In for an answer on this as well. I'm having some issues with my drivers side and weird noises so I'm wondering if this could be the problem? What do you mean the arrows need to be pointed at each other and where are the arrows located so I can check them out?

 

I hadn't paid attention to it before, but you will notice that the body cants inwards at the mounts. The tophat supposedly is built to address this and orienting the arrow inwards puts it in the right position. Problems associated with having it wrong is noise and potentially unnecessary wear on the tophat bearings.

I am going to call the dealer today and see if they will answer the question for me. I will let you know what they say.

 

There is a green arrow on the top hat. The arrow is suppose to be pointing towards the engine bay which I guess you can say is towards each other. If you don't, it cause some noise in the struts form the springs turning loose..or something like that..i don't remember exactly. But I know if you don't had the arrows pointing the right way, it'll cause noise..i just don't remember how to describe it..like a clunking/clicking noise..

 

The arrows are suppose to point towards the FRONT of the car, not each other.

Below are pics to illustrate this. Pics are of a STOCK passenger side suspension.

Marked the stud on the top hat stud to note orientation before removal of assembly...

After removal, the marked stud as a reference point confirms that the arrow is suppose to point towards the front of the car, therefore not at each other:

Again this is the passenger side so as you can see using the all the reference points and the brake caliper, the arrow is suppose to point towards the front of the car, not each other.

 

Stopped off at dealership today and rumors and facts confirmed. Arrows facing out from car towards engine bay just as described here in the photos. Thank you for the pics and confirmations supplied.

 

So i just took the drivers strut out and checked. Sure enough the arrow was pointed to the outside of the car. (Fender) I'm going to take it for a drive real quick and check some of the driveways i was having issues with and i will post up the results on if it is fixed or not. Either way I'm glad you guys told me this because it was installed wrong so thank you all for your help. This is the whole reason I joined this site.

 

Looking forward to your results. Post back soon.

 

The top mounts spin freely from the boot so Im not certain on why this really matters.I have also thought they install pointing in towards the motor ...i could stand corrected.I have also installed them like this with no noise on an si but on an ex had alot of pop/clunk noise .i will be retrying this with the arrows facing in this direction When i do my reinstall on the ex.hopefully this eliminates the noise .

 

The reason why is the mounting point on the body of the car for the strut mount is at an angle and not flat.

When you stand the strut assembly on the ground and keep it pointing straight up, you can see a slant on the the top mount. When you correctly install the top mount with the arrow pointing the correct direction, there will be no gap between the top mount and the mounting point on the car as the top mount will sit flush with the body.

If the arrow is pointed in the wrong direction, a gap is created between the mounting point of the body and the strut mount. That gap can cause noises via the strut mount clicking with the body mounting point, the strut bearing can be damaged, which can cause the noise as well. The problem is if you reinstall the strut assembly, and noise persists, the damage to the strut bearing assembly would require replacing it. If I had noise issues due to installing the struts with the arrows pointing in the wrong direction I would just buy new bearings and new strut mounts.

 

310Ken
So your saying the top hat mounts are angled/pitched in where the arrows are.?have to take a Look at this When i do the reinstall .

 

The whole mount is angled, which is why the arrow must point in the correct direction. I drew a rudimentary diagram demonstrating a strut assembly before inserting it to the body mounting point to help illustrate what can happen when the arrow isn't orientated in the correct direction. The angle is exaggerated to further clarify how and why noise can develop if the top strut mount isn't sitting flush with the body mounting point:

On the left the top strut mount will sit flush, because the angles match so there's no play when the assembly is bolted on. On the right, if the top mount isn't sitting flush with the body mounting point then when load is on the suspension it can allow movement via the top mount flexing and the studs can rub against the hole. The flexing can also distort the strut bearing assembly.

 

Ok so i did the drivers side first because thats where i was mainly getting the noise. It was a clunk/pop/rubbing/banging noise i was getting. I took it for a test drive after installing it the right way. Just to confirm or whatever the arrow is pointing to the front bumper. Anyways so after the test drive the car actually felt a little more stiff and I felt a little more control overall. Anyways so yeah i took it to the parking lots and driveways I was having issues and the noise with snd no noise AT ALL. The funny part is now im hearing a little from the passenger side. So i came home and looked at that side and sure enough the arrow was facing the inside of the car. So it was backwards. Anyways so I took that one off an installed it the right way and took a drive again. Suspension feels great. No noise at all. It's smooth and stiff like I was expecting when i bought these struts and shocks so I am finally happy with the setup now that its quiet....lol. I totally spaced and didnt take any pics when I did the drivers side but i snapped a couple of the passenger side. Here they are. Before, when the strut was out, amd after.


