Clunking sound when going over bumps.

[MikeCuzzy]

Hey guys,

My VT is making a clunking sound from the passenger front wheel when I cross any bump in the road or speedhump or pulling to into a driveway- bascially and bump and that wheel area makes a noise.
It sounds like metal on metal, my thoughts immediately went to shock absorber and such.

I should point out there is NO noticeable handling problems and even highish speed turns (I did this too see if this caused the sound) seems no sound or issue.

Any ideas what this might be?

Thanks in advance,
Mike.

[graham7773]

ball joints or top bearings in one or both of your struts or shot shock absorbers.

[accentstencil]

Link pin bushes are a common problem, as a matter of fact I just replaced mine 5 minutes ago.

[Rhin0o8]

Link pins make a hell of a racket,
I had these replaced about 6 months ago
sounds worse than it is. No handling issues will be noticed IMO
somewhere I heard these are tricky to fit and make sure you dont put them in up side down ..

Or if it is a "tinny" clang, I have that same sound - My steering boot is torn on the passenger side and Ive been told that noise is that.

[stockyvrcalais]

i had the same problem when i had my vx 2 calais, replaced the struts and fixed the problem

[chargedvx6]

Sway bar links for sure. Sounds like someone is hitting the chassis with a heavy hammer. Shocks and strut tops have a different note to em but that is also a possibility I guess

[MikeCuzzy]

Well sway bar links sounds like an idea.

Edit: Just had a look outside (it's freezing so it was a quick one) can't see any damage, i.e. it hasn't snapped... yet.

What should I be looking for, beyond that?

[lufkin]

i believe i have the same issue, i know what the sway bar links are, but what am i looking for in terms of whether they are stuffed or not? what should the rubbers look like, and how much do they cost to buy

[accentstencil]

Well sway bar links sounds like an idea.

Edit: Just had a look outside (it's freezing so it was a quick one) can't see any damage, i.e. it hasn't snapped... yet.

What should I be looking for, beyond that?

You are looking mainly at the condition of the rubber bushes, 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom of each link pin. They should not be cracked or have pieces missing and the link pin should be tight. Grab hold of them and give them a good yank to see if there is any movement.

[MikeCuzzy]

You are looking mainly at the condition of the rubber bushes, 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom of each link pin. They should not be cracked or have pieces missing and the link pin should be tight. Grab hold of them and give them a good yank to see if there is any movement.

Alright mate, thanks, bit late to have a look now. I'll have a good look tomorrow in the light, and I'll compare it too the good side.

[Rhin0o8]

Any Update to what the problem was ?

[MikeCuzzy]

Any Update to what the problem was ?

Not that I can see, they both appear the same (though that could just mean they are both stuffed). I might take a photo tomorrow and let it be scrutinised by eyes far more trained than I.

I'll point out it's also getting worse.

[lufkin]

mike i have had this same problem for 2 years, no one knew what it was, even took it to holden, they are useless here, just took the car to repco a few weeks back to get the diff replaced, and they say " that sound coming from your front left is the radius rod bushes" i had a look and sure enough they are stuffed, booked it back in to get replaced and sound is gone, was same as you, whenever i pulled into driveway at home it would make a bang or creak from front left, was annoying especially as work when all the boys would see and think wtf is wrong with his car lol

[MikeCuzzy]

Update: It was the mounts/bearings of the front suspension. Which is more expensive than sway bar link

Caused by simple wear and tear (12 years, 420,000km will do that).

Regardless, it's all good, thanks for the help guys.

[Rhin0o8]

glad you got your problem fixed.

Did you do it yourself?
Im about to have a go at replacing my top mount bushes/bearings on my VT

any hints/tips would be appreciated

[MikeCuzzy]

Nah I didn't do it, got the local mechanic to do it. I'm still in the whole "learning" phase of cars, not quite up to that level yet, but at 19 got a bit of time to learn

I can tell you it cost around the $300 mark, that was to figure out the what was causing it- replace the mounts and bearings, then take it for a test drive to make sure it was good and nothing else was playing up.

Sorry can't tell you anything more beyond that.

[Rhin0o8]

$300 sounds like a fair price

Ive priced Nolethene bushes at $120 ( without bearing plate ) $160 with bearing plates
Or Rubber bushes for about $80

plus a number of hours and alot of frustration

Im still learning too so it may take me 8 hours lol

[nathanVY]

my VS has just started doing this - sometimes. It could be me being paranoid which is highly possible! :
The cars been on superlows for a couple of weeks now could this cause accelerated wear on suspension components?

[Rhin0o8]

might need to adjust your castor? may be your tyres scrubbing

[Rhin0o8]

my VS has just started doing this - sometimes. It could be me being paranoid which is highly possible! :
The cars been on superlows for a couple of weeks now could this cause accelerated wear on suspension components?

might need to adjust your castor? may be your tyres scrubbing

[nathanVY]

quite possible, how do I do that?

[Rhin0o8]

Nolethene Radius rod bushes kit have up to 8 different castor settings i think .. on the VT anyway.

VS im not sure of. however im going to do my radius rod bushes front and back and also lower control arm bushes in a few weeks.

[helicraze]

Just a note I had a lot of clunking issues on my VT clubby, did all the normal rod kits and all the bushings, still creaked a bit, in the end checked the K frame bolts, body plate bolts, replaced tie rod ends and tightenened all front quarter bolts, that fixed it permanenelty in the end.

[Jesterarts]

I had a knocking sound in the front of the bimmer, ended up being a loose strut cartridge cap. Tightened it up and clunking was gone.

[commodore owner]

hey there guys ive got the same problem in the drivers side, only thing is ive already had the radius rod bushes replaced,new struts,tie rod ends,link pins and bushes,bearing tops and rubbers. this noise been there ever since(20,000 ks ago) so still under warranty. the fitters said yeah can hear the noise but dont no what it is, pedders says the same thing, any ideas how to get them to find and fix the issue without me spending any more money. cheers