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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > check your Koni strut top nuts



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      08-13-2015, 10:40 AM   #1
ajsalida
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check your Koni strut top nuts

Was chasing down some minor noises in front and found one of the top nuts on the Koni yellows had backed off to where no threads were visible at the top. Loose enough that with a socket I could turn it easily by hand. That's about 1/2" higher than it should be, meaning the whole assembly was not pre-loaded correctly. This was surprising as they were properly TQ'd down on install.

Noise is gone but will keep an eye on them, maybe loctite it down if it doesn't stay. Other side is fine.
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      08-13-2015, 10:56 AM   #2
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Damn, I wish you took a picture to see the actual difference.

Good PSA, though - I'll review mine after work.
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      08-13-2015, 11:00 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmmnot View Post
Damn, I wish you took a picture to see the actual difference.

Good PSA, though - I'll review mine after work.
Well what caught my eye by accident was driver's side there were 1/2" of threads showing above the nut on the shaft, passenger side there were none! Stood there like a maroon for a few seconds...hey wait a minute...that's not right! It's hard to see them under the strut bar down in that hole. So even before putting the car on jack stands I pulled the strut bar aside and holy cow, nut is totally loose.

I thought I remembered those nuts as being nylocks, if they are this one's lock feature is toast. I will probably take it off later today and put some loctite on the threads.

In addition to curing the noise, it also cured a very minor feeling of the steering force being a bit uneven, heavier going to one side than the other. Subtle but obvious after re-tightening.

Last edited by ajsalida; 08-13-2015 at 11:05 AM..
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      08-16-2015, 09:03 PM   #4
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Thanks to this thread I solved my clunk/thunk noise after replacing my original struts with Koni FSD's. After replacing the sway bar links the noise was still there, along with a shudder when braking at high speed.
It turns out that when I replaced the struts I allowed the knuckle to hang on the control arms without loosening the bolts at the frame. I had damaged the bushings.
After replacing the control/thrust arms the noise was still there. After searching this forum I checked the top nuts on the struts and found them loose enough to turn by hand (with a socket). After moving the strut brace aside it was easy to tighten the top nut. This was done with the wheels on the ground and I didn't need to hold back.
In retrospect, I should have tightened the top nut when the suspension was loaded, similar to tightening the bushing bolts with the wheels under load.
My thanks to you for pointing me in the right direction.
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      08-17-2015, 05:55 AM   #5
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Glad you solved your problem. My car had some very minor clunking coming from the front, thought I had discovered why when I noticed two driver's side bushings were bad. Getting ready to look at it more closely accidentally noticed the passenger side nut loose. Noise is gone but bushings still need attention.

Couple of really interesting thing happened after. One steering got much sharper/tighter and evenly weighted side-side. Second driver's side rear previously sat about 1/4" higher than it should have. That's gone too. The only thing I can think of is that nut being loose had less pre-load on that corner, making it a bit softer. Tightening it up brought pass front corner up and pushed weight diagonally to LR, closing the gap.

I have new control arms and Strongflex poly tension strut bushings to install, really curious how that will affect steering and road feel.
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      08-18-2015, 04:51 PM   #6
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I am all stock/OEM and after replacing the struts, links and control/thrust arms (with ball joints), I"m satisfied with the results. If I had been smarter I would not have jumped the gun on the links, and instead checked the strut top nuts. The noise (clunk/thunk), sounded and felt like it was in the dashboard, and that makes sense because the strut braces are anchored at a single point in the middle of the windshield behind the cabin air filter. The noise/thunk transmitted from the loose strut top nuts into the dash via the strut braces. Lesson learned.
Peter S
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      08-18-2015, 09:21 PM   #7
FamilyManTrackSedan
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Interesting - after installing Konis I found the top nut has been fine, although I torqued them down before lowering the car or jacking up the control arm. Wonder if I should've torqued them with the car on its own weight, or just used loctite anyway. I'll keep an eye on it. I am getting a minor "mouse squeaking" at the dash/guage area. If I squeeze the gauge window against the dash it stops, but I wonder if the strut brace at the center is what's now fluidly translating road vibration via a much firmer suspension.
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      08-20-2015, 03:25 PM   #8
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The strut top nuts are normally nylock nuts. Loctite is not needed.

It's recommended to replace the nut because the nylon is technically one time use.

With that being said, I've re-used them without issue.
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