suspension issues- advice needed - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

tanur420 · 04-24-2014, 07:57 AM

About a month ago I installed bmr 1" drop all the way around. Bmr full pro bushing kit, trailing arms, adjustable sways, end links, adjustable toe rods, rear shortened lca for lowered applications. Everything seemed to be fine after I got aligned to bmr street specs.

Well about a week ago I started hearing a loud thumping noise. Generally only when going under 20 mph, coasting braking, sometimes turning. Sounded like something was loose coming from the driver side. Almost like the sway bar was hitting something or maybe my exhaust was loose.I crawled under the car and couldn't see anything loose so was gonna jack it up this weekend and look more in depth.

Well today when leaving work, the parking lot exit is at an extreme angle downwards and to the right, so I occasionally gp on three wheels since I lowered it, as I was leaving I heard a lpud popping sound from the driver side fender well. I immediately stopped and crawled under but couldn't see anything. Well I babied it to the house only about 3 miles away. When I got there I crawled under again.and still cant find anything. Though.I did notice the front driver side seems to be sitting almost an inch lower then the other side.

So at this point im looking for any ideas where to start looking?
Any advice would be extremely appreciated.

BMR Sales · 04-24-2014, 08:47 AM

I'd give a very close inspection of your front sway bar, end links, and front strut installation. Something is definitely wrong/broken, but without being there with you, it's not easy to troubleshoot from here!!!

tanur420 · 04-24-2014, 04:34 PM

Well took it to a friend of a friend who works at an alignment/suspension shop. He said almost every bolt was finger tight at best. Passenger rear strut was hanging on by half a thread of a bolt. Subframe.bushings.were about to fall out. All the nuts.on the endlinks were free spinning. Lca, trailing arms etc were all not.tight. took him 4 hours to.tighten everything up. Idk how they got like that as we tightened to specified torque when we instAlled about a month ago...still think I may hear a little chatter from the back. But could be something in my trunk. A bit paranoid atm lol. He said another day or two and strut probably woulda came off.while driving

JDP Sales · 04-24-2014, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanur420

Well took it to a friend of a friend who works at an alignment/suspension shop. He said almost every bolt was finger tight at best. Passenger rear strut was hanging on by half a thread of a bolt. Subframe.bushings.were about to fall out. All the nuts.on the endlinks were free spinning. Lca, trailing arms etc were all not.tight. took him 4 hours to.tighten everything up. Idk how they got like that as we tightened to specified torque when we instAlled about a month ago...still think I may hear a little chatter from the back. But could be something in my trunk. A bit paranoid atm lol. He said another day or two and strut probably woulda came off.while driving

WOW!! I hope he used loctite this time around.

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

Dexman1349 · 04-24-2014, 04:46 PM

+1 for Loctite.

I had a couple bolts start to come undone on my rear bar because I didn't use it the first time around...

BMR Sales · 04-24-2014, 04:52 PM

Yes, definitely Loctite!!! We recommend a couple drops of the Blue Loctite on the threads of ALL suspension bolts!!!

tanur420 · 04-24-2014, 05:28 PM

If they come loose again I will.loctite it. I wasnt there and he put an impact on it at I beleive he said 300lbs to get it really tight

tanur420 · 04-24-2014, 05:29 PM

I didnt see loctite on the instructions or I would have picked up a tube when I did the install :/

tanur420 · 04-24-2014, 06:18 PM

Definitely still hearing some noise from rear. Mostly when turning

BMR Sales · 04-25-2014, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanur420

If they come loose again I will.loctite it. I wasnt there and he put an impact on it at I beleive he said 300lbs to get it really tight

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanur420

Definitely still hearing some noise from rear. Mostly when turning

He might have over-tighted some stuff, 300 lbs. is too much for just about anything under there!!! You don't want to compress your bushings too much!!! Use the recommended torque and use Loctite. Torque-wrenches are your friend!!!

tanur420 · 04-25-2014, 05:30 PM

So take all the bolts he tightened out loctite and then torque to specs..that sounds like a pita

Irnwkrkev · 04-25-2014, 10:08 PM

Four hours to tighten bolts is a bullshit line unless he took a 3 hour brake between sides.

I tightened all my BMR components (LCA's, trailing arms, toe rods, drag sway bar, and all bushings including UCA's) with german snatch standards (gudentight) and have never had anything loose except the swaybar which I bought used and had the wrong bolts.

I've put 10,000 miles and had to pull the rear end out twice where I unbolt all components from the hub and pull the axle,hub,disc out as an assembly to swap the diff for gears/broken spiders.... nothing was ever loose and I used no loctite.

Sounds like you may have had a faulty torque wrench. If it was a harbor freight deal junk it.

Dropspeed · 04-28-2014, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanur420

So take all the bolts he tightened out loctite and then torque to specs..that sounds like a pita

Yes to both.

But you have a choice of doing it the right way or having potential chatter, noise and failure by doing it the wrong way.

timshifty · 04-28-2014, 08:30 PM

i want to let you know I have the same exact problem only I have no clue what they did to the car because I purchased it this way. I am going to take it in to have it looked at later this week. I have a rattle when I go over bumps from the right front somewhere and mine seems like something is loose. Maybe they lowered it themselves and things have come loose?
Keep us updated!

