I changed out all my end links and sway bar bushings... didnt change a thing.

I normally only get the sound when only 1 rear tire goes over a bump. If they both do it simultaneously I dont hear it.

They dont make control arm bushings do they?

I'm not sure what this is/could be...so any help would be great.

 

Where's the clunk come from? I've got a Cobb RSB (basically the Hotchkis bar) and I'm on the orginial endlinks. About a week after install, I started getting some knocking from the rear passenger side suspension. It get the sound when driving at slower speeds (sub 30mph). I know the sound is coming from some component of the sway bar system (endlinks, sway bar bushing, etc). I have also read that people have replaced their endlinks with OEM endlinks and are still getting the same noise so I'm left to believe that the noise is not coming from the endlinks.

 

Its coming from the rear passenger side. I'm not sure which component. I'm contemplating getting some bushings from www.mynismo.com and star replacing all the bushing in the rear end just to see if i can find it.

I know my sound is not coming from the end links cuz I replaced them when I replaced the oem sways with stillen. I also replaced the sway bushings, so I know its not related to the sways.

I'm guessing Control arm...I've called a couple dealers and of course they say that can't know without a $140 diagnostic but the parts manager said that the most common rear end issue is the control arm.

Which is why i want to replace the bushings...

 

You replaced the sway bar bushings as well? Are you saying you replaced the polyurethane bushings that came with the Stillen bars? If so, what did you replace them with that didn't work?

I'm doing to inspect my car this weekend and try a couple of things to fix it. This appears to be a common problem with these cars running aftermarket rear sway bars and replacing the endlinks with the upgraded 05 endlinks doesn't seem to fix the problem. Plus the sound, IMO, is too clunky to be coming from a tiny endlink. It has to be something else related to the aftermarket bar or something influenced by the bar on that side of the car. Either way, it's a sway bar problem because the sound appears when you install the bar.

 

I didnt get any polyurethane bushings with the stillen sways, was i supposed to?

I replaced that with a set i bought from somewhere online...but they weren't the problem.

The sound did not appear when i installed them. I was going to install them anyways and I thought that it would fix it...thought it was an endlink issue. Thats why I went with new everything for the sways. It didnt fix the problem and now it seems to be getting worse.

 

I have had similar issues and have not found the solution either. I have the revised Z suspension. I got a good deal on some Dspecs so I am going to try replacing the shocks, I will let you know if that solves my problems.

 

I put in the rear Dspecs today and there is a noticeable difference. It still happens sometimes but much less frequently. I am not sure what happened, maybe a bolt was not properly torqued last time or maybe the shorter Z shocks change the suspension geometry in a bad way, or maybe the shocks were just blown.

I need to get another part from Riverside before I can do both end links and once that is done hopefully the noise will be gone. I think I will also grease the heck out of the sway bar bushings.

 

i ahve the same problem, but in the front.

 

^did you try replacing your end links?

 

no.. i guess ill ahve to look into that.

 

You can get them from Riverside Infiniti, they are not very expensive. I would recommend replacing with new OEM ones to see if that is your noise. The noise might come back and then you will need aftermarket adjustable end links that are far more expensive. I think Riverside even sells them via ebay.

 

I just woke up with a thought. Check the top nut on the shock that holds the whole thing together. Next chance I get I am going to take mine back out and make sure they are as tight as they should be. I have no idea how to get the torque right on them since you have to use a wrench. Anyway I am going to make sure mine are properly tightened somehow.

 

Yesterday I inspected and removed my Cobb rear bar (it's a rebadged Hotchkis bar) and inspected it to see what was clunking. Nothing was extremely obvious. Two things that caught my attention were that the bar, with the endlinks detached, is extremely hard to move even the bushings well greased. I'm a decently strong guy and it took me a healthy tug to get the bar to move up and down. When I first installed the bar, I noticed that is was very hard to move, but figured it would loosen up. It didn't. The bar shouldn't drop when you remove the endlinks, but the bar shouldn't be extremely either. Also, I noticed on the passenger side that the welded in collar was a crack under 1/8" away from the bushing while the driver side collar was flush against the bushing. When I removed the bar, the bar U-clamps showed signs of slight movement as noted in the marring of where the nuts sit a top the clamp to secure them to the chassis. The u-clamps we're provided are generic with oval slots cut out where as the OEM U-clamps have holes, not ovals, for a perfect fit. With the aftermarket clamps, you can move the bar slightly left to right (maybe 3/16") and front to back nearly 1/2" before torquing the nuts down.

I inspected the endlinks and I didn't feel any internal play in the joints with them mounted or removed. I'm sure they're heavily taxed and should be replaced, but there's no obvious noise or damage with them.

