Spring rubbing on strut

today I was installing some spacers and I finally got to verify what was causing a sound whenever the driver side front suspension actuated:



I threw the suspension on back in October and I started noticing the sound sometime around late March. Any idea why this would be happening?

 

Is the spring sitting correctly in the upper and lower spring perches?

 

It looked like the top perch was fine. I have to be honest that I did not look very closely at the lower one. Going to rake the wheel off again tomorrow and look more extensively at the bottom

 

Hard to see and might be just the shadow but the spring doesn't look centered around the shock.

 

My thoughts as well - or something looks bent.

 

Some more photos. Looks like the shiny metal going into the strut is off-center. Top and bottom perches look good.

 

Its so hard to tell what's going on from pictures, but if you look from the bottom up with the wheel off you should be able to see how the top of the spring is positioned in the top hat. If that's good to go then I'd guess its a geometry problem with the sway bar.

I assume these are Ironman coilovers? Their customer service is pretty awesome.

 

Yes sir, Ironman they are. I will be giving them a ring in the morning to see what they say.

 

Here's their email, hit em with the pictures tonight so when they ask you tomorrow for them you can be like already done my bros haha

infous@ironman4x4.com

 

Done!!! Thanks for the heads up! Sadly ill have to discuss my new Ironman winch as well

 

I was literally looking at Ironman's website earlier today for the foam cell kit and now I'm waiting to see how this pans out for ya before I go any further

 

Everyone I wheel with is running the Stage III Foam Cell's (Except Sequoia on Dobinsons). so far we've all been extremely pleased, but let's see what happens with this claim lol

 

@PVT Pablo

So Ironman referred me to the retailer where I got the system to handle the warranty. Called Drake @ Adventure Motors in Kansas City and he got on it immediately.
He mentioned his group were with Ironman at the Moore Expo a few weeks ago and they heard of this happening only once before with a pre-built coil over. Being that the coilovers were left on the factory adjustment and they were pre-built, it should be a pretty slam-dunk warranty claim.

Adventure Motors has a very fantastic reputation, so im thinking things will go well. Ill keep u posted!

 

Awesome to hear you're getting taken care of. Big reason I'm into Ironman stuff, they take care of customers.

 

Shitty luck!

 

@PVT Pablo Glad to report a new coilover as part of the warranty is en-route! Very seamless process.

 

So why was it rubbing?

Bent coil?

Coil too long?

 

Not sure. Ill have Tandem Offroad near Fort Worth put the new one in. I haven't checked yet if Ironman will need the old shock for R&D, but once it comes off ill share photos for sure.

At this point just very happy with both Ironman and Adventure Motors in Kansas City. Great communication and fast service.

 

That's really nice they're shipping you a new one quickly.

Keep us posted!

 

Awesome to confirm their warranty is awesome. If you do find out why the coil was doing that, I'd love to know.

 

@PVT Pablo New coilover is in, looks more like the old spring is defective and slightly bowed onto the strut. The piston was intact:



The ride quality is back to amazing!

The boys at Tandem Offroad are detailed AF. They re-torqued my front shock system down to spec and also did a complete inspection. Found out my LCA's are gone and a leak I had identified a few months back was discovered to be my CV boot.

Highly reccomend Tandem Offroad if you are in the Metroplex.

 

Dang I've never seen a coil do that, pretty crazy.

Awesome you got it all taken care of

 

meant Ironman kit do you have

 

Looks like one more item I have to keep my eye. Thanks for sharing your experience..

 

Sorry I meant what kit do you have from Ironman

 

I have the Ironman Stage II Foam Cell kit non-KDSS (Really Stage III, just dont have the panhard rod installed.)

I got the new spring from them a few months back and so far all is fantastic.

 

I figured that’s the one you had, as most people do. I got the nitro stage 2 with kdss, hoping it turns out as good as people like the foam cell. Seemed to fit my needs better, as it will be on the highway 90 percent of the time with the occasional weekend east trail or beach slow crawl

 

Just a point of reference to keep in mind. When making a purchase of a product from a retailer, always go through the retailer for warranty issues. I deal with this at work from time to time and people simply don't understand.

If you buy direct from the dealer, the dealer receives your money and would be responsible with customer communication and any potential warranty. If from a retailer, they receive your funds and are responsible for sorting all aspects of the warranty. The manufacturer then credits the retailer (in most cases) for future purchases. Sometimes the manufacturer wants the part back to sort out what the cause might have been to see if it is a bigger, wider problem of circulating inventory or an isolated issue sometimes they dont care.

 

Yep, exactly my experience. Thankfully the retailer I used (Adventure Motors) was unbelievable. I have seen some retailers that totally would have screwed me over or just not submitted my claim in a timely manner. So this is a major concern indeed.