Well I replaced the top mounts in the rear and the noise went away on one side, but still exists on the other side. (GDA STi mounts)

So, i took it apart and tightened the bolts down... when i noticed the spring diameter is very VERY close to the strut body!! This is due to the fact that the spring is angled on the strut. Seems like the geometry of the suspension is outta whack! (explaining DMS's fix using a GC8 mount and a custom adaptor)

Well looks to me thats the problem. Originally I thought it was where the top piece, that holds the spring in place, meets the bottom of the top mount. I thought the fit was loose and there was some movement, HOWEVER, upon removing the top mount, that piece was impossible to move and was in fact stuck on the top mount. Maybe this has something to do with the angle of the spring however... but thats too hard to control how it seats on the top mount.

Looking at the stock springs, they are nice and WIDE around the strut body... so maybe that is how subaru got it to work with minimal clunking. (there are reports of clunking on stock cars though) The aftermarket springs that have a constant diameter sometimes clunk without the correct suspension geometry to compensate.

another answer, although isolated, is the rear sway bar... mine came in contact with the rear lateral links... because i had raised my car, used shorter kartboy endlinks, and an adjustable aftermarket sway bar set on stiffest. This set up caused the sway bar to angle downward and on the stiffest setting, the extra piece on the sway bar touched the lateral link. This was due to my lifting of the car, which probably affected the suspension geometry in some way.

anyways, thats what i have found... i have no clue how to fix it really... i will just have the clunk on the rear right side until i change my set up and somehow something else will clunk.

 

dude, the reason you have clunk is because of one thing. DMS!! Their 40s are absolutely one of the worst products available for Subarus. But then again, if you'd done any research, you'd know that. You'd also be able to easily find out exactly what is causing the clunk with a search on either this board or the other. IIRC, the clunking comes from the fact that the bushings in the 40s are total garbage and allow grease/oil to escape. i know i'm being kind of negative here, but it pisses me off when people spend their money without doing any research. i could be totally wrong in the assumptions i've made and i do apologize if i've made any false assumptions.

fyi, the only fix is to pay for shipping to and from lachute subaru in quebec, canada so that DMS can rebuild the struts so that they can work for a couple more months.

 

well first of all, not DMS... second of all, the spring on my right side rear is angled and looks to have come in contact with the strut body... making that clunk.

i dont know why its angled and almost touching, but i am positive that is the cause of the noise since the left side doesnt clunk and the spring is not angled wierd. (prior to installing STi mounts, both rears clunked, but now only the right rear does)

only answers i have found by "doing a search" are "TEIN's have a 50/50 chance of clunking - its normal" and "the top mount bolt is coming loose". well its hard to believe 50% of a reputable suspension clunks regardless of what you do and the top bolt is not loose. so, i am trying to come to a conclusion as to why this occurs and to fix it on my car as well. that is all... if you have any facts you would like to contribute, I will gladly listen... otherwise, nevermind.

 

so, i messed with it a lil bit today... now the clunk is gone, but i have some squeaking... the spring is still coming in contact with the strut, this time its rubbing. now if only i knew how to actually FIX IT, ie. take off the strut, do something, and the spring sits straight and doesnt rub or hit the strut. (i know stock springs are nice and fat, maybe thats the fix)

 

I'm not familiar with the type of springs you are installing but one common problem with a rear clunk is how the top hat is facing Have a look here:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/sho...s=&threadid=36


And look at the very bottom. It ended up being my problem. Not sure if this is the case but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Peaty

 

cool, i figured that the problem had something to do with the top mount oritentation... and i checked mine, but the "OUT" and "--->" point in the right direction, so I am assuming that is not the problem. (mostly cuz I am out of time to pull it apart now)

Good find! I am sure this will solve many people's noise problems... including the 50% of TEIN owners who clunk.

As for me, its probably just the simple fact that my Ground Controls are crap...