Growling/Clunking noise in rear while accelerating hard in 1st or 2nd ??

I just did a Stg. 2 install on a buddies car tonight...

 

Before... STi Pinks.... stock tune ... no growl.

After ... STi pinks.... Cobb Stg. 2 ... Growls like a @#$?%#@$.

 

see, this actually isn't a problem. now you have actually made the car mean and it wants to tear up and eat everything in site!! PROBLEM SOLVED!

Looks very much like our bushings will fit with a little bit longer crush tube. This is from a quick "slide under the car glance."

 

We're gonna pull the piece this week sometime, and try it out.

 

Great news, thank you for keeping us informed.

For those waiting to hear about the Turn in Concepts bushings, here is what I found.

 

Here are the bushings I received in the mail today

The second pic is of the stock rear differential bushings, as you can see the bushings and crush tube should be about 2 3/8" or so. (note - I am holding the tape measure on the outside of the mount, subtract the thickness of the mount)

The third picture is of the rear diff mount bushings that were sent to me by Turn In Concepts with the crush tube inside the bushings, 1 7/8” thick.

The fourth picture is what I ended up with. Three of the four nuts removed, and the fourth one would not come free with a 2 foot breaker bar and was beginning to round off. When my dad gets back in town I will use his torch to heat it up, and air tools to remove. (This bolt is tighter that the lower rear shock bolt, for those of you that have swapped out your suspension)

The fifth picture shows the upper rear diff bushings

 

What I learned

1. With a longer crush tube, I think these bushing will work

2. I looked everywhere for signs of metal-to-metal contact or rubbing, to try to determine the source of the growling noise under acceleration and found no unusual wear on anything.

3. It was mentioned earlier in this tread about play in the rear half shafts. I have a very small amount on the driver’s side, none on the passenger side.

 

Thanks for http://turninconcepts.com/ for sending me these bushings to try out!

If I would have had a torch to heat the stubborn bolt and a longer crush tube, I think these will fit.

REM870 is coming by on Wed so we can drop his front mount. I have some tube material here so we'll be cutting some sleeves that are long enough.

 

The bushing size is so close I'll have to measure it when we drop the part.

I'm patiently waiting for the results of this test.

 

HURRY UP!!!

 

please tell me there are people with stage upgrades without the noise.

I might have to delay modding until this gets solved....

 

But then again I live in CA and the car-to-be is a CA car.

 

 

Although the answer to the original question in the thread would be "leave your doberman at home"

 

A sound clip of said growling would help though.

Welll, REM870 came by this evening, and we made a few discoveries.

 

First, while the graphic a few pages back calls for 81 lbs nut and bolt going through the bushing it was not anywhere near that on the car. I'd say it was about 81 BILLION pounds.

 

Second, the bushings in that location are NOT the same as for the rear of the diff. They actually are solid.

 

Third, our Impreza bushings won't fit. They are close, but about 0.2" too small on the OD.

 

So, next up is for someone to take some silicon sheet about 3/16" thick, cut some small squares out of it, and JAM it into the gaps in the bushings in the rear and see what that does to the noise.

 

*sigh*

off post, rony, what wheels are those?

Growl was gone for a week... but with the cold snap last night... it has returned in full force!

EXact same here! Plus my Cusco's barely clunked

off post, rony, what wheels are those?

 

Check my garage linky in my signature...

nice, thanks

This is my first visit, having just acquired my '05 LGT Ltd, I was searching for what the noise I was hearing might be... I am bone stock and have experienced the same issues when it is cold out. MUCH more noticeable when accelerating out of a turn. Thought I broke something the first time I heard it!!! Starting to worry about my choice since I also have the stinky clutch issue as well...

Meh... don't worry about it, bro! Enjoy the car.

mid to high 60's today.....growlin.

I haven't had the growl for about 3 weeks now.

 

Maybe it's your diet, Hans!

same here... not heard it the past few days, 60's but 40's tomorrow and rest of week so i am willing to bet it'll be back again

i heard it yesterday accelerating out of a corner. almost makes me think the differential is struggling with what tires to keep planted.

Just a thought: a few have mentioned that right hand turns produce a louder or more frequent growl. Turning right plants the left hand side of the car -- the drivers side -- which, when driving alone, has more weight on it. This would further indicate that the growl is -- I believe the word of choice was, exacerbated by a decrease in ground clearance.

No growl for some time now.

http://cobbtuning.com/products/Default.asp?id=2444&v=more

 

just another thought.

http://cobbtuning.com/products/Default.asp?id=2444&v=more

 

just another thought.

 

I considered that about a year ago, when I first got the sound.... But it is NOT the exhaust... So that will not help.

Noticed it really really bad the other day with a heavy load in the back. Was kind of cold out, but not that bad, maybe 50s or so. Also, I noticed it the other day when it was like 75 out.

30 degrees today, loud and ugly....