SWIFT Springs Issue Fixed

[2021Supra]

When I first purchased my car back in August of 2021, one of the first mods was I wanted to do was to lower it. Researched and researched with just lowering swings. Came across Swift springs. Many favored them at the time. Pulled the trigger. Installed went smooth. After about 3-4 months of driving the car and allowing the springs to settle in, the common noise arose that everyone also complained about. I reached out to Swift about the issue (grinding noise while turning at low speeds), and they sent over some coil plastic covers to install on both the front springs. The driver side was the worst. Tore it all down again and installed them. Issue was still there. I made sure I aligned the top hat onto the strut as it was removed. Issue never went away.

Tonight, I wanted to dig into the suspension and see what I could be overlooking. I jacked up the car, removed the front driver side wheel, and began to uninstall it all over it again. Round three. This time I removed the top hat from inside the engine bay. The two previous times, I left it in place and removed the spring assembly only. This time around I began to clean all the components with soapy water and a brush, to ensure all of the mated points were thoroughly cleaned. I tore apart the bearing and laid all three pieces on my table. I cleaned all of the factory grease off all of it. Sprayed brake cleaner to ensure it was all cleaned.

I inspected the bearing on the top hat for any unwanted movement and nothing shifted from previous install. It seemed to be in great shape. After I cleaned all the components and allowed to dry, I applied many layers of synthetic grease inside the bearing assembly. I put the pieces back together and began to spin it by hand, ensuring the grease would penetrate all of the bearing surfaces. I did this 3-4 times. I wanted to make sure that this was able to move freely and made no further noises. I preinstalled everything back together aligning the factory white mark on the bearing assembly facing outward toward the center of the tire. I torqued everything down to spec. I double checked all the lines, spring was set in correctly on the factory rubber strut assembly, connectors were reinstalled, and torqued down the lug nuts. Lowered the car down. Took it out on the bumpiest road. Drove it for like 20 miles in and out of parking lots, turning the car a lot. . I felt this was plenty of ride time, due to the bumps in the road. There was NO NOISE. The issue was resolved. If any of you are experiencing this, I would highly encourage you to either purchase a new top hat and bearing assembly and reinstall, or do what I did. So far so good.

I don't know if it will last, but it was worth me trying to correct the issue before I bought all new components.

Just my .02.....

Sponsored

 

[2021Supra]

Update: I have driven the car one more time for a few miles after it has sat for several days. The car is not making a single noise. Overall I am pleased that what I have done has corrected the popping/crackling noise from these springs. I really think reseating it all and regreasing the entire bearing assembly did the trick.

 

[Timmy_Jones]

Update: I have driven the car one more time for a few miles after it has sat for several days. The car is not making a single noise. Overall I am pleased that what I have done has corrected the popping/crackling noise from these springs. I really think reseating it all and regreasing the entire bearing assembly did the trick.

Awesome! Seems like a common pain point for some. How is the car driving? Still feel and sound ok? Happy with the springs? Are they the Swift R springs? Any pictures?

 

[2021Supra]

I have maybe 150 miles or so since I reassembled everything. No noise. No pops no grinds. Silent.

Very happy with springs. They are Swift R. Everyone was getting Eibach at the time, but I wanted a little bit more of a drop, just from springs, which Swift offered.

 

[Bigboss]

I have maybe 150 miles or so since I reassembled everything. No noise. No pops no grinds. Silent.

Very happy with springs. They are Swift R. Everyone was getting Eibach at the time, but I wanted a little bit more of a drop, just from springs, which Swift offered.

Good looking car swift is definitely the way to go! Have you experienced any rubbing at all?

 

[2021Supra]

Thank you, sir. No rubbing. On spacers front and rear, 13and 15mm BM. Front is 255/35/19, Rear is 295/35/19’s.

 

[Diablo]

Thank you, sir. No rubbing. On spacers front and rear, 13and 15mm BM. Front is 255/35/19, Rear is 295/35/19’s.

Currently running same springs. I too have the pop/clunk on front passenger side. Will definitely look into this method. Thank you for the write up!

 

[2021Supra]

Sure man. I can’t tell you how important it is to make sure that the top section of the springs needs to set inside the top hat assembly.

Once you clean everything and regrease the bearings with a lot of grease, make sure to spin the bearing several times. This will ensure that the new grease penetrates the bearings. I did this like 3-4 times then wiped off the excess outside the assembly. When you hear it spin/turn freely without any noise, you have enough grease. Then reinstall.

Second tip. Once you have the strut assembly back into the car, and start tighten the bolts on the top hat, inside the engine bay, completely down, pull out on the entire assembly a little, toward yourself. This helped me seat the spring onto the bearing assembly and top hat. I heard it like click into place. Do this before you tighten the top bolts completely down. When they are finger tight, do this method, then tighten the rest of the way down to correct torque. This ensures that the bearing assembly is seated correctly inside the top hat.

Third tip. If one of the bearings falls out, don’t freak out. Put it back and pop back into place. Make sure it didn’t pick up any dirt or debris from where it landed. Make sure it’s clean and grease it good!!

If there is something that is clear as mud, post up. Be glad to help even over the phone. You can do this by yourself.

 

[Timmy_Jones]

Update: I have driven the car one more time for a few miles after it has sat for several days. The car is not making a single noise. Overall I am pleased that what I have done has corrected the popping/crackling noise from these springs. I really think reseating it all and regreasing the entire bearing assembly did the trick.

Going to do my install soon, which grease did you use? Do you have a link or picture? Want to have it on hand, just in case!

 

[2021Supra]

I used what I had on hand already. I believe it was Valvoline full synthetic grease. I cleaned the factory grease completely out and applied ample amounts of this grease in its place. Twisted it around several time with each layer of new grease. This was to ensure that the grease penetrated the bearings. If any of the bearings fall out on disassembly, don't freak out. Just clean it before placing/locking back into place. Then reapply grease. Once you have inserted grease 3-4 times and spinning the assembly by hand, wipe off any excess around the plastic housing itself. Ready fro install.

 

[Jmanlevan]

forgive me for my ignorance, but where is there a bearing in the spring/strut assembly? In the top hat? I'm just curious why switching springs would cause issues with this bearing you're talking about needing greased! Thanks in advance!

 

[Andrew4Supra]

~ the front fenders look so good painted to match.

 

[2021Supra]

Thank you, sir. They did turn out well.

the plastic sleeve portion that slides over the strut itself has the three pieces I was referring too. A lot of times when you remove this, these pieces sometimes separate because most people just throw it on the ground. There should be a white factory make on the outside to verify the way back in and direction it came out.

Sponsored