# Knocking/clunking noise from front of car



## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

Hope some of you guys are aware of this issue...
OK, so my car is on coils, for a long time now... Recently had a shop raise the car for me. Didn't get an alignment done yet. (Haven't driven that much yet though but I'm going to get it done this week)
The car makes soft but noticeably knocking sounds coming from front of the car. I'm currently about 500 miles away from home so I need to use an independent shop to fix the problem. (Calling Tyrolsport tomorrow) i'm curretly in jersey city.
The noise comes while turning left and right. Sometimes while braking (just moderate braking, sound more noticeable when car is about to stop fully) and also when driving over harsh roads (bumps).
Did a search on A3 forums with absolutely no luck but it seems like a LOT of people in the mk5 scene is experiencing this issue with either stock or aftermarket suspension setups. (Here's a 20 page thread about it...) http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2721992
I mean it could be tons of different things... (cv joint, bearings, strut bearings, loose bolts or whatever) but my issue sounds pretty much dead on with others that posted on the thread above and none of them really found a solution.... (It's a 20 page thread with no answer/solution originally dated from 2006)
Any advices on where to check, what to do would be great but I will have to leave that to the shop I will be dropping it off to. 

Thanks


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## fergie.g (May 11, 2008)

****!? Dude...how much clear coat did you use on your car because that's like a mirror!


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## kwanja_a3 (May 22, 2007)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

at what speeds does this happen? regular turns on major roads, or like, parking lot speeds?
Because I had this issue on parking lot speeds with my old coilovers, some of the moving parts were rusted/corroded so it made the noises while turning at low speeds.
On Bilstein PSS10s now and completely silent.


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## 2.0TProjekt (Feb 2, 2009)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*


_Quote, originally posted by *yoonskim* »_









Dude what are you using to get that kind of shine? http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif







I want to shine like that


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (kwanja_a3)*


_Quote, originally posted by *kwanja_a3* »_at what speeds does this happen? regular turns on major roads, or like, parking lot speeds?
Because I had this issue on parking lot speeds with my old coilovers, some of the moving parts were rusted/corroded so it made the noises while turning at low speeds.
On Bilstein PSS10s now and completely silent.

It's actually at driving speed, fast or slow, I don't think it happens on parking lot speeds. I can hear it the most driving on rough roads (mogul like NYC roads) straight line and turns.

And for the car being so shiny... I'm not gonna lie, that was just after a regular car wash and no wax... It's probably the sunny weather + good camera is what you need







(Nikon D90)


_Modified by yoonskim at 11:59 AM 1-18-2010_


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

bump... anyone?


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## azoceanblue (Aug 13, 2006)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

Alright, I will take a shot at what it could be. I don't know the proper names of the parts, but her goes . . . I watched my shop lower the front some more a year after I had my coils installed and there's a collar which they had to use a type of allen wrench before they could adjust the height. Is it possible your shop did not securely tighten this collar with the allen wrench? Or snug this collar up before tightening the collar allen bolt?
Hey, it is just a guess








I am getting a slight knocking noise too on the driver's side and will have my shop check my coils that they adjusted last September.
Good Luck


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (azoceanblue)*

What you are talking about is the tiny black lock that prohibits the collars from adjusting by itself but that's only on some coilover setups like KW V2s I had on my GTI.
Mine instead has two collars to avoid coilovers to adjust or move by itself.
I also just figured out that knocking is worse in parking lot speeds while turning... I have an appointment with Tyrolsport tomorrow so hopefully they could pin point the problem and fix it for me








It really sounds like the front swaybar is hitting the subframe slightly or something... maybe the endlinks are loose, or maybe strut bearings are bad... even I can think of more than 10 possible reasons but the thing is that this problem is way too common on mk5/8p chassis... and nobody really has posted a direct solution...


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## NY_Avant (Jan 10, 2009)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*


_Quote, originally posted by *yoonskim* »_Hope some of you guys are aware of this issue...
OK, so my car is on coils, for a long time now... Recently had a shop raise the car for me. Didn't get an alignment done yet. (Haven't driven that much yet though but I'm going to get it done this week)
The car makes soft but noticeably knocking sounds coming from front of the car. I'm currently about 500 miles away from home so I need to use an independent shop to fix the problem. (Calling Tyrolsport tomorrow) i'm curretly in jersey city.
The noise comes while turning left and right. Sometimes while braking (just moderate braking, sound more noticeable when car is about to stop fully) and also when driving over harsh roads (bumps).
Did a search on A3 forums with absolutely no luck but it seems like a LOT of people in the mk5 scene is experiencing this issue with either stock or aftermarket suspension setups. (Here's a 20 page thread about it...) http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2721992
I mean it could be tons of different things... (cv joint, bearings, strut bearings, loose bolts or whatever) but my issue sounds pretty much dead on with others that posted on the thread above and none of them really found a solution.... (It's a 20 page thread with no answer/solution originally dated from 2006)
Any advices on where to check, what to do would be great but I will have to leave that to the shop I will be dropping it off to. 

