Koni Strut groan and rattle

I just installed these Koni str.t struts a month or two ago. Less than 3k miles on these strut. Now while going over the smallest bump in the road it makes a rattle and groan (rubbing) noise.

I isolated the noise to the driver side.

Loosen and re-torqued the sway bar link bolt on that strut. Same noise would happen. I jacked the strut up under the A-arm while the car was on jack stands. The noise would not happen on compression; but definitely made the groan on rebound.

I can't believe this strut has gone bad with under 3k on it and no aggressive driving as of yet.

Car has Steeda HD strut mount plates so I really doubt it's the strut mounts.

Anybody else run into this issue?


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Stethoscope into different parts when recreating the noise to pinpoint. Did you loosen and retighten the control arm bolts? I've been told to torque those at ride height instead of unloaded.

Don't have a stethoscope. I still have the stock strut assembled with stock spring. I think I'll try that too.

I didn't loosen the bolts from the spindle to the strut but I check to see if they were tight and they were tight as hell.


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Use a long screwdriver, put the tip on various places, with the handle to your ear.

Video of the noise:

http://youtu.be/N5FkzFp0k5s


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It barely happens at higher speeds (above 45mph). But very loud on decel, cruising low speed, and turning. Turning is when it's at it loudest I think


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Try unbolting the sway bar end links (and tie it against the struts) and take a drive. I've seen OEM end links goes bad with relatively low miles.

I may try this. But I'm feeling like it's not the sway bar end links. The groan is bad on decompression by jacking the a-arm and releasing.


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Video of the noise from just pressing down on the front end of the car.




No noise from passenger side, all of its on the driver's side.

Really thinking about Strange Single Adjustables

That is odd. My STR.T's have been flawless for over 20K. Good thing about Koni is they do warranty their products for life. Have you sent them the videos?

I still have the email from LMR for them. Koni either wants you to send the strut back in to be evaluated or they offer a replacement for half retail price. I bought them when they had them on special.

The strut is bad for sure, press down on the fender to check the rebound. (mine was slow and sluggish). However they should have a warranty, I brought mine new when I had them and one of them had failed with the first 100 miles. I jacked up the arm the same way you did and heard the same noise. You'll still have to pay for shipping and the noise may or may not go away. Mine were always noisy, but they worked. Ive always steered people away from these.

Jinx said:

I still have the email from LMR for them. Koni either wants you to send the strut back in to be evaluated or they offer a replacement for half retail price. I bought them when they had them on special.

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They refund you once they get the strut back. You just have to pay for shipping to them.

It couldn't be the control arm TSB, could it?

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What exactly is the control arm TSB?

It literally started with the Koni install. I installed all this the week of mustang week.


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Does it make a screechingor popping noise when you let the jack go?

Goes up silent but just a slow resonating groan when releases. Sounds like plumbing in a old house.

It's a bad strut. Konis are known for that. I made the mistake of buying oranges and swapped them out for Bilsteins within a month. Your options are to pull them out and send them back, or buy new then send them back and get a credit.

jp1seattle said:

It's a bad strut. Konis are known for that. I made the mistake of buying oranges and swapped them out for Bilsteins within a month. Your options are to pull them out and send them back, or buy new then send them back and get a credit.

Click to expand...

No they are not. I spoke to Sam Strano at length before buying the components for my suspension and koni's aren't known for putting out a bad strut. Sure it happens with that much volume in production but it isn't common. Bilstein makes excellent products and may be more geared toward performance then a entry level dampner like the STR.T but if you are looking for a good upgrade over stock and want to use a lowering spring and not spend $800 to do it the koni's are perfect. Especially if you DD the car. Yellows are a better choice and on par with some of Bilsteins offerings as well.

I have heard more issues with the koni's now I that I find myself researching into them. Wish I done that before hand. But its could be from the sheer volume.

Tomorrow I removing the sway bar then test drive. If that doesnt do a damn thing, I'll reinstall the stock assembly then test drive. If the noise goes away, I'll get new struts. Question is what struts.