suspension strut??

M

Marco77

Member
hi guys recently posted about a clunking noise when turning the steering wheel to and fro.

Well i have traced it to the o/s/f suspension top mount (strut)
when turning the steering wheel you can see the spring turning inline with the wheel but it judders at the strut yet the n/s/f moves smoothly.

can any of you guys confirm if this is the suspension top mount bush with bearing (dont know the proper name)

Also looking in the engine bay it seems a big job to get into the bolts as the brake fluid bottle is housed above it.


Any info will be great.
 
It is a pretty well known failing of the A2 that the bearings at the top of the front struts are prone to early failure, probably due to the massive spring loading of the standard (and especially sport) suspension.

The replacement bearings are only a tenner each (2 required total) but you do have to strip the struts out completely and then do a full track and alignment after.

You may as well take the opportunity to upgrade your suspension whilst you're at it, as with stuff like Koni FSDs, you'll get a much better ride and the bearings will last longer too.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Hi Marco77
I replaced both top strut bearings when fitting Koni FSD shocks. Main problems with the bearings was that the races are not sealed against water ingress and most of the grease had been contaminated / washed out (maybe part my fault as I used to pressure wash under the wheel arches - but not any more) As Skipton indicated, the whole strut needs to be removed to replace the bearings. As you have already identified, access to the 3 top strut locating bolts is a real pain, particularly on the drivers side. The brake reservoir can be partially tilted to improve access by unbolting the mounting bracket while leaving all the pipework intact. As the bottom strut fixing is a split clamp design, in theory, none of the suspension settings are lost as long as you don't fit shorter springs when changing the struts so a geometry check may not be strictly necessary. Changing the rear shocks is very easy compared to the fronts.

Cheers Spike
 
funny twanging noice and clunking

Hi

Was reversing round a corner today with full lock on and heard a funny twang (like a spring or wire snapping) when straightend up car seemed to be ok until i drove over a pot hole and banging. Every pothole i now get a big bang and if turning with full lock I get the twang (not all the time) is the likely to be the same problem as described here ?

thanks in advance

chris
 
thanks spike

thanks spike am going to drop off at local independent garage tommorow for them to have a look at it as im not mechanically minded beyond the basics

cheers mate

chris
 
similar happened to me just before christmas, it was the front spring... just for your ref, my local garage replaced it for £75 all in.

bba
 
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