clonk under sudden sharp braking

ALPINE

Yes its diesel, now cry u lost
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front near side. just notice clonks if i hit the anchors a bit sharpish. passes an mot a month ago. any ideas??
 
Just out of curiosity what was the weather like/road conditions? only I`ve had that happen on two occasions, once over a year ago, and again in the last cold snap around christmas when theres been snow/ ice on the ground. It maybe just coincedance but its the only time its happened..maybe to do with the low temperature..although its been a lot colder and not happened..maybe the abs? hope this helps :unsure:
 
Check your front wishbone bushes and ARB bushes.
 
Had the same problem with mine, turned out to be Anti-roll bar bushes and linkages, pain in the **** to replace. The cold will affect noise coming from the bushes as they are made of rubber and are harder when cold. A test you you can try is to drive through a pot hole on one side then the other to see if you get the knocking noise. Obviously don't go mental through the pothole as you can do some serious damage, you could ofcourse find one that is massive, drive through it and claim damages from the council, i know a few people who have done this!
 
yeh i think you lot are prob right about it being a bush. Had new wheels fitted and balenced yesterday as well as a full geio set up and i still get a slight wobble at between 70 and 80. it goes away any slower or faster. Its not violent but ever so slight.(almost not there if that makes sense) Dont know if a worn ARB would cause this??
 
Hmm i'm not really mechanically minded i just dabble and try to save on stupidly expensive mechanic costs but when i had warn anti roll bar linkages and bushes i had no wheel wobble whatsoever even at the cars top speed. Next time you are under the car look for some play in the linkages, you will know if it doesn't feel right. I honestly can't see that causing the problem though unless ofcourse at 70-80 it happens to be the resonant frequency of the linkages but i'm just guessing to be honest. Do you have any play in the steering?
 
Just a quick thought, on the wheels you took off yesterday did you notice uneven wear?
 
Yeah if i were you get those anti roll bar bushes replaced and linkages if needed then see if the problem goes away. The knocking noise will just get worse and worse, it will affect handling too so i've been told.
 
i have a wobble at 80-90ish
started after knocking car up a kerb :(
put new wheels on, new tires, rebalanced the lot and had tracking done
still pulls the left quite badly and has the aforementioned wobble

although ive been told i have a few worn bushes etc before the little adventure up the kerb the steering was perfect, straight as anything no wobbles

if i had bent a track rod end would they not have picked up on this when doing the tracking?

and i havent noticed a clunk when under harsh braking but i do get a clunk when reversing off my drive and putting it on almost full lock, low speed obviously?
 
checked that fella, think it mite me a ARB worn. Ill get on the case payday! :)
 
front near side. just notice clonks if i hit the anchors a bit sharpish. passes an mot a month ago. any ideas??

If it is like a loud twangy clonk, it is almost certainly a sheared engine / gearbox mounting bolt, on the n/s of the car, you may not even realise it as the bolts seize in the mount but also snap so dont hold the mount in lace properly. A lot of drilling out required , tap the threads and fit a new bolt.

ARb bushes are more just a rattle over potholes and transverse ridges, not really affected by brakes. The broken bolt shows very few symtoms, only the loud single clunk under very heavy or sharp braking. Normal braking at slower speeds, all seems ok.
BTW is it an s3 or an a3? MOre common on A3s and golf 4s.
 
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well i have found my problem the fecking power steering rack has failed on me so thats another s3 off the road for now :blownose:
 
this sounds more like it. thankyou, ill get it checked out. its an A3 BTW. dont suppose you got any pics of what mount it is do you?


cheers
 
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You are unlikely to have the broken bolt due to the engine having been changed last year anyway, we had the lot out, so corrosion and fretting is unlikely
 
No, mine broke after the gearbox had been taken out and put back in for a clutch job. It was a biyatch to undo, and probly weakened it, then when done back up with the impact gun, it started to make the clunk. Took a while to find it, and we ended up having to drill the gbox flange right through and fit and nut on the end of a longer bolt.

Worth a check as the symtoms were exactly as described.
 

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