Help.. unknown noise after installing new suspension all round.. Bilstein B12 kit, Meyle control arms all new..

[KeirW]

Hey folks.. I'm hoping someone can help me as this is driving me crazy now...

I have an A4 3.0 TDI Avant, 2014 B8.5 with 125k miles on roughly.. it drives great as in engine and gearbox however the suspension was getting crashy and tired so rather than do bits and pieces I went to town and had everything done hoping the car would last me a long time until something needed doing.

I bought the full Bilstein B12 Pro kit for my model of A4, Meyle HD control arm kit, new bump stops, dust covers, mounts, track rod ends, and anti-roll bar link arms.. anything that looked like it needed doing was done. These were fitted and very soon after fitting I noticed a strange noise going over bumps. This steadily got worse and worse until it now sounds like this.. driving speed was only about 10 to 15mph over a normal ish road with our Great British tarmac falling to bits..


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZzYaDqdK3YE

I had another mechanic near me look into it and he could only suggest something was wrong with one of the struts as the noise was coming from the front right wheel area (driver's side) and nowhere else. He took a long look at the car and couldn't see anything wrong. At my cost I ordered a new strut thinking something must have been wrong inside the recently fitted one, this was fitted and within a few minutes driving the noise was back again. Driving over bumps or rough patches on the left side is completely silent, it's only on the right yet there's nothing obvious. I've already wasted over £300 having a new strut fitted that didn't need doing, I'm praying that someone can help me figure this out as the noise is embarrassing, outside the car it's really noisy and I'm even getting looks like I'm driving a dangerous heap that shouldn't be on the road..

 

[spartacus68]

Identifying noises from suspension is notoriously difficult to pinpoint, and to be honest that video doesn’t help at all.

The B8 used a aluminium engine cradle front subframe. These can suffer stress fractures. Would likely be picked up at MOT, but worth an investigation. When suspension was installed, was anything done to engine mounts or gearbox mounts? Are they still original, any deterioration?

On the ARB bar, were new rubber bushes installed? Over time they can split, and is straight forward job with ARB links disconnected. Likely front undertray will need to be off too.

 

[KeirW]

Identifying noises from suspension is notoriously difficult to pinpoint, and to be honest that video doesn’t help at all.

The B8 used a aluminium engine cradle front subframe. These can suffer stress fractures. Would likely be picked up at MOT, but worth an investigation. When suspension was installed, was anything done to engine mounts or gearbox mounts? Are they still original, any deterioration?

On the ARB bar, were new rubber bushes installed? Over time they can split, and is straight forward job with ARB links disconnected. Likely front undertray will need to be off too.

Thanks for the reply, nothing was picked up last MOT re the subframe. The engine and gearbox mounts are all original, I'll mention them to my mechanic again, I did suggest the engine mounts but that was dismissed I believe. I'm just after some ideas to look into so thanks, it's gone from a car i love driving to one I can't stand so I'm gutted to say the least.

 

[rum4mo]

Not something silly like the small side heat shields, as they need to be removed to replace the lower rear arms - each one gets fixed to the car using 2 small bolts and 1 large one - from memory.

Edit:- typically when the engine mountings start to fail they leak fluid, and that can end up on the bottom of the engine cradle/subframe as black stuff.