Thanks
















If you have the car this low and still have the OEM front swaybar it is most likely the axles hitting the swaybars http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (NY_Avant)*


_Quote, originally posted by *NY_Avant* »_If you have the car this low and still have the OEM front swaybar it is most likely the axles hitting the swaybars http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

Frank, the funny thing is... I had my car that low for 2 years with no problems. I recently raised the car up significantly and a few days to a week after is when it started making the noise.
There were no rub marks on the front bar last time I checked when the car was as low as pictured.


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## azoceanblue (Aug 13, 2006)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

Thanks Yoon!








I have to print this one out before I go to my shop.


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (azoceanblue)*

My car will be looked at by the shop today and hopefully it will be done in a timely manner. I will report back with any updates.


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## NY_Avant (Jan 10, 2009)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*


_Quote, originally posted by *yoonskim* »_
Frank, the funny thing is... I had my car that low for 2 years with no problems. I recently raised the car up significantly and a few days to a week after is when it started making the noise.
There were no rub marks on the front bar last time I checked when the car was as low as pictured.
The only other thing I can think of is since you adjusted the suspension the actual plates that adjust the height are knocking with the springs or if the axle bolts were not replace when the suspension was they finally came lose enough to start this(sometimes the obvious isn't the culprit i.e. just because you raised it doesn't mean that is the issue or what caused it)


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## Rogerthat (Oct 23, 2005)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4363813 ?
The PDF is gone now but maybe someone can find it.


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## Tcardio (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (yoonskim)*

Here's my 0.02! The print is specifically placed on the springs for a reason. The print should face you directly when looking at them. If they are turned away from you, then you will have a knocking sound. Have the shop lift the car and reorient the springs so the print faces you. I am OCD about collar height so make sure they place each collar on the right tooth and then mark the collar with paint or ink.


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## crew219 (Oct 18, 2000)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (tcardio)*


_Quote, originally posted by *tcardio* »_Here's my 0.02! The print is specifically placed on the springs for a reason. The print should face you directly when looking at them. If they are turned away from you, then you will have a knocking sound. Have the shop lift the car and reorient the springs so the print faces you. I am OCD about collar height so make sure they place each collar on the right tooth and then mark the collar with paint or ink.

Nope.


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## Tcardio (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (crew219)*


_Quote, originally posted by *crew219* »_
Nope. 


Always a naysayer but I had the same problem and now its gone! So negative for 2010 http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif


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## crew219 (Oct 18, 2000)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (tcardio)*


_Quote, originally posted by *tcardio* »_
Always a naysayer but I had the same problem and now its gone! So negative for 2010 http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif 

Just think about it, the top of the spring sits on the bearing (which rotates when the wheels turn). The spring solely receives forces in one direction (y-axis). Whether the print is facing in or out makes zero difference whatsoever. 
If your issue went away after you readjusted the suspension, most likely something was loose and was later tightened when you adjusted it.
Dave


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## Uber-A3 (Feb 23, 2002)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (tcardio)*

mine was making a popping sound while turning and a tapping sound while driving straight. It ended up being the locking jam nuts for the coilover spring height was loose. At first I thought it was the strut hats that go bad on most VAG cars but they were fine.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4066360


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## yoonskim (Jun 9, 2003)

*Re: Knocking/clunking noise from front of car (Uber-A3)*

OK, I was at Tyrolsport this morning as soon as they opened.
Upon their immediate inspection, we were able to pinpoint the problem right away.
Frank, you are right, the second to bottom coil of the springs were knocking against the actual collar. I raised it so much (20 full turns or so from height pictured above) that the springs were staying a little too compressed that the bottom of the spring was actually slightly wrapping around the top of the adjustable collar instead of it sitting directly on top of it.
I've also had a nasty, i mean real loud squeaking noise from my back suspension as well. We put the car up on ramps and one of the guy went under the car while the other kept pushing the car downwards (this is how easily I could reproduce the noise at all times so while driving on bumpy roads, it would just keep making the squeak noises). This was all because my rear swaybars needed to be relubed. After some synthetic grease inside the bushings on both sides (both sides were completely dry when we took it off) noise is now completely gone.








Like some of you might know, I'm leaving the country for a while and my friend is going to be keeping the car for me while I'm gone. I would have just lowered the car back again to get rid of the noise but I decided to leave it at the higher height and adjust it back to low when I get back. 
I was also told that this is a very common issue with Koni coilovers (I have Stasis Streetsport COs which are basically the same as Koni coils. Another customer had his mk5 GTI in yesterday for the exact same reason but it happened to be the same reason and he had Koni COs.
They were aware of the knocking problems and they knew about 2 possible reasons, one was my case and the other customer's case from yesterday. The other was the subframe knocking issue which comes from loose bolts.
So a good word of advice... If you have Koni or Stasis COs, don't raise it too high up front







Only reason I raised mine was because I had to put my car up on an auto trailer from Uhaul (it barely cleared at the raised height) and the fact that I am leaving the car with my friend who is not quite used to driving lowered cars.








Either way, Oil change, Alignment was done and I know what the problem is plus they got rid of the real loud creaking, squeaking noise from the back.








I also talked to them about going BT setup and the first thing that will go on the car when I get back would be the APR Stg3 kit or something with at least a gt28 http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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