Hey guys i installed my tein basics on my 97 cav yesterday. It went really really well for my first time. I got it done in al ittle over 2 hours. I just have a few questions since i am new to coilovers, I did search but didnt find an answer. Question 1. when i jack the car all the way up and both wheels are off the ground, is it normal for the spring to decompress and be fairly loose on the strut because i am pretty sure the coilover uses the car to compres it correct?? Question 2. When i take a hard slow turn is it normal to hear creaking? and Question 3. Do the springs break in and eventually drop a little lower, because when i looked at the car this morning it seemed to look a hair lower than when i was finished with the install last night. Thanks in advance guys!
come on guys i just wanna know if i installed these right?
1) yes
2) may need new strut mounts
3) quality springs = no
They are new mounts
and the threads are equal on both sides in the front but the car sits a tiny bit higher on the passengers side...
your probably not on level surface. even though it looks level it may not be.
lowered cars always look different at every angle and everytime u look at them specially to the owner imo
What sort of bearing do those come with on the top in the front?
If it can't turn freely, then you'll get noises.
I really have no idea i am not very mechanically inclined (if you cant tell already) i am still learning. my buddies did alot of it for me..all i know is when i turn slowly especially if i am turning up an incline is creaks...not really loud...kind of like when u step on a wood floor in a house but muffled...we followed the directions step by step, i bought brand new mounts, everything is tight as hell we used and air gun and a torque wrench...so i dont know maybe they are just breaking in and they will quit it...i would really like to figure it out tho because it wasnt a cheap kit... i dont wanna damage it.
the creaking seems to be getting less...is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Ok this is driving me NUTS!!! I have eliminated a couple of things. First i thought maybe the wheel was rubbing..It comes REALLY close, but it doesnt rub. I checked all the bolts everything is tight tight. As for the bearings, the strut mounts are brand new so i dont see how the bearing could be bad. If they could be..how can i check or fix it? Also would it help to put some kind of lubricant or something on the assembly? with the warm weather it sound worse now...its like a creaking when i turn, then a subtle popping noise when the wheel goes straight agian, and it seems to only be the drivers side. Can some one PLEASE shed some light on this?
Ok i just read somehting interesting...the top strut mount bolts were tightend with and air gun....the rears were not. The creakin is in the front..not the rear. i just read that these bolts are not supposed to be tightned beyond 25 pound of trorqe...could my problem be they are way too tight and it isnt give enough flex?
If the front strut mount bolts were tightened with an air gun, they may very likely be completely stripped. That would cause clunking though, not really creaking.
The top nut on the strut shaft holding it to the strut mount should be tightened uber-tight with an impact wrench.
You're talking about your front bearings being fine because the mounts are new. I've never installed the Tein's so I have no idea how they engage the front bearing. Do they press up against the stock mount bearing somehow? How so?
Ground Control supplies their own bearings with their kit so the stock one isn't used at all. That's why I'm not sure what to say when it comes to yours. Does someone have pics of how the front goes together on top of the spring?
http://www.prostreetonline.com/buy/tein_type_basic_coilovers/
Thats a link of the tein basics. the springs just slide right onto the strut (obviously) Then the silver spring seat goes on top, then on top of that goes the strut mount. It was a really simple install..so i just done unerstand whats going on. It must be some little detail i overlooked.. and the strut bolt is very tight used an air gun on that.
so theres no bearings at all between the mounts and the seat?
It mentions that you need 00-05 style mounts in the front. Is that what you bought?
And again... is there no bearing involved? If there's nothing that allows the spring to turn freely in relation to the mount, then that will cause all sorts of creaking noises and is the source of your problems.
Hopefully someone else with some first hand experience with the Tein basic kit can provide some insight into how it's supposed to be set up.
Yes i did buy the 2000-2005 mounts and i followed the directions on the assembly sheet to the T. The mounts also came with the a upper spring seat which in my guess the bearings would be?
P.S. they were the monroe mounts from Advanced Auto parts
contact jersey kid, he has the tein basics he might be able to shed some light on it
The basics come with an upper spring seat that in turn sits on the stock strut mount. So the Stock bearings are used.
Unoath- You say you get a creaking around a long fast turn. Does it creak the whole way around the turn? Or just when you give a steering input?
Go Go OG Traction!!
Just an update for those who care to know. I figured out that there is a slight difference in the rear and front spring seats that the teins come with. Well, somehow the rears ended up on the front, and the fronts ended up on the rears, stupid mistake. Anyways after jacking the car up and staring at the suspension for like an hour i really came to the conclusion that the springs seats could not be causing my problem, i would imagine they would cause clunking not creaking or popping. all the the other struts looked absolutley normal except the drivers side front (where the noise was coming from) Somehow, someway the spring got binded up, after jacking the car up enough to completely decompress the spring it let loose, i made sure the bearing was turning, i washed all the dirt out, greased it with lithium grease compressed the spring agian and hand turned the whole assembly to make sure it was working ok. I let the car down took it for a drive and its quiet as a mouse. the only damage is a tear in the dust boot and a wear sport on my strut from the spring hitting. friggin bizzare. when i get to it i will swap the spring seats, but for now they should be fine.
