help with tein suspension

[FLIP]

Hey guys i need your help. I got my coilovers installed a month ago (tein HR's). The problem is ever since i put them in, whenever i drive there seems to be a bumping/knocking sound. I dont know if there is something wrong with the suspension or its something in the car that is making sounds because the suspension is so stiff. Does anyone know where in sydney i can have this checked? preferrably in the north shore but anywhere is ok. I really want to get this fixed already it bothers me day and night i cant stop thinking about it. Any help is greatly appreciated. thanks guys

[Jase]

did you check/replace any of the other suspension bits - bushes, control arms etc

they might be worn

[FLIP]

no the only other thing i replaces was i put in pineapples. what other suspension bits usually need replacing?

[Scotty]

G'day Flip,

Yes I also have the same problem and it is a bit disconcerting. It's not a traditional squeek right. It's a loud thud and it sounds like there is a bolt loose, or some metal slipping in and out of place.

I too would like to know if I can get this checked as well. I'm in the SE side of Melb, so if there is anybody who can advise, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Jase]

bushes and upper control arms get worn out pretty fast in R32s

dunno if that could be a problem in a 34 but it wouldn't hurt to have a look see

[FLIP]

scotty, ya its like a thud as if there is a bolt loose in the suspension. i really want to have it checked already but i dont know where's te best place to go.

[Lunatic Dancer]

yeh i have the same problem, but only in my rear left coil-over.

going over bumps..instead of the usual hydrolic sound the shhhhh sound i get this bump bump sound....

dunno if this has anything to do with it but im sure it does, while getting an rwc the guy had to test drive my car and when he came back instead of going slowly up the driveway the **** drove it as if it was a 4wd and the left wheel ran up the driveway pretty hard . so could be damaged.

but i also realised that all 4 coil-overs will do this when i raise it too high (to pass defect) and when i put it back to height it was its fine. cept for that single one still bumps.

[FLIP]

it seems to be a common problem so maybe someone knows how or where to have it fixed...anyone???.

i really like my coilovers but the sound is just becoming too much for me. although its not a loud sound or something that sounds too serious, i still hate the fact that something is wrong.

[Lunatic Dancer]

yeh i know. i hate it..sounds like its broken and driving it more like this is going to screw it more. tomorrow im going to lower it another 1-2cm to see if the noise will go away, cause alot of these jap coil-overs are designed to be used LOW, having said that i dont even know the brand of mine lol....springs are thick black and coil-over is blue.

but i still think that this has got to do with that incident at the mechanic.

[Champinco]

Hi Guys,

I have Tien coilover suspension Type Hr's as well on my R33.

I have been researching causes and solutions to this problem so guys im pretty much an expert on this issue. Im having the exact same problem large, loud thumping noise, sounds like something is hitting the chassis. MOST likely the shocker/damper needs reconditioning. the bushes/seals might be worn out or gone. the thumping noise is again most likely the top of the supsension hitting the chassis cause the damper isnt working properly. Oil is probably pissing out of the damper and f!@#en up ur shocker. Now this problem has been about a month or so for me....and ive still been driving around with the problem but i know that TYpe HR's are rebuildable as im dropping my car off to Advantage Suspension in East moorabin. He said he can do it. My suggestion is to get new shockers (if u can afford it) or recondition (if can they can be done). Note: the sooner u get it checked out the better because u dont want to bend the damper cause then u wont b able to rebuild it. Also u want to try and get em both sides rebuilt if u can, cause if one side has gone out then expect the other one to go out as well.

Hope this helps

[FLIP]

hey champinco, thanks that really helps a lot. Do you know How much are they charging you to rebuild the shocks? Where abouts is moorabin?

cheers

[Craved]

well i had the same issue, with tein HR's! so seems a common thing! Now i installed them myself i knew knew what there was involved!!!

luckily i left my seats (back) out for a while after putting them in! found that the nuts that hold the shock within the pillow ball mounts would come loose and the shock would move about 2-3 mm while going over bumps ---> first thought it was the pillow ball mounts but had them looked at!!

Solution for me was to remove a spacer and add a second lock nut onto the top of the shock ---> problem fixed!!!

it was that bad that every 50km i had to tighten them!

you guys all got the helper springs installed?

