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Clunking clanking Koni yellow sport after 19k miles

4K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Cab0oze 
#1 ·
Anyone else having a problem with their Koni Yellow / Sports?

I have less than 19k miles and <1.5 years and they are clanking and clunking over bumps. Its particularly bad in cold weather when the car has been sitting and struts haven't cycled at all.

They used to clunk in the cold but then once they had cycled a few times the clunking would stop. Now its constant. And to boot I have a constant minor shake in the steering wheel...despite having both sets of wheels/tires rebalanced.

I put in all new front OEM seats when I did the install..

I checked the torque on all the bolts and everything is to spec. Nice and tight.

Anyone else having this issue? I am about to send them back for warranty to Koni but that is a MAJOR PIA.

Lex
 
#3 ·
Just posted roughly the same response in another thread but it is *possible* it is your sway bar bushings and not your shocks. I had the exact same symptoms including the steering wheel shake. Good news is this is a relatively cheap fix, hardest part is labor (on the fronts that is). Now I'm not saying that is 100% sure what your problem is, but its a good possibility. Do they only clank when going over uneven road like hitting a manhole or something? Do they do it when hitting bumps at speed on the highway?

Try bouncing your car while stopped and see if there are any noises. If not, its probably not the shocks. Could still be the installation, but less likely unless you see broken/loose bolts or something.
 
#4 ·
Just posted roughly the same response in another thread but it is *possible* it is your sway bar bushings and not your shocks. I had the exact same symptoms including the steering wheel shake. Good news is this is a relatively cheap fix, hardest part is labor (on the fronts that is). Now I'm not saying that is 100% sure what your problem is, but its a good possibility. Do they only clank when going over uneven road like hitting a manhole or something? Do they do it when hitting bumps at speed on the highway?

Try bouncing your car while stopped and see if there are any noises. If not, its probably not the shocks. Could still be the installation, but less likely unless you see broken/loose bolts or something.
My man, thanks for responding.

Im "glad" you also had the same steeing wheel shake at highway speeds which I assume you solved with 4 new sway bar bushings?

They dont clank at highway speeds...or at least I dont hear it. At lower speeds its extremely noticeable.

I just received the OEM sway bar bushings. I did lots of research and apparently lots of guys are having the same issue from worn sway bar bushings.

I will let yall know the results as soon as I swap them out.

Thanks again!
 
#6 ·
Come to think of it I may have this problem. Stock shocks with eibach sportlines - slight steering wheel shake at around 110 (possible alignment issue because of driving over a deer) and there is a rattling in the back when going over small repeated bumps.
 
#8 ·
Update:

So I replaced the stock sway bar bushings, front and rear with new OEM units. Clanking noise stopped, but the wheel shake at high speeds remains, but only with the very expensive Michelin SuperSport summer tires (225s width which are within the design parameter for a 7.5 inch rim as per Michelin's website).

This doesn't happen with my Continental winter tires of the same width.

I've had the tires rebalanced twice by different shops and I get regular alignments...

I'm at a loss on the steering wheel shake at high speeds (70mph+). Hard to believe that a set of Michelin's, at $250 each tire, could be bad.
 
#9 ·
Tires mounted on different wheels I assume.

Swap your front and rear wheels (do not cross rotate, just front to back on same side) and see if the vibration moves from the steering wheel to the seat of your pants. If so, you have an issue with either a wheel being bent, or a tire tech that doesn't know his @sshole from a hole in the ground.

FYI, I put myself through college working as a tire tech. A tire can be balanced on the machine, and still cause a vibration especially with the lower profile tires more common these days. Look at your wheel weights. You should have weight on the inside and outside of the wheel, not just one or the other. Also, make sure you do not have multiple sets of weights in a single plane, ie weights on the inside of the wheel in one spot, and another set 90 or 180 degrees around also on the inside. This is referred to as "cross balancing" and is usually indicative of a lazy tire tech that either didn't pull the old weights off, or just kept hammering more on till the machine said zero. Even though the machine reads the tire as being in balance (it reads balance parallel to the wheel/perpendicular to the tread) it can still be out of balance laterally and you WILL feel that. It may also be a good idea to go to another tire shop for a second opinion.

My once preferred tire shop lost my business because they mounted a brand new set of Michelins, and one leaked. I brought it back, they said it was fixed, and it leaked again. I brough it back a third time, they crossed their arms and said the tire was defective, and refused to remove the tire (which they didn't do on the followup visit) to check for corrosion or cracks in the wheel. I brought it elsewhere, they scuff padded the corrosion, and the tire sealed up perfectly. Every shop has one dipshit that tries to cut a corner.
 
#10 ·
Are your summer tires chopped? Are you winter tires a different diameter?
If so, that is the exact same problem I have, although my vibration is pretty negligible, it is just the noise that kills me. Zeroing your toe may help if the balance isn't the issue.
Glad we solved at least half your problem.
 
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