Steeda RLCA bearing rattle?

[DB83]

So , I installed my Steeda RLCA bearings a few months ago, and on the initial test drive everything was peachy. All really good. I did maybe 100 miles on them no problem. I then had to go to sea for work for a couple of months, and came back last week, and took the car out for a drive. I immediately noticed a very slight rattle coming from the rear, initially only at low speeds, but the more I drove it, the worse the rattle got, to the point where I stopped driving the car. I put the car up on a lift and re-torqued all bolts in the rear end, and I mean everything! It didn’t make any difference, still have a bad rattle from the rear. It’s the only suspension modification I have made in the last couple of years, and never had a rattle before. Just finding it a bit suspicious that now all of a sudden after the bearing install I have a rattle.
Has anyone else experienced this?

Ive tried looking, but it seems you cant buy the OEM rubber bushings? Nor can I find anyone who does this bushing in polyurethane.

Thanks in advance!

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[moffetts]

The bearings themselves are very stiff, so the chance of them rattling is virtually zero. More than likely, the rattle is coming from the shock mount bolts or the 24MM bolts that hold the RLCA to the subframe. The front one is very difficult to get to without removing the shock.

 

[DB83]

Only issue is I loosened everything and re-torqued every bolt. Literally, every bolt in the rear suspension and subframe.

 

[TeeLew]

If I were going to guess, I'd look at the rear anti-roll bar drop links to make sure they're tight. They're a little clumsy to torque and can make a racket if even marginally loose.

If you're confident that everything is tight, then jack the car in the air. While using Jack stands, get under it & put a long, flat - blade screwdriver as deep as you can into the joint. Put your ear on the handle end. Then have a friend lift and pull on the tire, hard. If you can hear clicking, you might have found the culprit.

My guess is these are good for 10-20k miles, then they need replaced. That could easily change if they've picked up any corrosion.

 

[DB83]

Im going to check everything again, but I’m very confident everything is tight. Just think the timing is too much of a coincidence.
I see superpro make a poly bushing, so if I can’t fix it after another round of tightening, I might just swap them out for the superpro. It’s my daily driver, so don’t want to have to deal with rattles, and certainly don’t want to be swapping them out every 10-20k miles.

 

[TeeLew]

Im going to check everything again, but I’m very confident everything is tight. Just think the timing is too much of a coincidence.
I see superpro make a poly bushing, so if I can’t fix it after another round of tightening, I might just swap them out for the superpro. It’s my daily driver, so don’t want to have to deal with rattles, and certainly don’t want to be swapping them out every 10-20k miles.

FWIW, that's what I run and they're silent.

 

[moffetts]

If everything is tight, the bearings are silent too.

 

[DB83]

I’m just wondering if I got a bad bearing. They’re basically new, and everything is tight.

 

[DB83]

FWIW, that's what I run and they're silent.

You happy with them?

 

[TeeLew]

I’m just wondering if I got a bad bearing. They’re basically new, and everything is tight.

If you can't make the bearing 'click' when it is unloaded, then I would guess you have something else going on. From what you're describing, it should be relatively easy to isolate. If you can't, then it may very well be something else.

 

[TeeLew]

You happy with them?

I only have this and stock for comparison, but yes. I think you get about 80-90% of the performance gain of the spherical with quite a bit less headache. As long as they have bushing lube on them, they're silent.

 

[DB83]

It’s going in for some cosmetic work next week, so I might drop the rear subframe and check everything out more thoroughly, see if I can find something when it comes back

 

[NightmareMoon]

Swap your shocks and shock mounts from side to side. Its four bolts and easy work.

See if the rattle follows...

I did a bunch of suspension mods and LRCA bearings and developed a rattle. It was a shock that went out, coincidentally.

 

[GT 550]

Talk to Steeda, they are well known for their customer service.

 

[kz]

If you have adjustable sway bar end links - check those out - the nuts on the link body itself tend to get loose.

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