New suspension - horrible noise from driver side front? - FIXED

[Jim 2]

Hi all..

 

So I fitted new AP coilovers to my car this week. I took it for it's first test drive the other day and all seemed perfectly well.

 

This evening I just did the last few bits - fitted brand new brackets to the bottom of the struts to hold the ABS sensor and brake line, and raised it up another 10mm or so as it was far too low!

 

However upon dropping it back down and taking it for a drive something is now immediately wrong. On the driver side there's an awful metallic almost cracking noise when going over uneven ground (so if one side changes height but the other doesn't) - doesn't seem to be an issue if going over a bump evenly with both wheel. Seemingly is made worse if the steering is slightly off centre (like turning a corner or something).

 

I thought initially it was just spring settling but I took it round the block and the noise persisted and sounded dangerous so I gingerly drove back and got it jacked back up expecting to see something obvious - but no. Everything looked fine! Checked all the bolts were up tight, put it back on the ground again - same problem when I drove it down the alley.

 

I'm going to have to try and limp it to a garage to work out what's going on, but if anyone has any thoughts I'm certainly desperate to hear them. I've put hours into this suspension swap this week and genuinely am ready to start hitting the car with a breaker bar as I just feel so frustrated. Was hoping to get wheel alignment done tomorrow and take it to a show on Saturday but looks like that's not happening now.

 

Cheers.

[Jim 2]

Reading around on an R32 Golf forum, they talk about it's possible one of the drop links could be loose? Just seemed weird given that it was fine when I drove it yesterday - then I jacked it up a little bit, fitted those brackets at the bottom of the struts, and now it's doing this?

 

Thought it could be the drive shaft hitting the bottom of the damper but it looks like it's totally clear of it - and again can't see how changing the ride height would change this anyway as the drive shaft and position of the strut are a fixed distance.

 

Guess I best get it over to a garage for a check over - see if they can work it out.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Have you got the brackets the correct side? I seem to remember when fitting mine they could go on in two different positions.

 

Or could the spring have twisted when adjusting the height? Might be sat weird in the top plate.

 

I doubt its going to be any suspension or drivetrain component hitting each other.

[Jim 2]

Have you got the brackets the correct side? I seem to remember when fitting mine they could go on in two different positions.

 

Or could the spring have twisted when adjusting the height? Might be sat weird in the top plate.

 

I doubt its going to be any suspension or drivetrain component hitting each other.

 

Pretty sure the brackets are on the right sides as the brake line / ABS sensor wire were sitting in the right place ready to be clipped in. I will certainly try removing the brackets again though and seeing if the noise persists.

 

Seriously having a motivation issue but thinking I should probably remove the whole strut again on that side and make sure everything is done up properly (specifically the nut that secures the top mount to the strut).

[Jim Bowen 1]

I would, once you get going its not too bad a job. I've lost count of the amount of times i removed and refitted my suspension.

[fendervg 33]

As above - sometimes components, even new, are just faulty as well.

 

I've got a mystery LHS Bilstein B6 shock on mine at the moment, that appears perfectly normal but has internal damage that shows up on a test rig (some, but not all test rigs - not all test rigs were created equally apparently ;) ). I'm replacing both rears to pass the test, and will then follow up with the supplier via my mechanic to see if it's a warranty issue or just wear and tear.

[Jim 2]

The only weird thing about it all is that I did take it on a test run for a few miles on Wednesday, and all was well. All I did yesterday was raise the car some more and fit those bracket things at the bottom of the front struts.

[Jim 2]

Seems to be fixed. I jacked the car up again this morning and removed the driver side front strut (where the noise was coming from) - all seemed fine from what I could see however I could see a bit of plastic in part of the assembly (plastic shroud on the underside of the bump stop) looked slightly damaged - I think it might have, for some reason, being catching on a rung of the spring as the suspension changed going over bumps causing the noise. Anyway I dialled it down a little more, re-attached to the car and took it for a drive and it all all seems happy now :)

 

Amazed at how much better the car goes round corners. I guess I'd gotten so used to my knackered Bilstein dampers that I just hadn't realised really how bad they were.. zipped round a few corners earlier and it felt like it was on rails!

 

Will get an alignment done in the week hopefully.

[robrado974 1]

Glad it's sorted Jim . I hate my suspension , I don't have coils overs just soft to hard adjustment , even on soft it's crashy .

[seanl82 23]

Happy to hear this Jim, it was almost comical but in a bad way how just how much trouble you've had. Glad this is something you're now happy with and the problem was simple and a free fix! Fingers crossed you've finally turned a corner! :thumbleft: