Knocking/clunking from front suspension when going over bumps

[NM07]

Hi chaps,

Since I got my current saloon, it's always had a faint knocking noise coming from the front suspension when going over bumps, or rough pieces of road. I had the anti-roll bar drop links replaced a while back, and that didn't seem to cure it. I asked my mechanic to take a look at it before the MoT the other day and he couldn't find any play in the suspension, so was a bit stumped on what it could be. I know these have a complicated setup on the front, with lots of arms, wondering if there is a common bush/linkage or something that could be the culprit. It's getting louder now and it drives me mad when going down bumpy roads lol, sounds so disconcerting! I didn't have this on my last B7 which had much higher mileage than my current one, so I know something's not quite right.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

 

[Charlie Farley]

are you running oe s-line ?

 

[NM07]

Yep as far as I'm aware everything is OE S-Line parts

 

[NM07]

At 95k miles I'd imagine it's still on factory arms and bushes

 

[Charlie Farley]

All the bushes etc tend to wear quite a lot after a few years to be honest , top and bottom , s-line setup tends to amplify any wear as it is not really the best setup , a bit harsh on a good day.
A lot of guys just bite the bullet and replace upper and lower arms/bushes etc in one swoop, that way you get a nice new front end setup without the worry what bush will fail next, also it's just one labour charge if you're having it done in a garage.

 

[NM07]

Makes sense, it's a 15 year old car now so I'm not surprised the arms and bushes are a little tired. Are there any places that sell a full 'kit' for lack of a better word, that includes all the necessary parts to refresh the front suspension arms and bushes?

 

[Charlie Farley]

i'm on 92k and uppers arm bushes are starting to get a bit soft etc, maybe even split if i get upclose to look.
A new front end set is on my next big outlay during the summer, i'll do it myself so its only parts which works for me.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Makes sense, it's a 15 year old car now so I'm not surprised the arms and bushes are a little tired. Are there any places that sell a full 'kit' for lack of a better word, that includes all the necessary parts to refresh the front suspension arms and bushes?

I'm surprised your dampers etc have lasted so long , my rear dampers sprung a leak years ago at about 50k I think, plus two rear springs snapped at 35k
front weren't much better either, s-line is not really all its cracked up to be .
so suspensions parts should be viewed the same....

 

[Charlie Farley]

From my experience thus far, I'd be replacing everything.
I know that sounds a bit extreme but a fresh set of upper and lower arm etc combined with a quality set of damper/srings (not s-line) front and rear would transform a 15 year old car.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Replacing the s-line kit with an aftermarket setup on my avant was by far one of the best things i have done to it .
The difference is like night and day.

 

[Jamsmoo]

Had an issue with my previous b7 which sounds similar.All suspension parts seemed fine.
One day on a particular section of road near home that always set the clunks and knocks off near home I had to brake where I wouldn’t usually..no knocks !
It was the offside brake pad/pads rattling against the disk


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sygh2k]

Check the front subframe for movement, i get knocks on rougher roads but on the smoother surfaces its hardly noticeable and i have all powerflex bushes on arms and spax rsx coils