Tried looking this up but could not find similar issue.

I had a noise in right front suspension area. Jacked up both sides, put jack stands under the car and went to work......moving everything possible and could not simulate the noise.

Finally, I grabbed the shock at the top....no movement or noise, grabbed the shock at the bottom.....no movement or noise. Both mounts were SOLID. Then I grabbed the middle where the 2 cylinders come together and there it was, 'the noise'.... exactly what I was looking for! The shock looks in perfect condition, its works perfectly when bouncing up and down on the front bumper, BUT, when I wiggle it in the middle, there is the slightest play which ends up creating a noise.......almost as if something may be loose ?! Not sure exactly (read not sure at all) how these shocks are put together internally, but my brain says, is there some kind of rubber gasket in there that has worn ? or is this minutia of movement the start of something more serious within the shock ?

Anyone had this problem.......not against buying new shocks, I'm just wondering out loud what the cause of this may be.

 

Depending on the shock type - Bilstein/Koni/Bodge

There are collars that tighten the shock to the strut. Sometimes these collars become loose and allow the shocks to bang against the shock body.

Sometimes it's as easy as taking the shock top nut off - lowering the shock back through the tower - taking off the dust cover - examining for damage - tightening the collar with the appropriate big honking wrench - putting the dust cover back on - reinserting the shock - tightening down the shock nut...

 

G-50....your comments sound exactly what my ears and brain were telling me. I have no experience with any of this, but will attempt to handle / read up on the process of this per your comments....thanks for the feedback.

 

Update:
'86 Euro 911

Got the front shock (green Bilstein) off, removed the dust cover and there is no shock collar....nothing to tighten. Now that I can see whats there, its clear that the 'dust cover' is what was making all the rattle/noise and if the Bilstein does not have a collar, then I simply need to manup when wrenching the shock back into the top mount which would stabilize the dust cover better ?! I will say, it was not much effort to loosen the top nut when initially removing the shock......I will re-assemble (5 min job) and hunker down when tightening and see if that is indeed the remedy.

Seems like I do need a strut buffer or boot or something....I google, but only came up with this and its supposed not to be used with Bilsteins.

Perhaps someone can confirm there are no collars inside the dust covers on these Bilsteins ?!

 

It could be the top nut (likely), or the bushings that the shock body rides in, inside the strut (less likely).

 

The dust cover get tensioned by the top nut (inside the trunk) holding the strut into the upper mount. Make certain it has 55 lbs-ft on it.

If you still experience noise from the strut, I'd recommend replacing the bushings inside the top of the strut housings as thats what centers and supports the shock inserts in place. These do exhibit wear over time as they are rarely maintained properly.

 

dont man up at all ..... 55 lbs isnt really that much .. if it still makes noise at that then something is worn or broken.

 

Well, I did not overly man up on tightening the top nut.....reached down wiggled middle of the shock and dust cover made no noise, no rattle and was firm. BTW, the bushings inside top strut housing appear fine.

Took car out for drive and noise/rattle is still there. Now I guess Iceman is right....something else is loose or broken. I've jacked the car up, taken tension off wheels and moved/felt/tightened visable stuff...shook wheel firmly (no play).....front right sway arm bushing does look a bit worn and bulged which i guess would cause slippage, but there is no metal to metal issues.

Weird thing is.....when driving straight, no issues. When driving straight over a small speed bump, no issues. The noise seems to be most prevalent (my ears don't hear like they used to) when making slow left turns.

If i could describe the noise it would be as if the bushing behind the front ride height adjustement cap was missing and just clanking periodically when tension is released or unreleased. I did check this and the bushing is very very squishy soft....

 

suspension noises under load are always tough to check

did you try shaking the shock on the other side to see if it does the same thing ? if it doesnt then i think you found your issue.

also check for loose brake pads , that can soemtimes get you too. Personally i would have considered this whole thing justification for shock replacement

 

Jacked the car up again.....took note of the front right sway bar bushing position. It was bulging out beyond its normal (with car down) position by at least 3/8 inch or more. I'm now betting this 'play' is my dull noise source.....thats just alot of slop and certainly when steering left (my main noise source), the sway bar would be more loaded...I would think.

RE: new shocks.....lol, I am new to this game, but starting to see that view rather quickly. I can also see why you guys work on your cars as much as possible rather than sourcing it out !

BTW....you guys have preference for these bushings....I guess these would work, but maybe there are better options. These would work also I assume.

I better edit this on case Ed Hughs reads this. I have searched around and guess hands down, that PolyBronze is H&S above in this product.

 

My rear shocks made noises each time I went over a small bump. I couldn't reproduce it any other way.

Turned out they were worn and when I replaced them, the noise was gone.

My 2 cents.

 

It might be a good idea to try some spray lube like Triflow on the rubber swaybar bushings.

 

Well...I bought some front sway bar bushings and they will go on when I get them.

Meanwhile, checked brakes....no rattle there.

One of the horns was rubbing on the valance....cushioned it.

I took off the rubber strip that conceals the 4 nuts that hold the front bumper on. 3 were tight, but the forth one (rattle side) is stripped. I think just the nut is stripped and it appears to have a plastic lining for the threads ? Anyhow, I will take it off tomorrow and find a new nut and wrench it down.

I'm possessed with this darn thing and only had it 3 months.

 

If it's a high pitched squeak that happens over bumps in the road, then you likely have metal on metal rubbing inside the A-arm from the torsion bar. This is caused by the rubber bushing "flowing" or deforming over years of pressure. The only cure is to change the bushings. This is a far better option of having to change the entire A-arm, which not that long ago was the only option.

The way to find out for sure it to remove the torsion bar and inspect for signs of rubbing. The sound it makes when this happens makes your 911 sound like a hoop-dee over parking lot driveways, usually when people are standing around looking at your car.

 

Thinking about how to fix my stripped front bumper nut which could also be part of my noise. The nut in question is shown in the 6th picture down on this link. Its clear that this nut simply screws onto the front bumper shock.

So, the question is.....is the bolt that this nut screws onto welded into the bumper shock ? If so, do I need to grind this out and weld on a new bolt.....or is there simpler DIY fix for this ?