Now that I have a stock exhaust instead of the HKS (thanks Cody & especially Andy!! ) I can clearly hear a front end clunk. It mostly happens when turning right at lower speeds (almost like there is metal bumping, not scraping, against something else metal), but sometimes there is another similiar sound when going over bumps... almost like the shocks are going bad.

Anyway, do you guys have any recommendations about local repair shops that are known to be good with S2Ks? We've always taken our cars to Anderson Motors on South Parkway and have had great service, but I'm curious if there's a specialty place in town that knows these cars well.

Thanks!
John

 

John, when you get a chance try to compress the shocks on the front of the car. Push down on the fender over the front wheel. If it feels spongy then it is probably the shocks. If somebody had lowering springs on that car in the past the shocks are probably bad. I know that most if not all the guys in North AL take their car to the dealership for work, and I think most of them are using Decatur Honda now.



I am just taking a guess from what you are describing but I am think that you are gonna need new shocks. Maybe SlowS2k will chime in here, He is the expert.

 

Thanks for the info Andy... I'll give that a try tonight. I'm pretty sure the shocks/struts need changint in the front.

The main "clunk" sounds more like it's in the steering linkage somewhere... I probably need to put it up on jackstands and look under there to see what's happening.

 

I have no clue what the problem is, but Andy is right, we use Honda of Decatur now for their service.

 

Check the sway bar, while your under there. Mine has a Sano bar and I have to tighten the endlinks every few months because it will start clunking.

 

Thats a good point about the sway bar. I didn't think about that. This car has been changed so much that there is no telling what all has been done to it. It might have aftermarket sway bars???

jaclarke, you need to see it, dark blue paint, chrome factory wheels, and tan 04 interior. You won't find another one like it.

 

Check for the obvious, leaking shocks, loose bolts. etc. Usually noises manifest after work has been done. Look for wrench marks on any of the front suspension bolts, etc.

It's entirely possible the shocks are just worn out.

 

I would like to see that. I have moved out of my "Red" period into a "Blue" period. My latest ride is Electron Blue. Maybe we should start talking about a June local meeting or maybe it's too soon after the SESM.

 

Well... I just crawled up under the car. It's definately not in the steering linkage anywhere... in fact that looks like some pretty sophiscated stuff to my untrained eye. I couldn't find anything that felt loose or any wrench marks either.

As for a spongy feel for the shocks, well... there is no feel! Compared to our other cars which have plenty of movement and spring back well the S has no give or spring at all. I was expecting it to be a tighter feel than our Buick Regal, but no give at all seems like a dead giveaway that it's time to get the shocks changed.

Thanks for the Andy! When I saw this one I knew it was the one.

Sounds like a good idea to me (once Rob (and Andy) get a chance to recuperate)!

 

Don't press down too hard or you will dent the car. Also, because this car is stiff it will be harder to compress the spring/shock than a Buick.

Slows2k, what is the best way to test the shocks?