Top hat nut

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e4tnu
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:27 am
Location: United Kingdom

Top hat nut

Post by e4tnu »

Hi all i have a nasty squeak coming from the rear off side of my NC i think it is coming from the nut washer rubber combination that sits on top of the top hat to hold the top of the shock in place.
Can this nut be slackened off and rubber lubed with all 4 wheels on the ground or do i have to jack up the rear and then support the hub from underneath with a jack then undo the nut ?
Brian
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Re: Top hat nut

Post by Brian »

Hmm, that should not make noise unless loose. So, rather than lube it I would get it tight. Unfortunately, will be tough to do that without taking it out because the shaft will just spin once you reach a certain amount of tightness. Has the suspension been changed?
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
e4tnu
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:27 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Top hat nut

Post by e4tnu »

Hi Brian, yes the car know has Racing Beat front and rear sway bars and bushes and Gaz-coilovers and is lowered about 30mm from the original height from when it came into the country, i bought the car new two years ago and the mods have been on about 10 months.
The noise is more like a creak and is there when driving on a straight but seems to disappear when cornering left or right then returns when on a straight and it makes no difference if car is laden or not.
So if it is a case of tightening then does the car need to be jacked up and the hubs supported ?

This is how it sits today.
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Brian
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Re: Top hat nut

Post by Brian »

My guess is that top nut on the rear coilovers did not get properly torqued down. Need an impact gun to hit the nut fast enough that the rod does not spin. If coilovers installed without that impact wrench, then that would explain why that top nut is still loose. It would be difficult to get enough torque on it without pulling the coilover from the car to do it...
Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
www.good-win-racing.com
amoore311
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 11:16 am

Re: Top hat nut

Post by amoore311 »

Is that tendency for the rod to spin a brand specific thing Brian?

I'm only asking because I just had to tighten the top nut on my rear driver side tein coilovers. I could torque it down just fine with hand tools without anything spinning.


Edit:

Just realized my coilovers have a washer under the top nut. That's probably the difference. That's how I noticed it was loose in the first place, I heard the washer jingling around behind me.
Oz
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:45 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Top hat nut

Post by Oz »

I had a similar creak that I would have sworn on a stack was coming from the shock...Turned out that it was just a swaybar bush that needed some more lube.
Rob Young
Black 2005 NCLE GWR Exh, Cosworth, Mototune, Ohlins, PF01
e4tnu
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:27 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Top hat nut

Post by e4tnu »

Thanks guy's for the info, just noticed that the rear off side sway bar bush looks a bit skew whiff so when the rain stops i will strip it down and replace with a new set. :)
e4tnu
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:27 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Top hat nut

Post by e4tnu »

:D Hi all a quick update on my squeak/creak that was coming from my rear off side on my MX, i noticed that with the car jacked up there was no play in the coil over springs so I wound the lock and perch nuts down 3 threads just enough so that there was slight play in the springs but not so much that they could be moved easily, and up to know the has been no noise at all, so fingers crossed that’s all the problem was.
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