[KaHOnas]

When I got over railroad tracks or down a dirt road with some washouts, occasionally on extension when the front gets unloaded quickly, there is a noticeable (and concerning) thud. You can feel and hear it. I have had new struts put on the front with new strut mounts (Monroe 171451 & 171452 loaded struts) and I've replaced the control arms in June. It's still happening. Any idea what this could be? It only happens on extension and otherwise drives like a 260k mile Pilot.

It honestly feels like there is no rebound damping and the gas tubes are running to full extension and slamming on the stops.

 

[cnelson0641]

I've been waiting for this moment for all my life (well more like a year since I fixed it on my Pilot): The center nut on the strut (the one between the top 3 nuts you tighten to attach it to the dashboard), is loose. Crank it down. Most likely it was supposed to be torqued prior to installation, or was un-torqued when the strut was "clocked" to get it in the right position.

The manual would say completely unload the strut (i.e. remove it), and then torque to __ ft.lbs. When I fixed my issue, I just hand-torqued with a simple ratchet, and it stopped the thud.

--Chris N.

 

[KaHOnas]

The center nut on the strut (the one between the top 3 nuts you tighten to attach it to the dashboard), is loose.

Man, let's hope it's that simple. I'm heading down to do it now. Thanks for the help.

Question - the center post that the nut threads on to has a 7mm head. Is the entire thing supposed to rotate or am I supposed to secure the 7mm shaft as I torque the 19mm nut?

Edit: The driver's side wasn't making any noise, or at least was overshadowed by the passenger side. The driver side nut didn't move with what I would consider a pretty good amount of torque. The passenger side moved fairly easily about four turns. I'm taking it for a ride now.

 

[cnelson0641]

Keep us posted! Idk what the manual says to tighten the nut, but when I did it I did not need to secure the threads as I torqued the nut.

--Chris N.

 

[KaHOnas]

Took it for a ride and it's still doing it. I've got the front end on jack stands and the wheels hanging free. I'm going to see if I can get a better torque with the weight lifted.

 

[Rocky]

Ever replace the way bar bushings?

 

[cnelson0641]

Interesting. When you take your next ride, can you reproduce your issue (and sound) on video and post it here?

--Chris N.

 

[KaHOnas]

Ever replace the way bar bushings?

I have. It's way louder than any sway bar clunk I've ever felt. It's almost certainly coming out of the strut assembly area.

Interesting. When you take your next ride, can you reproduce your issue (and sound) on video and post it here?

I'll try but I'm not sure how good it'll come out. I'll see what I can do.

 

[Rocky]

At this stage, start with verifying that everything is tight. Did you replace the top mount of the strut? Is it correctly oriented?

 

[KaHOnas]

At this stage, start with verifying that everything is tight. Did you replace the top mount of the strut? Is it correctly oriented?

I'm away for a few days so I won't be able to check anything until I get back. The strut mount was replaced as these Monroes were the entire assembly (loaded struts). As far as orientation is concerned, I will check. I did check all the bolts - the three strut mount nuts and the center nut on the center shaft - and they were all tight.

I was able to get a video of the bang and I'll upload a link once I get the opportunity, hopefully later today.