Car: 97 S14
Suspension mods: JIC Magic FLT-A2’s, Stock everything else… For the meantime.
Problem: The rear end makes ver loud and prominent noises. Noises such as creaks, pops, clunks, and bangs. I think the creaking noise is the spring on the coilovers… Is there a way to make them hush-hush?
Before everyone tells me to make sure my nuts and bolts are tight, I already checked that. I took everything out to make sure they weren’t cross-threaded at all. Everything is in and torqued.
The noises are most prominent when taking off from a stand still.
I had a clunking where my hanger bearing was a week or so ago… Same diagnosis… Taking off from a standstill. Thought it was the hanger bearing (it was, but it was destroyed cause of the actual problem) and it was the bushing of the driveshaft wasn’t tight enough… so much play it was disgusting.
Not sure if you have but the 1st thing I’d do is remove the Coilovers and go for a ride on stock suspension and see if the noises are still the same.
If the noises are still the same with or without coilovers than first thing I’d lean towards is the lower ball joints as they will pop and bang. Creaks and Clunks are more of a Subframe/Diff issue.
I would assume the chance of his hanger bearing being gone is slim since hes got a 97. S14 kouki’s tend to have low-km’s and are usually in real nice shape vs that of an early 90’s S13.
But the banging does sound like a driveshaft/diff issue.
Well start by testing your ball joints for play. Grab them with a pair of channel locks and give them a real good squeeze. If the ball joint some what compresses/moves around when squeezed then they are worn out.
Check your Axles for slop. While the vehicle is on the ground (load on the wheel) lock a set of vice grips onto the axles and check for play. If there is enough then it could certainly cause a bang when starting off.
I’d also inspect your wheel bearings (if you drift much) because its hard on them. Would also make for a pop/bang when starting off and could also play a roll in poor full mileage.
lol, I don’t drift my car at all. I can only spin the tires in 1st if the roads are wet! It’s sad I know. Oh well. The KA doesn’t need to last much longer before the next engine goes in.
