After my S-tech install im starting to get a random creaking from the front area during stand still turning or low speed turning. A couple ideas I have after doing some searching showed it might be a "conical washer" or maybe a top hat that isnt aligned? I really dont want to venture in pulling the suspension out again by myself. How much do you think a Subaru dealership might charge to take a look at it? Im really turned off by dealerships right now, especially SOG, but I was thinking about going to Royal maybe.
Too much. I really don't know, but I would suggest learning how to do this especially if you are going to be modding your car more in the future. More problems could arise down the road and I personally wouldn't want to spend money on a dealership everytime something happened. Worst case scenario you can just disconnec the strut from the brake knuckle and the upper mount bracket and pull the whole thing out without ever needing spring compressors or anything. Then again the springs could just be settling or the rubber piece at the top hat could not be seated correctly.
That is true, I think Ill take a little more of a look at it later tonight. Also, my drivers side strut is showing more threads above the nut than the passenger side. By about 3 I think. Both are tightened down.
If both are tightened down, it may be that the spring is not seated correctly on the perch or something is cockeye'd. Could also be that the rubber piece is bunched up under the spring which would cause more threads to show. I would just make sure everything is flush and nothing looks sloppy especially on the tophat portion and the spring perch at the bottom.
Okay I did a quick visual inspection to see if I could eyeball where the noise was coming from. Seems as though the bottom of the spring isnt rotating with the middle and upper portion of the spring, thus causing the twisting, almost as if it is stuck somehow causing the creaking. That is the best as I could honestly describe it. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88361&highlight=springs+creaking me thinks its post number 3 in this thread , I might give that a try. Bah, I dont think Im going to screw with it. Im taking it to a dealership tommorrow to look at it and possibly get an alignment done. Ive learned my lesson before trying to troubleshoot myself. Im no ASE mechanic and I dont know enough about these cars yet to really attempt a lot myself. Plus its my daily. I just hope someone at SOG can help out without charging an armload to look at it. Im almost positive its the conical washer.
So which direction did you install the washer? If its incorrect you will have already torn your top hats, an experience I am all too familiar with It is also entirely possible that you did not seat the spring correctly. There is a specific grove in which the bottom portion of the spring is supposed to sit and sometimes if you are not paying attention it can adjust when you are retightenting the strut. This is also an experience I am all too familiar with. It could also be, as Tom put it, the struts adjusting to the spring itself. The s-techs drop the car quite low and place considerable strain on portions of the suspension so odds are they are just adjusting to it. Of course, there could be something entirely unrelated that you loosened but did not torque back to spec during the reinstall. Just some ideas
Preciate the advice Alex! Number one seems the most likely, number two comes in next, and the third seems the least likely to me. Either way though I brought the car with me this morning to drop it by SOG this afternoon. I just dont have the time to fool with it. I would on Saturday but I have an event Ive got to cover so I couldnt then. Also I dont want to fubar anything else up in the process.