# MK4's with BagYard front struts, need some input.



## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

I am running bagyards on my mkiv.
Ever since installed earlier this year I have a weird sound when hitting bumps in the road. At first I thought it was bushings/bearings... replaced those. Then I thought it was my ill fitting 42 draft design exhaust hitting the heatshield above the power steering rack. 
This weekend the exhaust was replaced with a GHL exhaust which I cant complain. Never had problems with my previous one and fits a lot better than the 42DD one.








So now the problem is still there. It is independent from side to side and only coming from the front. It only happens on bumps not on humps or uneven-ness in the road. Depending on which side of the car hits the bump (left, right or both) I get a metal on metal sound like two pieces that shouldnt be slamming/hitting each other. Anyone else have this problem or am I the only one?


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## Joker_2.8 (Nov 2, 2005)

axles hitting sway bar? or i guess maybe frame?


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (Joker_2.8)*

I'm notched and have no front sway bar.


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## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

Sounds like ball joint or tie rods...i had this problem before on my car and it drove me nuts


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*

forgot to mention but ball joints tie rods and control arms are brand new on each side


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## FastAndFurious (Feb 2, 2002)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

hmmmm i dont know, check your subframe bolts defenetly something loose then


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (FastAndFurious)*


_Quote, originally posted by *FastAndFurious* »_hmmmm i dont know, check your subframe bolts defenetly something loose then

Will do, most were replaced when the control arms went in and that was all in the middle of this noise trying to alieviate it.


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## Santi (Mar 26, 2004)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

check your motor mounts bolts, and dog bone... what bushings do you have? 
Possible the top of the bag is hitting your strut top on the inside?


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (Santi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Santi* »_check your motor mounts bolts, and dog bone... what bushings do you have? 
Possible the top of the bag is hitting your strut top on the inside? 

Dogbone stock, motor mounts are stock as well.
I'll take a stab at replacing the bushings again but they are OEM strut bearings and bushings I am using.


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## Santi (Mar 26, 2004)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Mr. Appleton* »_
Dogbone stock, motor mounts are stock as well.
I'll take a stab at replacing the bushings again but they are OEM strut bearings and bushings I am using. 

The bushings wouldnt make the noise, replacing them might not help, if metal is hitting somewhere its leaving marks.. just need to look for them


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (Santi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Santi* »_
The bushings wouldnt make the noise, replacing them might not help, if metal is hitting somewhere its leaving marks.. just need to look for them 

my guess is the struts man, i have really no other thing as ive singled out most of the possible causes


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## Santi (Mar 26, 2004)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Mr. Appleton* »_
my guess is the struts man, i have really no other thing as ive singled out most of the possible causes

could be, do you have any coils you can throw on there and see if the noise goes away then its the struts.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (Santi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Santi* »_
could be, do you have any coils you can throw on there and see if the noise goes away then its the struts. 

I have stock struts I could throw on. Probably will try that this weekend.


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## Santi (Mar 26, 2004)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Mr. Appleton* »_
I have stock struts I could throw on. Probably will try that this weekend.

those are going to be too long, you need something that you can set to the same height as the BY's @ drive height, unless you go all the way up on them.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (Santi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Santi* »_
those are going to be too long, you need something that you can set to the same height as the BY's @ drive height, unless you go all the way up on them. 

Noise is at any height.. not just low


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## ryanmiller (Apr 13, 2006)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

post how your strut bushings are set up..
my moneys on that.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (ryanmiller)*

My setup is as follows....
Strut/Bearing/Bushing/Smaller Nut/Cap or whatever it is you see in the bay/and the nut that holds the cap on.


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## L.I.VW13 (Apr 9, 2006)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

My strut caps used to hit my hood, but they made themselves there own hood notch


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (L.I.VW13)*

Yea dont think the caps are hitting the hood, as thats what the first thinner nut is for


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## L.I.VW13 (Apr 9, 2006)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Mr. Appleton* »_Yea dont think the caps are hitting the hood, as thats what the first thinner nut is for

Yeah i have those too. my bushings are completely hacked, but i dont get any noise


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## a2lowvw (Dec 17, 2000)

*Re: (L.I.VW13)*

had a beetle in that had a subframe bolt that was barely loose making a similar sounding noise. worth a check.


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## ThaWeezord (Feb 16, 2004)

check the front control arms - How are the large rear control arm bushings?!?! wheel could be moving forward and back. you can upgrade to the audi TT ones which are solid design.


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## RI1643 (Apr 30, 2007)

*Re: (ThaWeezord)*

mine does this to


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (ThaWeezord)*


_Quote, originally posted by *ThaWeezord* »_check the front control arms - How are the large rear control arm bushings?!?! wheel could be moving forward and back. you can upgrade to the audi TT ones which are solid design. 

I actually upgraded the control arms with the r32/tt bushings so it cant be that because the noise was there before and after.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (a2lowvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *a2lowvw* »_had a beetle in that had a subframe bolt that was barely loose making a similar sounding noise. worth a check. 

gotta swap out axles this weekend so ill give that a check


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## Santi (Mar 26, 2004)

*Re: MK4's with BagYard front struts, need some input. (Mr. Appleton)*

Anything?