[Craved]

oh yeah, forgot to put a reason

because the shaft is round and tein haven't put a flat fave on the shocks means that you can only tighten it so much!! this is why the lock nuts are needed!!

[FLIP]

Hey craved thanks a lot dude. ill check that today if i can. do you have any pics of what the nuts that hold the shock within the pillow ball mounts look like. i have a faint idea but im not entirely sure. thanks again hopefully thats all it is. Oh ya i also have the helper springs installed.

Im no expert but the sound doesnt sound like the shocks are bottoming out and there doesnt seem to be any oil leaking so hopefully its not that bad that ill have to rebuild the shocks.

also sorry if this is a bit dumb...but the HR's dont have dampening adjustments right? I read somewhere that the HA's do and the HR's dont. I just want to make sure just in case. If not is it possible to buy softer springs?

[FLIP]

oh ya just to add. instead of using a lock nut will loctite be able to hold the nut thats already there.?

[Craved]

FLIP,

Haven't slept for a while so im a bit stumped on which Tein coilovers i have now LOL

think they are HR's

well if you can turn the bar that comes through the pillow ball tops in your engine bay then they are adjustable!!! doesn't make the ride much softer at all, although the car did drop about 5 to 10 mm on lowest setting!!

Locktite should work, or spend a couple of bucks on extra nuts!!

easiest way to test my theory is to jack the car up on the side thats makes the noise, then quickly lift and drop the wheel (while still bolted on of course ) and see if it makes that noise!!!

other wise you have to take the back seats out

let us all know how you go with this!

[EnricoPalazzo]

Hey guys i had the exact same problem with my Tiens aswell haha. What the noise is is the rear suspension, there is a large nut shaped washer that sits between the top of the suspenion and the nut that tightens it to the chassis. What u need to do is remove the rear seats and parcel shelf then get someone to sit in the back and put there hand on the nut while u drive to find out which nut it is making the sound. It is a very large thud sound and it is amazing such a small part can make so much noise. Then once u have found which side the nut is making the sound, tighten the nut on top of it, and apply a little bit of loctite to prevent it easily coming off again.

Good luck, and if u have anymore quesitions, ill be happy to help.

Cya

[FLIP]

hey craved i tried doing what you told me. i jacked up the rear of the car and tried lifting the wheel in question (rear left). i couldnt hear anything.

I cheched the shock and i couldnt find any oil leakages anywhere.

I then tried pulling the seats apart and checked the nuts. they were pretty tight. I tried unscrewing the nut and turning the shaft where the nut was on and this is where i founda problem. when i turned the shaft instead of just spining in its place, it would make wide circles. I tried doing this to the right shock and it just spun in place. does this mean that the left shaft is bent or is it a used bushing or something????

If my shaft is bent what can i do? can that be repaired? does anyone know if its possible to buy just one coil ove and how much do you think it will cost?

[Craved]

definately sounds bent to me!!! but im not sure who could repair them!! heard there was a place near castle hill but i couldn't find them.... be very hard to get just one, as it would probably need to be off a R34, wreckers would like to sell as a bundle, unless to speak to access auto engineering in melbourne as they are the ones who import the tein's...

would be any bushes, unless within the shock, but either way it needs a rebuild or replacement!!! sorry mate, but not sure how your going to tackle this one!!!

[Champinco]

well i got my suspension fixed, and they only took about 3 days, which is pretty good.

fortunately my problem wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, or as it sounded to be. Advantage suspension fixed my car, nice guys too (owners name is Nathan). Initially we thought that we my shocker/damper needed reconditioning as the other 2 guys i took my suspension to said that my shocker was f!@#ed and it needed new shocks or reconditioning. it just so happened that the HR type suspension i had has already been reconditioned and were in really good nic. the problem was that it "ran out" of gas, as the damper consists of gas and oil mixed together. so he just filled it in with new shit. and good as new.

A note for everyone with stuffed suspension, shocker, springs etc...always go to a couple of suspension places cause some try ripping u off, telling u, u cant fix em, and they're not rebuildable, but coincidentally they have a set of new dampers for 800 they can give to u!!!!

not naming anyone!!! cough cough mt.alexander road, cough...cough