Alrighty, I could use some suggestions. I have been getting a double creak from the left rear for a while now. It creaks as the suspension is loaded going over a bump, then unloaded coming off the bump. I think I can eliminate the springs and shocks because it was making the noise before I put my KW coilovers on last fall and has continued to make the noise. I have done the following:

removed, greased, and reinstalled rear swaybar and endlinks
swapped inner CV joints left-to-right and packed with new grease
checked torque on subframe bolts and alignment bolts
inspected ball joints and rubber suspension bushings.
greased and replaced the axle nut.
the wheel feels solid when I try to wiggle it with the car up on stands.

Based on several searches, my next culprits are the wheel bearing and the hub. I have new bearings ready to go in and will likely replace them in a couple of weeks. Are there any other suspects I should be considering? Can I diagnose a hub failure without taking it apart? Would it be better to order a new one and replace it anyway while I'm in there?

 

I would not rule out your KWs. Perhaps the top shaft nut was loose on both the OEM and KWs or the 2 tophat bolts are loose (a coincendence I agree, but it is harder to torque stuff on that side due to the fuel pipes).


If the bearing were so bad that they were clicking, you would be hearing groaning noise while turning as well.


I have the same sound (on the passenger rear) with my Miata track car and it drives me crazy. I'm going to spend another 30 minutes retorqing everything I can get my hand on for the 3-4th time again tonight.

Good luck with your creak.

 

I had the same issue. Turns out that when I installed my coilovers, I tightened the bolts while the car was still on the lift. We fixed it by lifting the car, lossening the upper A arm and the lower shock mount. Then we compressed the corner and tighten them back up. One corner at a time.

In the DIY Coilover install, that step is listed, but not enough details as to why you should drop the car on the ground before tightening them. Now we know why.

 

[QUOTE=TubeDriver,Jun 9 2006, 09:45 AM] I would not rule out your KWs.

 

Update?

 

I had an autocross today. Hopefully, I'll try your suggestion tomorrow.

 

dragging this back from the dead... did you ever figured out the cause of your creaking?

i'm now in the same boat, except i've had my kwv3s for quite a while now, and only in the past week or two has my rear begun creaking like crazy at any low speed "bump"...it also creaks/clicks while rolling backward slowly, oddly. i feel like i'm in a old haunted pirate ship, it's pretty unpleasant.

i'm 100% positive it's not the hub nut click.

does this sound like your issue? if so, what was the culprit?

thanks!

 

bump...

anyone know what could be causing loud low speed creaking from the rear? it happens whenever the car starts to roll/move (backward or forward), as well as over low-speed bumps, etc.

it only happens when the car is moving, can't replicate it at a standstill (i.e. pushing down on the car, etc).

shocks are fine, alignment is fine. it's not the hub nut popping and clicking (had that before, know what it sounds like). nothing visually looks bent, loose or otherwise out of whack.

axles? diff? (yikes) cv joints? anything i should look at? any advice?

 

Try pulling off the wheel and yanking on the hub with your hands. If that doesn't produce your sounds, work your way around on each control arm, link, axle, etc...

The compliance is somewhere, you just have to find it.


When my car started making pops in bump on the right rear corner, it was the upper control arm's inboard bushings. Same symptom, one clunk as it loaded up followed by one clunk as it unloaded. I couldn't reproduce it with the wheel on, but it was easy to diagnose with the wheel off. The vibration was easy to feel when pulling on the hub, but the deflection wasn't visible until I started pulling on the arm itself.

Hope this helps.

 

have op identified and fixed the problem?