/acura's?

 

There is nothing different about a CL from a TL to an Accord, and the following generations of Accord, TL and TSX are all essentially the same kit. There is no reason for the suspension to make noise unless it is not a good part or it is not installed or adjusted right.

Not to discredit your experience but as a professional installer I am sticking with that. Coilovers or not, they should be clunk free.

 

Yea? there is still about a 1/2 an inch gap from my seat to the speaker mounts. but my rear suspension does clank and make some noise. Almost like the top hat is not properly lined up with the first coil on the spring. Im like 99% sure I lined them up correctly. I didnt need to compress the spring to get everything together.. Could the set up just be loose?

Brian was your install the same and still had noise issues?

 

The spring does not need to be compressed when you install these parts. But it does need to be aligned correctly...That could be an issue.

What coilovers are you using?

 

Tein Basics.. I purchased them used with 7,000 miles on them. Doesn't seem like I am getting any noise in the fronts. The rears are the culprit. Obviously the rears were more difficult to get out and than put aftermarkets in vs the fronts. So I am wondering If there was an issue getting them in.

I was under the impression that these coilovers would obviously be stiffer than OEM but would also be more noisy. Hearing your advice it sounds like they could either be bad parts or a problem with the install.

 

Like I said. My rear coilovers are loud as fuck over little bumps. I bought mine used with God knows how many kms on them.

I have had 2 shops and my independent mechanic look at the rear and they could not find anything wrong with anything and said its gotta be the coilover.

Putting ur back seat on won't do shit to that clunk. It goes right threw it.... There is no way to muffle that damn clunk. I have tried everything from inserting a piece polyurethane between the top hats and the mounting location. I have remove coilovers and installed new bushings in the coilover. I have also replace the rear control arms.

Three years and I dunno how many hours of trials and tribulations, it's still loud.

If u drive over 60 kms it pretty much goes away. If it is 20 c or hotter it also usually goes away.

Either way turning up the volume fixed it in the end. Lol

My next car I don't wanna touch the suspension after this bullox.

 

Damn man!

Is the little plastic ring that goes between the bottom of the spring and the mount of the strut essential?

That piece was broken and as I was adjusting the height it came off the set up.. it now sounds like the noise is more prominent but in the fronts now as well

 

U mean the very thin piece? Those are not crucial... You will need to grease the shit outta the coilover springs and the bottom mount if you wanna make sure there is no squeak or creak.

If u are getting clunks over decent bumps in the front. You are likely too low and ur control arm is hitting the underside of the top mount. Or u need to replace ball joints