Me & The Bumblebee are not friends today...

[Welly]

<rant>

This ****** car drives me mad.

Needs new brakes as mine are fecked. Again.

Was having a play with a Scooby over the weekend and sparks started coming out of the nearside wheel up past the window. This prompted me to investigate obviously, and the disk has eaten itself.

****.

She has also developed a shaking at high speeds, motorway driving mainly, which is in the style of wheel balancing. It's not though, as I've had them balanced. Hoping this will turn out to be the brakes and the amount of warp on the disk....

Will be replacing my front callipers as well, as the NSF one sticks on (the probable cause of the disc being shot).

Not only is there this annoyance, but my phantom clunk goes on - and it is really winding me up now.

Changed my top mounts over the weekend as they were sat quite high, hoping that movement in the strut was causing things to move that shouldn't be, or the spring was catching, and causing the 'clunk'. Nope.

Still there, as clunky as ever. If anything it's worse.

Has a god look around underneath down my mate's garage up on the ramps, and everything is in order basically. This makes it even more irritating. It is as regular as clockwork meaning it should be easy to see.

I have ordered some new subframe bolts, however am considering taking the frame off completely to look at the rack mount bushes etc etc.

It's getting to the stage now where there isn't much else it can be. I've done:

Top mounts (and checked shocks and springs - both fine). Bottom Ball Joints. Lower arm front and rear bushes. ARB Bushes. Drop links. Complete set of inner and outer CV joints. Front prop doughnut. ARB Bushes.

In all, I reckon so far this ****** clunk has cost me about £600 in parts, and countless hours of labour.

Any ideas anyone?? lol.

</rant>

 

[SiGainey]

PITA when they are miss-behaving aren't they lol! But soo worth it when they are not! Know something else like that too

Absolutely sure it's not the rear beam mounts?

 

[Welly]

PITA when they are miss-behaving aren't they lol! But soo worth it when they are not! Know something else like that too

Absolutely sure it's not the rear beam mounts?

Pinpointing where it is coming from is hard, as it will ONLY do it when moving.

It's not the rack, as you can have the car on the deck, lock to lock over and over again, but it won't do it.

For the last few months, when you drive it, it's got that feeling of something being loose/moving underneath when driving (hard to explain).

Feels like it comes from directly beneath your feet area when driving, so around the pedals, but on the underside.

All things point to subframe, but the bolts are tight (now) lol. Going to get it back up in the air next weekend and change the bolts and make sure they are done up to the he-man torque required and see what happens.

Failing that, it could be the frame bushes themselves. Easier and more cost effective to buy a low mileage second hand subframe and just swap it over IMO.

 

[ScottD3]

I have no idea. Not much help i know but i feel your pain.
I have the same issue with the GTI. Unable to locate a nocking and spent just as much time and parts as you trying to fix it.
I've now given up with the front end and moving on to the back end.

Good luck and hope you find it soon.

 

[Welly]

I have no idea. Not much help i know but i feel your pain.
I have the same issue with the GTI. Unable to locate a nocking and spent just as much time and parts as you trying to fix it.
I've now given up with the front end and moving on to the back end.

Good luck and hope you find it soon.

I *WILL* find it.... If it kills me.

 

[ScottD3]

Could it be banging from some where else but making it sound like the front end?
Like the exhaust banging?

 

[SiGainey]

Aren't the subframe bolts stretch ones? If it's not that, then how about the dogbone mount bolts? I had a clunk when I replace the dogbone but not the bolts...

 

[aragorn]

Engine mountings?

 

[Welly]

Aren't the subframe bolts stretch ones? If it's not that, then how about the dogbone mount bolts? I had a clunk when I replace the dogbone but not the bolts...

Engine mountings?

Gearbox mount and the dogbone have been done. Replaced the dogbone mount with a powerflex one - but didn't replace the bolts. Engine side mount is OK.

Doesn't really sound/feel like that sort of problem I don't think. It's lower down. (well, not lower than the dogbone - lol)

For example. It only does it on sideways motion. Turning and pulling off at the same time, hard cornering, and interestingly (but only on one side NSF) when coming down off of a trolley jack. You get this metallic 'snap', hence why the springs were a possibility.

 

[Alex C]

nothing to do with wheel speed differenes when pulling off hard and turning at the same time e.g. pulling out of a junction in front of someone and giving it full beans?

 

[aragorn]

Know any friendly with any MOT testers with a one-man test ramp?

They have hydraulic plates which wiggle the car and suspension in various directions, perhaps putting it on here might help find the culprit, as it can apply far more force and in different directions than you can manually.

 

[Broken Byzan]

Pads clunking around in caliper? Mine did it took ages to find. Does it go away with braking?

Worth a look

 

[Welly]

Pads clunking around in caliper? Mine did it took ages to find. Does it go away with braking?

Worth a look

Nope, brakes have been changed since the knock appearing and it was still there.

 

[Welly]

Know any friendly with any MOT testers with a one-man test ramp?

