Metallic clicking noise on road bumps

[mcano]

I have a 95 with 113,500 miles on the clock. Lately when traveling over bumps in the road, I hear a metallic clicking noise on the passenger side of the car. Sometimes it seems to come from the rear of the car and at other times from the front of the car.

I removed the spare and tightened up the battery clamp. Left the spare out and went for a drive. No luck, the noise is still there. I have yet to see if anything is loose in the trunk area.

I'm not mechanically savvy, so I had my mechanic visually look for the cause, but he indicated that nothing was obvious.

I have Bilstiens on lower perch with OEM springs. I also have H&R 25 mm spacers in place on the rear wheel. Everything else on the suspension is stock. Could a strut or spacer be loose, or a bolt that has been broken be the cause.

Lastly, the distance from the top of the rear right tire to the bottom of the wheel well is approx 1/2 of an inch less than the clearance at the left rear tire. The clearance at both front tires is the same as the rear left tire.

I guess the next step is to have my mechanic start pulling things apart.

Any suggestions before I take this step.

Thanks in advance,

Mario

 

[Deltron Zero]

That would be your ABS pump. It just needs a good bleed.

 

[mcano]

That would be your ABS pump. It just needs a good bleed.

I thought of that, becasue I have had ABS pump noise in the past, but this noise appears to be a different. However, I will have the lines bleed just the same.

Thanks!

 

[Moses]

it's the bilstiens

 

[shawn110975]

if the metal banging sound is coming from the passenger side and not the driver side were the ABS pump is then I say its the rubber bushing for the control arms, I just got done swapping mine out pain in the ass with pop-up lights.

when I would hit a bump or manhole cover there would be thins clank clank. after i examined the bushing mine were shot.

my NSX I a talking about is a 92 with 120K miles

now I also have mine lowered on Eibachs springs thought it might be the springs but it was the bushings

keep us posted

 

[mcano]

I've recorded the sounds. It is hard to hear the clicks at the beginning, but if you fast forward to 1.18 sec point of the video you will hear the more distinguishable clicks up to the 1.29 sec point. Since the clicks occur only once when going over a bump, this suggest that the source is singular, i.e., either from the front area of the car or from the rear.

Ah, yes bushings. I'll get these checked as well.

On the Bilstiens being the culprit, is the noise normal or is there something that can be done to stop it.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/27458644?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/27458644">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user869066">Mario Cano</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[02#154]

It's hard to tell from the video where the sound is coming from. But based on the sound, I'd check the strut tower brace. Loose suspension stuff, in my experience, has less of a"rattle" sound like in the video, and more of a "thud" sound. Maybe pull your wheels off and check the nuts on the spacers. Maybe one is loose and you can't tell, other than the noise, because the other four are still on good.

Good luck

J

 

[Moses]

Okay, heard video, doens't sound like bilsteins. Do what he said ^

 

[mcano]

Thanks guys,

I'll pull the wheels and check the spacers. I'll check the springs too. If no luck, I'll take the car to my mechanic to dig deeper

I'll let you know what is found.

Best,

Mario

 

[RYU]

sounds like a loose side vent. one way to check is to tap around the area with your fingers. another way to check is to open/close the door with window open and then closed.

i've had Bilsteins for years. never had them make any noise but I have heard of this complaint from other folks before.

if you still have this noise next time we all meet up i'll take a stab at a diagnosis

 

[dablackgoku1234]

I have 2 rattles on my car. 1 in the front passenger which sounds like a loose piece of metal, and the other in the passenger rear. Like Ryu said, the rear rattle turned out to be a loose side vent. I've temporarily filled the void with a piece of paper, lol...ghetto. Dont have time to take off the wheel and wheel liner to tighten the nut.

The front rattle I cant figure out. I've taken out my old suspension and put in a brand new one and it still rattles but only on "stiff" setting. Same with my old suspension, it was on a somewhat stiff setting. I've subsequently toned down the stiffness to 2 click from full soft and I cant hear the rattle anymore.

 

[mcano]

Thanks for the new ideas guys. I thought I found the culprit today when I was putting my new registration sticker on my license plate. The license plate was a little loose and clicked against the lower support when I flicked the plate. I tighten every thing up and placed double sided tape to prevent metal to metal contact. Unfortunately, the metal clicking sound is still there. I'll check the vent when I remove the wheels to check the suspension and lug nuts on the spacers and wheels.

