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Rattles and grinds and vibrations oh my....

5K views 46 replies 10 participants last post by  CBlurrSRT4 
#1 · (Edited)
My 05 SRT-4 has 130K miles. I replaced the control arm bushings with poly bushings about 15-20k miles ago. I installed BC coilovers and Hotckis sway bars about 10k miles ago.

Over the last 6 months, my front suspension has been gradually acting up more and more. At first it was just a small rattle once in a while when I'd hit a rather large bump in the road. Then it turned into louder rattling and vibrations over medium bumps. Now it clunks and grinds and vibrates over almost any bump or dip in the road, and while I'm turning. At first I thought it was the axles because the vibrations and grinding feel more pronounced when turning.

Everything suspension related -feels- tight and solid when i'm under the car and banging/hitting things. However, that's just based on my own strength and leverage, not the weight of the car.

While dicking around last weekend and trying to track down the rattling and stuff, I pulled off the sway bar and drove it around. All symptoms and shit vanished - it drove as smooth as ever. So, I regreased the sway bar and reinstalled it, and the grinding and vibrations came back just as they were before.

Any ideas? Is the sway bar causing the issues? Or is it the axles or something else and the sway bar is simply magnifying that issue?
 
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#4 ·
I was having a lot of creaks and groans at less than 60k. I felt it was worth it to upgrade all these items this year. I tested things by bouncing the corners and braking and weaving and all the other telltale tests but it was never consistent, it just gets worse over time.

Sway bar bushing ft/rr (poly)
Endlinks ft/rr (poly)
Inner/outer tie rods
Hubs and bearings (do bearings at least)(I had snapped a stud so I just did hubs too)
Strut mounts (all four)(this makes a huge difference)
Ft LCAs (moog PS and poly) ( i had all poly, much prefer these)

Even the parts that i didn't know were worn were obviously going bad once I got them out. Do all of the above and the car will be as quiet as when it was new, no lie.

The rear LCA rubber is very loose so I have DCR LCA's going in as well.

I also blew my two rear struts and I have coilovers going in soon.

I really think your problems are coincidental and it's more than that. Also torque everything to spec don't be lazy on torque. I can't tell you except to say that all my work was a few months ago it very solid and quiet. Now all I hear is my MPx exhaust drone and everything that rattles in the cabin lol





Sent from my Corded phone
 
#5 ·
Also make sure the sway bar bushings are installed correctly. I've seen people put them on in the wrong order and that will cause noise to. The sway bar bushings bolt to the control arms so once you have it off check your lca bushings for play.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Got the car up in the air this morning and loosened all sway bar bolts and re-tightened them to the proper specs. No change to how it drives and feels.
I did notice some play in the passenger-side axle, though. How much up and down play should there be between the intermediate and cv shaft? Or, is any play too much and this is from where my problems are coming?


 
#14 ·
Got the car up in the air this morning and loosened all sway bar bolts and re-tightened them to the proper specs. No change to how it drives and feels.
I did notice some play in the passenger-side axle, though. How much up and down play should there be between the intermediate and cv shaft? Or, is any play too much and this is from where my problems are coming?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-unt0fxX2s&feature=youtu.be
That axle is not in all the way.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I'm not sure you should have any play in the intermediate shaft. The axle should have very minimal play. The other things to check are the tie rods, wheel bearings (hub assemblies or whatever), and struts/ strut mounts. You should take it all apart to check, only takes about 30 mins per side. You said the control arms and sway bar bushings are cool and there isn't anything else down there. Good luck
 
#9 ·
Did you take the knuckle apart to check each part? I've had tie rods that I couldn't tell how bad they were until I took it off. There's not much to the entire suspension then what's already been mentioned so one of those parts is causing your issue. Also how are your wheel bearings? Take the rotor and caliper off and rotate the bearing by hand. Good luck
 
#11 ·
If you have any questions let me know. I'm gonna be replacing both of my control arms today so everything will be fresh in my mind lol. I personally wouldn't check the bearings with the tires or the rotors on. The tires and rotors add allot of weight. Just suck it up and tear it apart.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Yeah... It is there to kinda keep the dust and debris out of the joint. Not exactly the typical o-ring application where you are making a impenetrable seal.

JMHO. I noticed it too on mine and saw no recess for the o-ring to rest.

Strange... Conflicting info w/ @enginjoe. Will hit the manual to see what truly belongs (if possible).
 
#19 · (Edited)
Splines on the int. shaft look okay to me, as do the splines inside the axle. Anyone notice anything out of the ordinary?
 

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#21 ·
While looking up "srt-4 intermediate shaft" on Google, I'm noticing some others seem to have that o-ring as well. Hmmm...


Took everything apart on the passenger side. Bearing feels good. Calipers and brackets and such are tight. LCA bushings still look fine. It seems like the next option is to replace the axle. But, everyone says to avoid parts store axles and to buy OEM. I'd hate to drop $200 on an axle (or $400 on both if I want to do it right) and have that -not- fix the problem.

Ugh.
 
#25 ·
Then I guess it is your decision if you want to test their warranty. Keep n mind that normal spirited driving on the street on an otherwise stock car, OEM specs should be good enough. I do not know what your power level is and driving style is like to say anything else.
 
#27 ·
I think I need new ball joints. I bought these only about 20k miles ago from either Autozone or Oreilly. But they're notchy and stiff and have shiny metal bits in the grease. Well, in the very limited grease that was in there. The driver side one was almost dry. Not sure if that groove is supposed to be there to allow grease to flow from top to bottom or if it's been worn into the ball from lack of grease. Either way, I don't think they should be notchy and stiff in their operation like they are :p
Currently waiting on new Moog ball joints. Reassembly will have to wait until next weekend.
 

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#30 ·
New axles and ball joints went in a few days ago and I got an alignment today.
Everything is smooth again except for what feels like the sway bar moving or binding or something.
When I installed the sway bars (Hotchkiss), there were no instructions for torque specs on the end links so I just tightened them down until the nuts hit the bolt shoulders. Is that proper or did I tighten them too much and maybe compressed the bushings too much?
 
#33 ·
Nope! My bolts are pointed upwards towards the top of the car. I do have more exposed threads, tho.

Is it a clunking sound? I had an issue where I kept getting a clunking sound with an aftermarket sway bar. When I jacked up both sides of the car and got both wheels off the ground, I could grab the sway bar and shake it and it would clunk. Turned out to be worn bushings.

If this is your issue, you can temporarily eliminate rattle/clunk by wrapping some electrical tape around your sway bar where the bushing is - just enough to make it snug in the bushing when installed (one or two times around). Should eliminate the clunk until you install the new bushings.

No, more like a grinding when I accelerate. It's smooth when I'm crusing.
Sway bar is tight and doesn't move...
 
#32 ·
While dicking around last weekend and trying to track down the rattling and stuff, I pulled off the sway bar and drove it around. All symptoms and shit vanished - it drove as smooth as ever. So, I regreased the sway bar and reinstalled it, and the grinding and vibrations came back just as they were before.

Any ideas? Is the sway bar causing the issues?
Is it a clunking sound? I had an issue where I kept getting a clunking sound with an aftermarket sway bar. When I jacked up both sides of the car and got both wheels off the ground, I could grab the sway bar and shake it and it would clunk. Turned out to be worn bushings.

If this is your issue, you can temporarily eliminate rattle/clunk by wrapping some electrical tape around your sway bar where the bushing is - just enough to make it snug in the bushing when installed (one or two times around). Should eliminate the clunk until you install the new bushings.
 
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