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Hi guys,
Hope all is well. Got a 2008 Honda civic coupe. Over bumps it clunks and bounces like a boat at lower speeds. It on high way it is fine. When I do slight maneuvers the car does not seem in “control”. Now I looked “noise” portion of the diagnoses pages and they are a great help! However it seems it could be either the front strut or the sway bar end link. What do you think? Any suggestions?
Thank you so much guys!
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Sounds like definitely the struts are bad… Probably want to inspect all the front end parts on this vehicle…
How many miles do you have on the car?
I have an 2009 civic EX, and I just replaced my front struts at 100,000 miles. Failed struts don’t necessarily make noise, but it’s possible. If your struts are bad, the car will not ride comfortably. You’ll feel every bump, the steering will feel less controlled, and braking might take slightly longer. All of these things can happen without noises.
The noise could be many things. Besides the struts themselves, it could be the strut mounts, bump stops, etc. It could also be other front suspension parts. If you have a jack and jack stands, you can inspect all of the front suspension parts as shown in Eric’s video.
If the car has a lot of miles and is riding poorly, it might be time to replace those struts, but that might not fix the noise…
Has anyone tried to mod the suspension with cutting,heating
or changing the springs to lower the car?it is a 2008 EX-L coupe. I had a look around. All the bushings etc look fine. The dust cover is torn and it broke. Pieces of it go caught in the bumper. The shocks are not leaking. However the car is very bouncy. The clunking metal like noise seems to be coming from the top but from on top the mount bushing looks good. What do you think it could be? The Mounts?
Thanks guys!
If it bounces a lot, that’s weak shock absorbers. If it clunks that can be loose bushings or worn struts or strut bearings.
If the steering feels vague that can be poor alignment or worn bushings or ball joints.
There are 12 to 18 joints and bushings and bearings in the front-end, any one of them can loosen up and cause front-end problems.
The first thing that comes to mind is tire pressure. If your tires are overinflated then the vehicle can act the way you describe. I believe the psi on those should be 32-35psi if I remember correctly. If you suspect struts, they’re easy enough to check. Just do a visual inspection of the struts and look for leaks. I will say however that the best struts for Honda’s are OE. Aftermarket struts on Honda’s rarely ride as nice or last as long as OE in my experience.
Good luck and keep us posted on what you find.
Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your time/replies and help. I looked around and the struts were not leaking, nor were any of the pushing’s worn out. However, the technician concluded that he feels it is the strut. I drive from Niagara region Canada to Michigan every week and the car has 280,000 KM on it, he said he feels with that typer of mileage it is the struts making the noise and he recommends replacing the strut plate while replacing it. I am going to take on the task, however, I do not have air tools. In Eric’s most recent strut replacement video on the Odyssey he used some hand tools and some air tools. The air tools particularly for that huge bolt that is holding everything together. Could that bolt be taken apart by hand? or is the torque too high to even try?
Eric, Thank you for the info, I will be using OE struts. I found struts for $173. However, I am considering buying the assembly. Not sure. If I just got the shocks I would take it to a technician to change over the springs like Eric recommended but does the strut assembly have parts that could potentially need changing in the future?
Also do I need to get an alignment after.
Thanks guys!
Also Eric I looked and the psi was a bit too high. I reduced it to your recommendation and the ride is a lot better
Side note: I called around and everyone seems to be saying the same price between 720-740. Called the Honda dealership 600. Parts labour and alignment. Just goes to show you. Dealer isn’t always the worst.
You don’t need an alignment when replacing those struts. As for other parts, it’s tough to say. I would remove the strut and inspect the upper bearing plate to see if there is any damage like I did in the Odyssey video.
Tires also play a HUGE factor in handling. Honda’s are VERY particular about the tires you put onto them. If you have cheap tires, you might consider some better ones before you bite the bullet on new struts. If the struts aren’t leaking and they’re OE, I would leave them alone and look elsewhere for the problem. Tires being at the top of that list. You’ve already seen the difference the psi makes. New tires would make an even bigger impact.
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