Thanks again,

 

[RacingHeart]

Try tightening the front swaybars and links. I had a clicking sound in the front after changing to Bilsteins/H&R's and it ended up being these.

 

[Sylvan]

Are your center caps in the wheels loose? Mine are and they make clicking sounds sometimes. They aren't loose to the point of falling out, but they have slop and they rattle around a bit.

 

[Rob4092xx]

I had a very similar rattle in my NSX. I couldn't locate it and it was driving me crazy!

Finally found the culprit! It was the latch where the felt top of the Roof Panel Holder latches to the bottom piece. Everytime I hit a bump, the top and bottom of the latch hit and made the most annoying rattle I have ever had in any of my cars!

I put a piece of electrical tape on the latch to prevent "metal to metal" contact and the rattle disappeared!

 

[mcano]

I had a very similar rattle in my NSX. I couldn't locate it and it was driving me crazy!

Finally found the culprit! It was the latch where the felt top of the Roof Panel Holder latches to the bottom piece. Everytime I hit a bump, the top and bottom of the latch hit and made the most annoying rattle I have ever had in any of my cars!

I put a piece of electrical tape on the latch to prevent "metal to metal" contact and the rattle disappeared!

Are you talking about sixths latch?

 

[Rob4092xx]

You see that "U" shaped part of the latch that is on the felt cover lid? I wrapped a few wraps of black tape around it and the rattling noise went away! This prevented the metal to metal contact of the top and bottom clips of the latch.

Are you talking about sixths latch?

 

[Moses]

http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115473

 

[Rob4092xx]

Moses...great find! Good job! Sounds like this could be the culrpit! Be sure to check the targa top compartment latch as well!

http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115473

 

[mcano]

Moses...great find! Good job! Sounds like this could be the culrpit! Be sure to check the targa top compartment latch as well!

It seems as our cars get older there are going to be more and more threads on the subject matter of squeaks, rattles and clicks. Here is another thread started earlier this year by a UK owner. I wonder if in the near future there will be a new forum added by Prime on the subject?

http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145373

 

[fai16888]

I have the same thing but never had time to check it out. Will do soon. One said it was the metal plates that together with the brake pads highly doubt it. BTW, im using Hawk HP+ pads front and rears. Hopefully that will take the sound away on bumps.

 

[mcano]

I have the same thing but never had time to check it out. Will do soon. One said it was the metal plates that together with the brake pads highly doubt it. BTW, im using Hawk HP+ pads front and rears. Hopefully that will take the sound away on bumps.

I have Hawk HP+ front and back, so that should not be your source of the clicks?

 

[latzke]

You see that "U" shaped part of the latch that is on the felt cover lid? I wrapped a few wraps of black tape around it and the rattling noise went away! This prevented the metal to metal contact of the top and bottom clips of the latch.

Sounds like it might be out of adjustment. On most NSXs (especially new from factory) that hatch latches so tight it can't rattle. This is why the instructions for closing are to set it down, then put your hand over that latch and press down to make it click (page 94 of owners manual). If you can latch it by dropping it or lightly slamming it, this is out of adjustment and likely allowing the play that caused your clicking. Your solution works...but only addresses the symptom...not the cause.

 

[Rob4092xx]

Its not the engine cover or rear window that I am speaking of. It is the felt covered "clamshell" that holds the targa top just above the engine cover. The latch that keeps the "clamshell" closed is what can rattle.

Sounds like it might be out of adjustment. On most NSXs (especially new from factory) that hatch latches so tight it can't rattle. This is why the instructions for closing are to set it down, then put your hand over that latch and press down to make it click (page 94 of owners manual). If you can latch it by dropping it or lightly slamming it, this is out of adjustment and likely allowing the play that caused your clicking. Your solution works...but only addresses the symptom...not the cause.

 

[bngl3rt]

Like Ryu said, the rear rattle turned out to be a loose side vent. I've temporarily filled the void with a piece of paper, lol...ghetto. Dont have time to take off the wheel and wheel liner to tighten the nut.

I think I have this problem (based on the fact that I am able to move the passenger side vent around with my fingers, but the driver's side one won't budge...) How do I fix it? The wheel and the liner have to come off to tighten? Darn it, I just had the wheels off...