Some suspension noise and clutch hydaulics questions
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Firstly, the suspension noise question. I have been on the quest to remove all suspension and chassis rattles and clunks since I bought the car a year and a half ago. So far I have reduced them a lot, but still have one suspension clunk I cant locate and fix. I notice it most at low speeds, like driving through my back yard hitting holes and rocks or over train tracks. I also hear and feel it going over something like a poorly patched hole on the interstate (many in Alabama) or expansion joint on a bridge. Cant really tell where its coming from, possibly both front and rear. I have replaced pretty much everything in the suspension except stock springs (which will also be changed soon), from all new bushings, to replacing the R package Bilsteins with Illumina's (I know, Ive heard it before, Bilsteins are amazing), new bump stops, alignment camber bolts and FM sways and bushings and end link bushings. I also have a roll bar and FM frame rail braces, along with factory subframe braces. STILL have a clunk! It should shut the **** up and work smoothly with all of the time and money Ive spent on the damn thing.
Any ideas at all? Only thing that I think could possibly be the cause, at least on the rear are the long bolts, of which I forget what they hold to what (lower arms to subframe?). When I replaced the bushings I noticed a tiny bit of play between the inner metal and the bolt, I suppose from years of movement wearing them out. Just not sure if that minimal gap would be enough to hear the clunk Im hearing. The only thing besides that I can think of is possibly the diff mounts. Could they be worn enough to cause clunks over bumps? Since they are bolted to the chassis and not the suspension, I cant really see how, but its the only other thing.
Second questions. After a long interstate drive with no clutching (anything over 10-15 miles) I get a soft pedal that engages nearly at the floor, as oppose to nearly at the top or a third of the way through. Slave cylinder? I didnt see any fluid behind the boot when I had the trans out last time, and the master looks in good condition. Its correctly blead, and shouldnt have any air (though it obviously does). I can make it go away with 10-15 pumps of the pedal though, its just annoying seeing as I have a new clutch and flywheel. Should I just rebuild the slave and see? If not that, move to the master. Rebuild kits arent very costly, though I may just go with a new units if thats the case.
Any ideas at all? Only thing that I think could possibly be the cause, at least on the rear are the long bolts, of which I forget what they hold to what (lower arms to subframe?). When I replaced the bushings I noticed a tiny bit of play between the inner metal and the bolt, I suppose from years of movement wearing them out. Just not sure if that minimal gap would be enough to hear the clunk Im hearing. The only thing besides that I can think of is possibly the diff mounts. Could they be worn enough to cause clunks over bumps? Since they are bolted to the chassis and not the suspension, I cant really see how, but its the only other thing.
Second questions. After a long interstate drive with no clutching (anything over 10-15 miles) I get a soft pedal that engages nearly at the floor, as oppose to nearly at the top or a third of the way through. Slave cylinder? I didnt see any fluid behind the boot when I had the trans out last time, and the master looks in good condition. Its correctly blead, and shouldnt have any air (though it obviously does). I can make it go away with 10-15 pumps of the pedal though, its just annoying seeing as I have a new clutch and flywheel. Should I just rebuild the slave and see? If not that, move to the master. Rebuild kits arent very costly, though I may just go with a new units if thats the case.
I have replaced pretty much everything in the suspension except stock springs (which will also be changed soon), from all new bushings, to replacing the R package Bilsteins with Illumina's (I know, Ive heard it before, Bilsteins are amazing), new bump stops, alignment camber bolts and FM sways and bushings and end link bushings. I also have a roll bar and FM frame rail braces, along with factory subframe braces. STILL have a clunk!
To your second question, have you bled the clutch system recently? It sounds like you have air bubbles or moisture in the system which may react to temperature changes.
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From: Birmingham Alabama
All suspension bushings are new OEM, and yes I have tried to recreate the noise with no success. It seems to be a dynamic motion causing the rattle/clunk, and not just an up or down, or side to side motion. I can probably live with it too, just sucks ive dropped so much time and money into the suspension and chassis and still have the original clunk I was trying to get rid of in the first place.
Clutch bled about 1000 miles ago, or ~ a month. I made sure all bubbles were out, and went through another several cycles to be sure. I guess I could always go back and try again.
Clutch bled about 1000 miles ago, or ~ a month. I made sure all bubbles were out, and went through another several cycles to be sure. I guess I could always go back and try again.
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