NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

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.

akaryrye

iTrader: (5)

have you considered the control arm bushings? I have suspension noise as well, but I just ignore it because its not that bad. Have you tried jacking it up and pushing/pulling the wheels to try to recreate the noise?

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.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

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.