marklemac

Thought I'd give an update to the on going saga re my MY02 STi with the knocking/clunking rear end.

First had the problem about 6 months ago and went into dealer to have the Subaru 'fix' applied. All was well for a short period of time and then it came back. Worse this time.

Went back in a 2nd time for the same fix again and this time it was cured for a period of a few hours and then it came back.

Went in again 3 weeks ago, and was told that the spoiler and boot were loose and this was causing the creaking noise, and also that the Subaru fix was done again. All was fine for about an hour after collecting the car.

Now I'm not happy. Went back to dealer and told them, so car is booked in again in 10 days time for 2 days this time for a diagnostics. Am told that the TOP guy from Subaru will come to to look at it.

Got to the point yesterday where the car was knocking so loudly AND I could feel the car knocking, getting vibrations through the steering wheel and under the seat, that I thought **** it, and I went to visit my local friendly garage that I use for bits and pieces.

They put it straight on their compression type ramp and applied load to the rear suspension, and they could immediately see that the nsr shock absorber is knackered. Compresses down and doesn't go back up. Stutters. Generally it is f*****.

I'm not happy. Mechanic said to me that the dealer probably has the ramp that lets the wheels hang loose, hence that fact that when I drive away from them, the problem is cured, becuase the shock has had time to relax/reset.

So, I called my dealer and TOLD them what was the problem with my car, and that I want new shocks fitted, how soon can this be done.And I also told them that the TOP Subaru guy won't be needed to diagnose my car.

Anyhow, I'm awaiting a call back from them.

Finally, I can see light at the end of the tunnell (fingers crossed anyway).

Mark.

Road Rager

thats bad mate, i assume all the work has been done under warrenty tho?

marklemac

All done under warranty, and SO will the new shocks - rest assured :-)

GregK

Glad to hear you've found the answer Mark - Sparsh*tts should hang their heads in shame.......

Cheers

Greg

marklemac

*Update*

Dealer has called and one shock absorber is on order (warranty). Should arrive next week sometime.

Yippee - I can't wait. I can then finally get my geometry done :-)

Road Rager

hey, if you know the Prodrive geometry pass it my way, im dying to get my 93 wrx done, but cant find the settings

GregK

Mark - you should make them replace the pair - one brand new shock and one that's done a few thousand miles on the same axle might cause handling probs - all IMHO of course (flamesuit on.....)

Monkeh

The should definatly know to replace the shocks in pairs, that's really bad !!

I'dd get on the blower again !! and then find another dealer for next time

marklemac

mmmmmm, I spoke with them and they said that Subaru will only be replacing one shock. I did question the fact that don't both need doing and they said no.

Any hard evidence to show that the other one should be replaced ?

Road Rager

dunno about hard evidence but IMHO they should always be done as a pair, just like discs, pads, and tyres.

Give em grief, or bust the other shock so they have to do it, lol

marklemac

How much does a shock cost ?? , as I am happy to buy a new one for the other side if this is the safe thing to do.

I might be able to convince the dealer to fit it for free.

sillysi

Not sure about the price for an STI but the P1s are £275 each. Mine needed one replacing under warranty at 40K miles and there was no way they would do both so I had to pay for the other. Guess what, the one I payed for started leaking after a month and they had to replace it under warranty! They told me that the P1 struts had probably been on the shelf for a long time and were knackered!!

marklemac

geeez, thats a lot more than I thought....

Bugger.

shame I can't sabotage the other one :-)

msp1

I've had 2 "fixes" done to my STi7. Thought the second fix, carried out about 4 months ago had finally cured the problem. Last night it came back.

Has anyone managed to get the prodrive springs fitted, did this cure the knocking? Getting fed up with this now, as are a lot of other people.

Mike

simo

my 8 has just started to do this. local dealer said that there is a fix and he may change both shocks as well. marklemac, what was the subaru 'fix' done to your car as it appears not to work to well?

simo

marklemac

simo,

the 'fix' as far as far as I know is to replace the top mounts with a modded one from the MY03.

The car is going in on Monday to have the shock replaced so I will be able to comment more next week once I've done a few hard miles on it

simo

ok

thought so, he was on about replacing top part (mines a my03 so don't know what with?) would appreciate being kept informed, maybe struts replacement is req'd.

simon

SCOOBAY

my STi8 went into dealers on wednesday with n/s/r shocker fault.dealer said the jack was insecure.my wife took the car into them & told them that i had jacked the car up the previous night to check the shocker,i could lift the wheel/tyre suspension assembly a good couple of inches before it came under any load.i tried same on o/s & got zero lift.dealer then decided to take car for a test drive,with wife driving,& eventually agreed that the shocker was goosed.i am beginning to wonder about the ability of subaru technicians who can't even find something as simple as a goosed shocker!!they have now ordered a new shocker/strut assy,should be here mid april. a goodwill gesture,perhaps free fitting & geometry setup on PHP,just to instill some customer satisfaction after all the hassles i've had in 5 months/4k of ownership wouldn't go wrong either
hope someone from my dealer is reading this


Del

DJB

My MY02 STi has just had its 30000 mile service. Until this service, I wasn't aware of any funny noises but since there's a variety of new worrying noises. I'm fairly sure that some of the noise is from the brake pads sliding about in the calipers when braking at low speeds - the pads were removed and cleaned as part of the service. As well as this noise, there's a definite NSR suspension knocking. It is only audible at low speeds particularly when reversing and turning low speed right hander corners.
I parked up on a kerb tonight with NS on the road. I was surprise to find that compressing the NSR suspension (the shock absorber bounce test) recreated the noise on recoil. After the car was parked in my driveway, the noise went away.

I presume that like marklemac, the noise is from a faulty shock absorber and is only evident on loading the suspension. I'd be interested to know if this is what others have noticed.

D.

marklemac

**Update**

New Shock Absorber fitted. 200 miles later and its soo lovely and quiet.

Bliss.

Long may it continue