I have had the same problems, and after tons of reading and after having completely dismantled the shock assembly twice I figured out what was the issue.
The clunking noise, especially audible in low-speed end to end steering (park) or on paved surfaces, is given by a degraded upper spring perch assembly (items 1 and/or 8 in the exploded view)
And YES, the coil end has to be as close as possible (that is, touch) the upper plate shoulder, as specified by TIS (see attachment); so double check that, while releasing the spring compressors, the end of the coil is firmly pushing against the upper plate rubber pad.
Surfing the internet I've found many theories, recommending to grease all the interfaces, or to align the coil end in a given way vs. the car nose, or to install spring covers. I tested all of them and none is working; don't be fooled by the initial improvement you got after reassembly: once the components set up again together, you will have the same problem again. Indeed, there is no trace of this kind of solution in TIS.
Instead, with the car lifted off the gound and the wheel removed, grip firmly the upper end of your coilover installed on the car with both hands (just in the area of spring end and upper plates): shaking with energy this upper part you will be able to replicate the clunking noise with good accuracy, thus indicating that the problem is there. Repeating on both sides may be helpful, since usually the problem is only on one side. To understand if this is coming from the upper support containing the bearing (item 1) or from the spring plate (item 8) is more difficult. I solved the problem replacing items 1, 6,7 and 8.
Note #1: remember that you DON'T need to remove the strut from the wheel carrier, neither to disconnect any suspension/steering arm to do the job: simply let the wheel carrier + strut hang freely and the top part will just come outside the fender by a combination of rotation and pulling forward (it's a matter of millimiters however, just be careful of not to scratch your fender paint, tape it beforehand). But there are very good DIYs about this.
Note #2: when reassembling, do not overtight the upper damper nut! I know this is not an easy job without the special tools, and everybody feel more secure firmly tightening, but here it is important not to exceed the recommended torque. If you use a pneumatic gun set it at the minimum speed and proceed with very short steps. I recommend using some thread lock fluid and applying a gentle tightening if in lack of a torque wrench. At the end, the upper assembly (bearing plate #1 and camber plates if you have them) should be free to rotate with no resistance whatsoever. In case the rotation is hard, release the tension on the nut and repeat.
Hope this helps (even if the post is a bit old!).
Cheers!
|