When I inspected the bushings, they were well greased, but the last 1/4" of bushing is totally smooth and there wasn't much grease there. It was clear to me that this area was what making the bar very hard to move. It was simply grabbing the bar. What I did was something move of you won't want to do. I sanded the bar down where the bushing attached. The bar is powdercoated which is very thick. I sanded down the paint to the point that the steel was showing through in a couple of spots. I regreased the bushings, but wasn't able to get them really greased up because I didn't have much grease available. With the bar mounted up (endlinks not attached), the bar was much easier to move. Maybe 70% easier. I then removed the bar from the chassis. Per the Cobb instructions, I attached the endlinks then mounted the bar to the chassis and centered the bar. Orginially I had the bar mounted as far forward (towards the front of the car) as it could go. This time I pushed the bar to the back. This made the endlinks (in the softest setting) a bit more perpendicular to the bar which is probably a good thing. I also situated the bar so that the collars were flush with the bushings.

I drove around for 15 miles yesterday and 15 miles this morning. There's no more clunking. Have I fixed the problem? I'd say maybe 50/50. One thing that is clear to me though is the noise doesn't appear to point a guilty finger at my 65K OEM endlinks. If the links were the problem, I would think the clunk would have returned within a mile or two. IMO, the problem appears to be related to one or more the following:

1) Super tight bushings
2) Lack of lubrication on the outside of the bushings
3) The bar is too fat for the bushings
4) The u-clamps are not stable and shift slightly after mounting
5) The bar should be adjusted to adjusted so that it's as far back as possible.
6) Shot endlinks (maybe)

I'll post back if the clunk returns.

 

There shouldn't be a lot of movement in the bushings. The sway bars are supposed to simply brace the two sides of suspension together. Its the

The clunk i'm getting, and I'm assuming everyone else, is metal on metal.

I would say the first thing to check is def. the end links. Many people have fixed their noise with this sound. I know that this isn't the thing for me. ENdlinks, sways, bushings are new. So its likely another bushing.

Front end clunk is probably your strut mounts...I've fixed that before. Maybe i'll change out the rear end mounts...

 

The clunk has come back a little and I'm almost certain what it is and what's causing it. It's the combination of three things:

1) The polyurethane bushings provided with most all aftermarket sway bars
2) The "sticky" grease provided in the kits
3) The OEM endlinks

First off, everyone says the problem comes from worn OEM endlinks. This doesn't appear to be true. Here's why. If my endlinks were worn, then why is it that when I regreased the bushing two days ago, the clunk went away? The endlinks can't magically repair themselves. The sound you're hearing DOES come from the endlinks, but it's not because they're worn. When you mount up an aftermarket sway bar with tight fitting poly bushings and grease them with the provided sticky waterproof grease, the bar is very resistant to move in the bushings. The bushings require a lot of force to rotate the bar up and down (endlinks unattached). I'd venture to say that when bar is mounted and the bushings/mounts are torqued to spec, it probably takes over 80lbs of force to get the bar to initially rotate in the bushing. I'm a pretty strong guy, work out often, and it takes me a very healthy tug to get the bar to move downwards. With the OEM rubber bushings, it takes maybe 5lbs. I could make that bar move with my fingers.

When you initially do the aftermarket bar install, you've greased up the bushings nicely across the whole face of the bushing. You drive around for the first few days and there's no noise or clunk. Then as the days go on and the grease works it way off the outer edges of the bushing, which are smooth and in 100% direct contact with the bar, the bar starts to become very resistant to move in the bushing. This lack of movement or response in the bushing, as well as the force needed to move the bar, requires the endlinks to have to work overtime to lift up/push down the bar. Not only is the bar a lever to resist roll in the chassis, but the bar must be able to move up and down through the range of suspension travel. At slow speeds, usually under braking and on almost smooth surfaces, you start to hear this "clunk clunk". The clunk is most definitely coming from within the endlink itself as it tries to move the bar up and down slightly. The bar is slow to respond so something inside the endlink pops and the sound is transmitted to and through the bar because the endlinks have direct metal to metal connection. At higher speeds and on larger bumps, the suspension movement up and down helps the endlinks do their job hence the reason you don't hear the clunking under there situations. Using aftermarket endlinks will most likely get rid of the clunk because the endlinks are far beefier and apparently can handle the lack of bar movement caused by the bushings.

The other option is to grease the bushing with slicker and lighter weight grease and modify the bushing (ie modify the smooth outer edges and make them ribbed) so that grease will remain applied to nearly all portions of the bushing, just not the internal 50% area of the bushing. The overall idea is to allow the bar to move easily.

I'm going to do a couple videos and DIY of my findings and modification to the bushing. I'm 90% certain I can get rid of the clunk without resorting $150 endlinks.