Here is the top hat before I took it off.




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Here is the strut when I took it out to show the bottom and how it lined up.




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Here is the top hat after the adjust and install amd where the arrow is now pointing.





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Anyways so final result is this whole thing was the exact problem. I thank you guys tremendously for all your help. I was 3 days away from buying new axles or new suspension so this saved me from the headache and money that I was gonna have to spend.


Once again thank you so much.

 

Ty! Maybe the subject of this post will be easier to find for others because I certainly couldn't find much before on the topic except for brief statements.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you.
:dancing:

 

You bring me hope! Finished putting my stock springs back in tonight, and my driver front clunks on bumps. I never noticed the arrows for proper alignment, so tomorrow after work i'll check them. Very clear explanation here.

 

I can almost guarantee that this is your problem. Mine was pretty much a clunk sound and now nothing so hooefully this will fix your problem.

On another note I do have another question.

I just purchased some used struts from someone on here and I don't see the white line on them like the ones I already have. I am going to be installing these new ones I got in the next few days so I can sell my skunk2 sport strut/shock and lowering spring setup I have in right now and I wanted to include the top hats amd everything with the sale so is there another way to figure this out?

On the new onea I purchased I see the green dot on them but no white line. My old onea that are on now dont have the green dot and only habe the white line so i cant compare the 2 to make sure they are lined up the same with that dot.

 

Would this apply to aftermarket struts too? I've had clunking sounds in my suspension but never figured out why. Sometimes my car would just be sitting after a drive and as I'm getting out I hear a soft thud.

 

I have skunk2 sport shocks/struts and it was doing it with me.

So the line or "arrow" points to the front of the car? I think this is my problem tooo ehhhh

Yes the arrow points to the front.

 

So the line or "arrow" points to the front of the car? I think this is my problem tooo ehhhh

 

This should be voted in as a sticky. Seems to be a helpful topic.

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Are you guys getting a clunk or noise when hitting bumps/imperfections in the road or is it at full lock or what? I have a strange rhythmic noise from my driver side when it's full lock turned to the right. Wondering if my tophat orientation has anything to do with it...

:think:

 

Chris g Yes i came across this problem and am having same sound issues as you.Im going to do the reinstall this week hopefully .i would inspect your top hats and bearings as you can lift up on the bearing assembly ( do not fully remove top hats or bearings go everywhere ) to see if there pited or damage or to regrease.

 

Mind going into more detail with the noise you are getting? You can visitor message or PM me if need be. I am curious if we are experiencing the same thing. I am going to be ******* pissed if it's anything to do with the suspension being assembled incorrectly... as I paid to have that done.

I guess I should add that my suspension is not clunking at all... not once.

 

:think:

 

Seems like everyone I've talked to in this thread is getting some clunking noises. Guess my little issue ain't the same. :shrug:

 

after fixing my top hat orientation I wasn't able to hear any more noise up front. The passenger one was right but the driver was completely backwards. I also took a moment to add some additional grease to the top hat bearings. Now I just need an alignment and for my broken hand to heal up enough so that I can start racing again.

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Thanks, this helped me. It turns out my driver side was off.


~Sent through this great digital frontier using my Dinc.

 

Just fyi that the top hat can rotate with the front struts assembled very easily. So, make sure when you install the front struts that the arrows are pointed forward.

Chris

 

So my tophats are oriented correctly (marked bolts inward) but my driver side front seems to be close to an inch lower than the rest of the car. I'm rolling stock LX-S springs with Koni yellows. The springs have 75k miles on them. 90% of that is rolling on twisties (east TN mountain roads). I installed the yellows last weekend, so I've given them a week to settle in. Any ideas why my FL is riding lower than the rest of the car? I'm wondering if my springs are shot.


~Sent through this great digital frontier using my Dinc.

 

well I don't think prolonged use of top hats in the wrong position would cause that. From what I read that generally causes advance wear and tear on the top hat bearings.

Silly question, but have you checked that you don't have the springs inserted backwards with the rubber cushion towards the back. it should sit towards the outside.

How long have you had the springs?

P.s. as good measure, did you put down some grease on the top hat bearings since you had the struts out anyways? It's unrelated to your question.

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