My Civic Ek...titaned (first Impressions)

[deathbringer]

ahh...then it's not that bad....
maybe i'll drop by this Sat then...

 

[deathbringer]

*LATEST UPDATE*
Had some spare time today, so i decided to pay Uncle Richard a visit. Was lucky to bump into Stanley too (nice meeting you), since he supposedly only appears on Sats. :)

Anyways, i told them about the squeaking problem. Both Stanley and Richard took a test drive and confirmed the problem. Richard suspected the front left was causing the problem. Had that removed and checked. He said the the spring was scraping against errmm....that circular thingy it was resting on. (dunno wat is that). Fixed it back up, test drove again, but the problem remains.

Long story short, after jacking up the car, we finally found the problem. And it was not at all related to the suspension (well, not directly). It was in fact my front anti-roll bar that was loose, causing the annoying squeaking sound. After richard got that tightened and fixed, as well raising the suspension level (it was scraping bumps, as richard experienced when he drove the car into the shop), my Titans now work like a dream. The squeaks are finally gone,(though i still heard a little bit, maybe from the springs, but only when i go through tough bumps. Could also be my chasis.) and my ride feels much more responsive thanks to the re-tightened ARB.

So don't just sit there staring at your screens, you Civic owners. Get out there and get yourselves Titan-ed.

P.S. Kudos to Stanley, Richard, and team for the responsive and excellent service.

 

[ninja_iga]

hey thanks for your kind words mate :)

nice to meet you too!

 

[deathbringer]

np :)

but there's still the slight problem of the spring scraping (according to Richard), which was evidently marked on the spring itself. Although it's not the source of the squeaks, i think it could pose a problem in the long run.

Any suggestions??

 

[ninja_iga]

deathbringer dude

how's the ride? :)

 

[deathbringer]

deathbringer dude

how's the ride? :)

*MAJOR UPDATE*

Hey Stanley. Since we last met, the ride has been good. It's a little bumpy and stiff (according to my GF), but handling was top notch. But then something happened just yesterday......

I was travelling back from my office after work. I was making a turn towards the Federal highway from the Agong's Palace area, when i suddenly heard a loud thud from the front-passenger side, followed by a sound of something coming loose, and from then onwards, there was this sickening sound unlike anything i've heard b4. There were very loud thuds, like the suspension was bottoming out, and i wasn't even on a bumpy road, and there were terrible vibrations going through the entire car. I got scared and made a detour and parked at a quiet spot at the Muzium Negara parking lot.

I made a quick inspection, but found nothing wrong, although i noticed that the front-passenger side was a little lower than usual, and the springs were compressed to the max. My first assumption was that my bushings were gone. So i took a very slow drive to my usual workshop to get it checked. My mechanic friend also made a similar assumption when he test-drove my car. But when he opened the bonnet to have a look at the engine, that's when we saw what really happened. THE NUT, WASHER, AND SOME BLACK RUBBER PIECE THAT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE SCREWED ONTO THE ABSORBER WERE GONE. THERE WAS NOTHING THERE TO SUPPORT THE SUSPENSION, SO IT'S TOP WAS BASICALLY RATTLING WITHIN AN EMPTY HOLE, WITH ONLY THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR TO HOLD IT DOWN IN PLACE. My mechanic said it was the first time he had seen something like this happened, and was lucky i did not meet a horrible accident, the worst case scenario being that the suspension would just pop out from its hold and i would lose control of the car. He said i was lucky that i did not drive much faster or take hard corners at high speeds when it happened.

My mechanic managed to replace the missing components and secured the suspension, which cost me a good RM30. His only reason why it would happen was shoddy workmanship on part of the installer, because a properly secured nut would never, ever just pop out by itself, unless there are no more grooves for it to secure on. Then i remembered that the last time that part of the suspension was taken out, was when Richard wanted to see what was causing that annoying squeaking sound. So my only guess is that the suspension was not replaced back properly.

I was absolutely disappointed that day. I was thanking the heavens that it did not happen when i travelled to Cameron highlands with my gf just last week. I just couldn't imagine what might have happened. I managed to meet Richard that night (my mechanic's workshop was just a 10 mins drive away), and told him what had happened. He said that nothing bad would have happened because my Civic had a double-wishbone system, and could have supported that rogue suspension even if it did pop out. Howver, i find that reason unacceptable, and i'm sure you yourself would not want to find out if just two arms could support the weight of the car at high speeds without resulting in a total collapse of the suspension. Anyways, Richard added an additional nut on both sides to make sure it never happens again. (Even he said that it was the first time that this has ever happened)

Anyways, what i'm trying to say is that you guys should double-check that all components are secured and not only rely on the "expertise" of your workers. I've no hard feelings towards Richard or you, since it was one of his workers who reinstalled the suspension, but i've made clear my disappointment to him that day, and i hope he would train his workers to be more vigilant in their work. My life was put in to an unneccessary risk because of this, and i seriously hope that nothing like this would happen to others, as this matter is not to be taken lightly.

P/S: I will be dropping by, maybe around this week or next, so that my suspension could be inspected for any damage, as i felt that the front-left side is a little lower and softer now.

 

[ninja_iga]

deathbringer

first of all, i sincerely apologise on behalf of MPD Auto Center for causing so much hassle and frustations.
Pass me the receipt for your small repairs mentioned and i'll personally re-imburse you.

I'll personally make sure that this does NOT happen again, the ones responsible will be advised and reprimanded accordingly.

again, i apologise on behalf of TiTANs.

 

[ninja_iga]

i'm very very glad you and your car is alright.

 

[deathbringer]

Reimbursement is not neccessary, as it's only a small amount, and neither my car nor myself suffered any damage. (not to say that i'm rich though...) :)

But I was very frustrated because this problem occured when it could have been prevented. The safety of me and my passengers have been compromised because of this error, but i'm glad you're taking steps to ensure that this will never happen again to anyone else.

Don't get me wrong, Titan suspensions are of good quality and the services you guys provide are spot on, but there's always room for improvement. Remember, not everyone can be so forgiving when something serious like this occurs.

Cheers.

 

[ninja_iga]

deathbringer

thanks for you for being so patient and diplomatic.
We appreciate your feedback, and we aim to better ourselves.
Thanks again!