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: MK4's with BagYard front struts, need some input. (Santi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Santi* »_Anything? 

nope, swapped out the axles back to raxles, put new bearings and bushings in and still same crap... noticed on one strut that it looks like its leaking fluid because it was greasy/full of grime under the bag around the strut


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

we have never had a strut leak fluid. we have had two sets of struts come back due to the set screw coming loose or not being set properly. if there are any problems, just let me know because your struts are still under warranty and we will send you replacements.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (andrew m.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *andrew m.* »_we have never had a strut leak fluid. we have had two sets of struts come back due to the set screw coming loose or not being set properly. if there are any problems, just let me know because your struts are still under warranty and we will send you replacements.

its too late now but ill definitely take a picture of it, i already wiped em clean once and things didnt seem right and then when i was swapping axles they were dirty and grimey again... and one doesnt look right, the one that i think is leaking


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

sorry to hear that you're having a problem. i know how ****ty that can be and i'm sure its not too comforting knowing that you're going to be driving all the way out to waterfest. i'll see if we have any mk4 fronts at bagyard and maybe i can bring one out to waterfest if they have one in austria, but i can't promise you that right now. what i can promise you is that we will solve the problem and get you a new strut. all we ask for is some picture documentation of the problem. again, i'm sorry to hear that you're having a problem. we'll make things right though


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (andrew m.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *andrew m.* »_sorry to hear that you're having a problem. i know how ****ty that can be and i'm sure its not too comforting knowing that you're going to be driving all the way out to waterfest. i'll see if we have any mk4 fronts at bagyard and maybe i can bring one out to waterfest if they have one in austria, but i can't promise you that right now. what i can promise you is that we will solve the problem and get you a new strut. all we ask for is some picture documentation of the problem. again, i'm sorry to hear that you're having a problem. we'll make things right though









Alright, but definitely both are making the same noise, I've singled it down to the struts. I dont really remember looking at the driver side but the passenger side is the one thats looks weird and is grimey and such.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (andrew m.)*

Alright, let me know how to go about it.


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## enim (Jan 3, 2008)

*FV-QR*

Mike, if the strut were indeed leaking fluid, it would sound like a really weird, hollow clunking sound when you hit bumps. If its only one one side, try switching the struts side to side.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (enim)*


_Quote, originally posted by *enim* »_Mike, if the strut were indeed leaking fluid, it would sound like a really weird, hollow clunking sound when you hit bumps. If its only one one side, try switching the struts side to side.

thats basically what it sounds like, they are on the verge i believe not completely drained


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## enim (Jan 3, 2008)

*FV-QR*

It usually takes a while for them to completely drain out. They probably have lost a large portion of the gas, though.


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## Travy (Jan 13, 2004)

*Re: FV-QR (enim)*

Sounds like my little brothers car might be having the same issue as yours mike. Im talking to him right now and he said its been making weird noises and he was swapping out his bushings and noticed a lot of grease at the top of the strut. Going to check it out later today and take some pics of it


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## RI1643 (Apr 30, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (Travy)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Travy* »_Sounds like my little brothers car might be having the same issue as yours mike. Im talking to him right now and he said its been making weird noises and he was swapping out his bushings and noticed a lot of grease at the top of the strut. Going to check it out later today and take some pics of it 

yeah, i fill it will air and by the time i get out of the car it is all empty.


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## Travy (Jan 13, 2004)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *RI1643* »_
yeah, i fill it will air and by the time i get out of the car it is all empty. 


I'll take a look at it later. I was wrong, I thought you meant all the gas was leaking out of the strut, not the air leaking out of the bag


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## Dub*Struck (Apr 14, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (Mr. Appleton)*

I have a annoying clunking noise coming from my passenger front, I thought it was a blown strut at first, replaced it. still had the problem. bushings and bearings were brand new when i got the suspension. I was told its lower ball joint. In fact Im pretty sure its the lower ball joints. try replacing those and see where that gets you. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (Dub*Struck)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Dub*Struck* »_I have a annoying clunking noise coming from my passenger front, I thought it was a blown strut at first, replaced it. still had the problem. bushings and bearings were brand new when i got the suspension. I was told its lower ball joint. In fact Im pretty sure its the lower ball joints. try replacing those and see where that gets you. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif









Lower ball joints are brand new maybe 4K miles on em.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (andrew m.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *andrew m.* »_responded to your message.
let's take care of this. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

Thanks, PM'ed you back.


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## TranAndy (Feb 20, 2005)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

your not the only one i have use to have the same problem. i think its the upper top cap hitting the inner strut hole in the bay... if that makes sense... i dont know if i still have the problem but i did make some custom strut caps also. i check it out when i get the chance.


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## TranAndy (Feb 20, 2005)

*Re: (MalakaiTran)*

i dont know if you saw them in my thread but heres what solved alot of my noises...


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (MalakaiTran)*

Yea I saw that, Im going to have my dad make some for me when he gets back from Europe. Do the struts stick out any further out of the strut tower with the shorter tops?


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## TranAndy (Feb 20, 2005)

*Re: (Mr. Appleton)*

the thinkness of the new caps are about .025 thicker than the stock ones so and it has plenty of thread to crank down on. hope that helps bro.


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## Mr. Appleton (May 16, 2009)

*Re: (MalakaiTran)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MalakaiTran* »_the thinkness of the new caps are about .025 thicker than the stock ones so and it has plenty of thread to crank down on. hope that helps bro.

Oh ok, do they stick out of the strut towers more or the same as before? Also are you using your bushing/bearings with that? For some reason I was having a problem with how they returned to center, the steering wheel would stay stuck **** eyed.


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