They have hydraulic plates which wiggle the car and suspension in various directions, perhaps putting it on here might help find the culprit, as it can apply far more force and in different directions than you can manually.

May well try and find out. That would be very useful indeed...

 

[ScottD3]

For example. It only does it on sideways motion. Turning and pulling off at the same time, hard cornering, and interestingly (but only on one side NSF) when coming down off of a trolley jack. You get this metallic 'snap', hence why the springs were a possibility.

Is this with just the 1 side jacked up?

What happens if you jack up the hole front end and then lower it down?

Does the speed of lowering it effect the clunk?

 

[Welly]

nothing to do with wheel speed differenes when pulling off hard and turning at the same time e.g. pulling out of a junction in front of someone and giving it full beans?

Nope, don't need to be accelerating at all really. For example, as I reverse off my drive, and then roll backwards briefly and turn the wheels to drive down the road, it will do it then. And that's under no accelerational load.

 

[Welly]

Is this with just the 1 side jacked up?

What happens if you jack up the hole front end and then lower it down?

Does the speed of lowering it effect the clunk?

It will do it sometimes, and not others. Speed of lowering has no relevance, it will do it if it wants to.... lol.

 

[Welly]

Also worth pointing out that it has been getting worse over the last few months.

Its hard to describe, BUT:

If you are driving down a straight road, and swerve to the right, one side will clunk. If you swerve right again, it won't.

Then, in contrast, if you swerve left, it will clunk. Then swerve left again, it won't.

Like something moving about.

However - if you are doing a 180 degree turn around a mini roundabout for example, you get 1 - 3 separate clunks from one side or the other, depending on which way you are turning.

It's got all the symptoms and characteristics of something rubber breaking down.

 

[JD09]

I feel your pain my friend. Still have the steering issue. Isn't bothering me as much at the moment as I'm driving slowly around to save on fuel! But so far, all new shocks and springs. All front bushes done. Drop links done. Top mounts done.

Next step has to be rack related!

 

[DJ_Troopa]

Welly what brakes are you running at the moment? Don't say standard with all that power you've got now!?

Hope you get it all sorted, cars can be a right pain in the **** lol.

 

[Welly]

Welly what brakes are you running at the moment? Don't say standard with all that power you've got now!?

OK I won't say standard.

I'm running stock brakes....lol.

I have never had any problems with tthem stopping me to be honest mate, I would only upgarde them if they became an issue, but they simply aren't.

(Well, they are at the moment...)

 

[JD09]

GROUP BUY FROM BILL!

When I say group, I mean two of us, lol!

 

[Welly]

GROUP BUY FROM BILL!

When I say group, I mean two of us, lol!

Isn't that a 'pair buy'.... lol.

 

[JD09]

Yeha, OK.. shurrup.

 

[Welly]

Yeha, OK.. shurrup.

 

[scoobyra]

I've got a banging clunk on both cars Welly - I'm beginning to think it's a shock banging around!

You know what you wanna do with that? You wanna put a 'banging donk on it' PMSL

 

[JD09]

Lol.

If you do end up buying soon, let me know. Need new front discs and pads, thinking about ds2500s...

 

[Welly]

You wanna put a 'banging donk on it' PMSL

Mike, you are a lunatic....

You rock

 

[scoobyra]

 

[Mpathe]

inner track rod arms are they worn or loose, worth a try

 

[sportstractor]

Hmm any worn rubber should be obvious. How to the shocks ride? quite bumpy

Do you feel the clunk through the steering wheel?

Your car is obviously a ****... you should teach it a lesson and trade it in against an rs3

 

[superkarl]

its probably faster than an rs3 though

 

[Welly]

Hmm any worn rubber should be obvious. How to the shocks ride? quite bumpy

Do you feel the clunk through the steering wheel?

Your car is obviously a ****... you should teach it a lesson and trade it in against an rs3

Shocks are fine, had them out and gave them a good inspection over the weekend. It's too low down to be the shocks IMO.

You don't feel the clunk through the steering wheel, no. Only through the floor.

Yes she, is a ****. Been taking lessons off the missus I suspect.... lol.

 

[Welly]

Feel I may have made some progress on this tonight.

Whilst the front end was up in the air, I thought I would check the torque of the rack to subframe mounting bolts.

They should be 20nm + 90 degress according to Autodata. They certainly weren't that.

Undid them, and then torqued them up correctly and it has made it substantially better.

I plan to replace the rack mounting bushes. Either with OEM, or you can get both of them in poly for about £24 delivered...

That and renewing the subframe bolts, I hope, should fix it.

 

[S3 Paul]

Its not the down pipe toutching the sub from is it?
When we first fitted mine ( done in a bit of a rush as it was dark and very cold ) we didnt notice the front rubber was shot and allowing the down pipe to touch the subframe at random times.

 

[Welly]

Its not the down pipe toutching the sub from is it?
When we first fitted mine ( done in a bit of a rush as it was dark and very cold ) we didnt notice the front rubber was shot and allowing the down pipe to touch the subframe at random times.

No, the pipe is clear from the frame .

It was doing it before the frame was installed to be fair.