So I need help with a "diagnostic". As most of you know I put on the H&R Coilvers a few months ago; it's been fun! But now I have this bizarre thumping noise coming from the driver side wheel area. I took it into acura of course and they were the ones that initially thought it might be a bad strut; they offered to replace it............................ ..............................too bad they don't know it's aftermarket ................................so iono..........................thoughts? It sounds like a flat tire, and it gets worse up through 20 mph, and then disappears. The noise itself comes and goes and it doesn't get worse on turns, nor does it make funny noises over bumps...THANKS!!!

 

If it blew, it'll be covered in oil, but honestly, a bad strut would just make the frontend bouncy.

Sounds like a bad CV joint...

05-06 Honda's are known for "wailing" power steering pumps. The scream for a while, then quit.

 

Yea check the joint or at least the boot, this happened to me once and somehow my boot tore open and sand and dirt and crap was getting in there....it sounded nasty!

Do you feel anything when you hear it?

 

By the way can you get some pics up of the car after the drop, did you get H&R sport or race series springs? I wanna get the sport springs to but wanna see what it looks like

 

sounds like a bad cv boot.

 

hm...cv boot it is! but what's the cv joint? and SURE i'll post some pictures as soon as i can for ya! thanks for the help guys!

 

oops...forgot! i got the h&r coilovers as a set, so i'm not too sure if they're sport or racing, but i would assume sport; i'm sure they'd be a lot harsher (stiffer) if they were racing?

 

The "constant velocity"- CV joint is what the CV boot protects. When that boot tears, it allows dirt into the CV joint, causing the joint mechanism to fail... It's the failing joint making the noise, caused by the failed boot.



http://www.aa1car.com/library/cvjoint1.htm

 

PS - When you go to Acura after its all fixed smack em for telling you its the strut.....If it was you would here it constantly not just under 20mph.

 

I've had CV joints go on me in the past. Here's what to look for:

- Turn the front wheels to the right
- Squat down by the driver's side wheel, and take a good look at your inner fenderwell. Is it covered/spattered in grease (it may look like dirty streaks of old paint, but touching it should confirm if it's grease, just don't lick your fingers!)
- Look at the black, cone shaped, ribbed boot that is connected to the back of the wheel hub - that's the CV Boot dust cover. Inspect it for tearing or chunks missing

If the first two tests above reveal grease and/or torn boot, then most likely your sound is coming from that failed CV joint. This is not something you want to drive on for too long, it could come loose and break, bringing you to a nasty halt and dropping that corner of your car to the ground.

HOWEVER, if neither of the above tests is true, it is quite possible that the coilover assembly itself is loose. Check the pinch bolt where the strut is inserted into the knuckle, and also check the nuts at the shock tower for both the strut tower brace and the coilover. In the past on one of my Nissans, the needle bearing at the top of my strut had failed, making a nasty clunking sound everytime I went over bumps at low speeds.

By the way, a dead giveaway for a bad CV joint is a "click-click-click" sound when turning full-lock at a slow speed. Try that with the windows down in an empty parking lot, first left hand turns, full lock, then right hand turns.

If it turns out to be the CV joint due to a failed boot, keep in mind that one of the fastest ways to destroy a CV boot is to smoke the tires / aggressive acceleration while the wheel is cranked hard left - don't know why, but that usually guarantees you'll rip the boot shortly thereafter.

Hope some of that helps. Good luck!

 

wow...thanks sherwin. i'll go check it out right now; i have an appointment set with acura of lynnwood within the coming week. jeez...thanks a bunch. i owe you!

 

Glad to help. Let us know what you find.

 

okay great. acura of lynnwood - couldn't find it. acura of bellevue - couldn't find it. GREAT. they checked the cv joint, said it was fine. they still can't tell where it's coming from -_- my warranty - up in 5000 miles woohooo!!!

 

Do you have an intake?

Did you install your coilovers yourself?

 

hm...i do indeed have an intake, and no i had my coilovers installed by a reputable shop. why do you ask?

 

I'm wondering if it's your fender liner or something or maybe your intake rubbing vibrating on something. It's hard to diagnose a problem like this one in particular over the internet. As I have no way to see and hear the problem you are describing. However, Check your fender and bumpre liners. If a peice is flapping around a bit it might be more noticeable to you at the lower speeds and then disappear as you get my air going over top of it to keep it from "slapping". I have had a fenderliner ripped out because my car was slammed and it was loose.

 

hm...good point, but they're screwed into place pretty well; replaced where the original o2 sensor was to the right nut, and screwed in the cai where the o2 sensor was)......ne ways thanks for the advise i'll check it tmr morning...

 

Eric, on a somewhat different note, how's your suspension holding up? Any issues??? That suspension noise you heard is still there? Reason for asking, I'm thinking about getting the H&R set up too!

And hey good luck w/ you current problem! I too have some noise, well, a clicking sound when the front wheels are loaded, when turning, but I think my problem is related to lug nuts and them sitting not snug enough on a stud against a rim due to a fat BBK rotor sticking out too far and taking up some of the lug length. In the rear I have a slimmer BBK rotor, nuts seat snug and nothing is clicking there, haha.