04-24-2014, 07:57 AM	#1
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	suspension issues- advice needed About a month ago I installed bmr 1" drop all the way around. Bmr full pro bushing kit, trailing arms, adjustable sways, end links, adjustable toe rods, rear shortened lca for lowered applications. Everything seemed to be fine after I got aligned to bmr street specs. Well about a week ago I started hearing a loud thumping noise. Generally only when going under 20 mph, coasting braking, sometimes turning. Sounded like something was loose coming from the driver side. Almost like the sway bar was hitting something or maybe my exhaust was loose.I crawled under the car and couldn't see anything loose so was gonna jack it up this weekend and look more in depth. Well today when leaving work, the parking lot exit is at an extreme angle downwards and to the right, so I occasionally gp on three wheels since I lowered it, as I was leaving I heard a lpud popping sound from the driver side fender well. I immediately stopped and crawled under but couldn't see anything. Well I babied it to the house only about 3 miles away. When I got there I crawled under again.and still cant find anything. Though.I did notice the front driver side seems to be sitting almost an inch lower then the other side. So at this point im looking for any ideas where to start looking? Any advice would be extremely appreciated. __________________

04-24-2014, 04:34 PM	#3
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	Well took it to a friend of a friend who works at an alignment/suspension shop. He said almost every bolt was finger tight at best. Passenger rear strut was hanging on by half a thread of a bolt. Subframe.bushings.were about to fall out. All the nuts.on the endlinks were free spinning. Lca, trailing arms etc were all not.tight. took him 4 hours to.tighten everything up. Idk how they got like that as we tightened to specified torque when we instAlled about a month ago...still think I may hear a little chatter from the back. But could be something in my trunk. A bit paranoid atm lol. He said another day or two and strut probably woulda came off.while driving __________________

04-24-2014, 04:46 PM	#5
Dexman1349 2010 2SS/RS M6 Drives: 2010 2SS/RS M6 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Auckland, NZ Posts: 1,482	+1 for Loctite. I had a couple bolts start to come undone on my rear bar because I didn't use it the first time around... __________________ 2/7/2014: 419 hp, 419 tq Cosmetic: ZL1 front w/mailslot, painted stripes, powdercoated SS rims, tow hook, and full chrome delete Suspension: Pfadt subframe bushings, Pfadt rear UCA bushings, Z28 Upper control arms, Spohn trailing arms with BMR trailing arm & differential bushings, ZL1 Toe Rods and springs, Prothane radius arm inserts & steering rack bushing, Pfadt Sport front sway, FE4 conversion w/ DS rear sway, Pfadt strut brace Drivetrain: RMCR tune, CAI intake, Kooks headers, hi-flo cats & exhaust, VMAX TB, ZL1 fuel pump, LSR Tri-Ax shifter Bumblebee Racecar Build

04-24-2014, 05:28 PM	#7
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	If they come loose again I will.loctite it. I wasnt there and he put an impact on it at I beleive he said 300lbs to get it really tight __________________

04-24-2014, 05:29 PM	#8
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	I didnt see loctite on the instructions or I would have picked up a tube when I did the install :/ __________________

04-24-2014, 08:47 AM	#2
BMR Sales Drives: Race Car Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Seffner, FL Posts: 6,226	I'd give a very close inspection of your front sway bar, end links, and front strut installation. Something is definitely wrong/broken, but without being there with you, it's not easy to troubleshoot from here!!!

04-24-2014, 04:52 PM	#6
BMR Sales Drives: Race Car Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Seffner, FL Posts: 6,226	Yes, definitely Loctite!!! We recommend a couple drops of the Blue Loctite on the threads of ALL suspension bolts!!!

04-24-2014, 06:18 PM	#9
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	Definitely still hearing some noise from rear. Mostly when turning __________________

04-25-2014, 05:30 PM	#11
tanur420 Drives: 2011 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Jacksonville FL Posts: 348	So take all the bolts he tightened out loctite and then torque to specs..that sounds like a pita __________________

04-25-2014, 10:08 PM	#12
Irnwkrkev Drives: 2011 SS/RS LS3 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Miami Posts: 528	Four hours to tighten bolts is a bullshit line unless he took a 3 hour brake between sides. I tightened all my BMR components (LCA's, trailing arms, toe rods, drag sway bar, and all bushings including UCA's) with german snatch standards (gudentight) and have never had anything loose except the swaybar which I bought used and had the wrong bolts. I've put 10,000 miles and had to pull the rear end out twice where I unbolt all components from the hub and pull the axle,hub,disc out as an assembly to swap the diff for gears/broken spiders.... nothing was ever loose and I used no loctite. Sounds like you may have had a faulty torque wrench. If it was a harbor freight deal junk it.

04-28-2014, 08:30 PM	#14
timshifty Drives: 2012 2SS/RS Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Fort Wayne Posts: 560	i want to let you know I have the same exact problem only I have no clue what they did to the car because I purchased it this way. I am going to take it in to have it looked at later this week. I have a rattle when I go over bumps from the right front somewhere and mine seems like something is loose. Maybe they lowered it themselves and things have come loose? Keep us updated!