Front suspension 'top mount' play..

[greengti 0]

Morning

 

I have been having some nasty noises coming from the front of My 1.8 16v Corrado which I though may have been caused by a wheel bearing.

 

After jacking the car up and feeling both the front wheels for play I have found that there is a lot of play it you hold the wheel at the top and bottom and push and pull. This play is NOT however coming from the bearing (hub) area it is actually the top of the shock moving….

 

Does anyone know what causes this?? Is it the top rubber mount on the shock??

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

[coolrado 0]

when the car is jacked up its normal for the top of the strut to be a bit loose as the rubber section of the top mount drops out of the cup that it normally sits in, you can usually see if a top mount has gone because normally you should only just be able to get your little finger in the gap between the metal top plate and the strut top when the wheels are straight, although it is possible that the bearing could have gone before the rubber.

 

you can usually tell a top mount bearing has gone when you get a clonking through the chassis when a front wheel hits a bump or dip in the road.

 

its probably worth getting wishbone bushes, track rod ends, bottom ball joints and top mounts all done at the same time anyway, as it saves having the tracking and camber reset multiple times and most of the bits are pretty cheap and if one of those things is worn out the others will soon follow.

[greengti 0]

Thanks very much for the reply.

 

I have done a lot of work on cars in the past (always 205 Gti’s never a VW before) and I have never had a car with this amount of excessive play in the top mounts, you car visually see the threaded shaft with the nut on it moving backwards and forwards. There is no way this can be factory finish or even pass an MOT.

 

In regards to the wheel alignment is this not just a case of going down Kwik Fit and payin £15 - £20 for the tracking??

 

As much as I would love to change all the parts suggested there is a long list of other necessities that have to be done, a mortgage and a high maintenance woman which is making this a shoe string affair…

:cry: :cry:

[coolrado 0]

all of the parts i mentioned would probably only cost about £85, if the nut in the centre of the top mount is moving within the mount then yes the bearing is well and truly fubar but its normal for the top mount to move within the tower when the car is jacked up.