[patallen]

What is the most commont source of heavy bang-bang noises on the front end ?

everything is tight and got triple checked:
-ball joints
-trailing arms/bushings
-sway bar braket and rubbers are fine
-engine mounts are perfect top condition.
it happens only when i hit a medium bump...someone suggested me that the top mount may dislodge when the front suspension is unloaded...

is the front subframe solid bolted to the car or is there rubbers there that could make such issues ?

the car is a 2003 jetta tdi

thanks.

 

[Seatman]

When I had this on my car I triple checked and then some and it still ended up being the bottom ball joints lol. They were that cheap I just replaced both and all is well. I've seen totally knackered top mounts on a friends car and all you got was a slight knock once in a while but who knows. I'm fairly certain the Audi is the only one with rubber bushes for the sub frame but don't quote me on that.

 

[tomajib]

Good Day, I know this is late, but better late then never. I live on 5 miles of gravel & have dealt with this twice, once with a 2005 Jetta TDI & once with a 2006 Jetta TDI. Both times I failed to find the obvious initially. Front stabilizer links wear & only a very little wear on one end only will cause an amazingly loud sharp knock. Sometimes you have to remove the link to feel the play .010 - .020" is enough to cause annoying noise.

Hope this helps others

Rob

 

[drewcifer]

Crunching sound on front end...

2000 jetta tdi... I had the annoying Crunching sound for the last few weeks. Replaced the drivers side tie rod due to wear. The car dove better but no change to the original issue. I searched the Web and found a lot of similar issues but no solutions. I decided to look for something no one else tried. Having my son bounce the car we noticed the Crunching sound. I could feel it in the linkage connecting the sway bar to the front wishbone on the drivers side was making the sound. The linkage bushings werr tight but chalky dry inside. I pulled them apart and lubed them up... Re installed and the problem is gone.. Who knew!
Warning! Put the car on a stand and Jack up the arm to unload the sway bar before removing.