metallic clunk lh front (suspension ?)

[som]

My VT has developed a loud metallic clunk from the left hand front.When I'm driving on my own I have to drive over a pretty serious bump for any noise to appear (4 times in 500kms)and I thought that the noise came from the left rear but last night I had a 120kg passenger in the front passenger seat and even at very low speed the noise was frequent and louder, especially when driving through slightly bumpy roundabouts.(this happened more than 10 times over 5km )The clunk definitely came from the lh front.After I dropped off my passenger I did not hear the noise again during my 50km trip home,which included the same 5km trip I'd done with a passenger.Probably coincidentally this noise has only appeared in the last few days since having 2 new complete strut assemblies fitted.ie Struts,springs,top plates and bearings,bump stops and boots. The work also included 4 wheel balance and wheel alignment.I had my mate in the car last night because we had just replaced the rear shocks as I'd thought previously that that was where the noise had come from.Last night before driving home we checked that all the front strut mount bolts were tight before I drove home.Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers.

[accentstencil]

Check the condition of the link pin bushes.

[mummbles]

+1 for link pins. Bushes are stuffed/gone or you might have even broken a pin.

[som]

How do I check them?What do I have to do to take the weight off them enough to do more than just a sight check?They have nolathane bushes but they,re a few years old now.

[wana s' charge stock vt]

How do I check them?What do I have to do to take the weight off them enough to do more than just a sight check?They have nolathane bushes but they,re a few years old now.

i know how not to check em dont jack it up or fully turn the wheels so ya can get in to look at em, it puts pressure on all the rubbers and it wont rattle, so i found out.

did with mine anyway... they'd only rattle when wheels were pretty much straight..


i just squeezzed me arm in and grab'd the pin and shock it around ,wiggled it up n down and could hear the metal to metal rattling sound..

[som]

Thanks I'll give it a try .You must have guessed that at the moment both front wheels are off and it's on stands.

[som]

No joy,or all joy,depends how you look at things I guess.(I think I'll go with all joy for the moment)I only run 16" wheels and the car's now lowered about 30mm so I tried putting 45psi in the front tyres and took it for a run down the bumpiest road I could find around here and although the ride was ordinary (crap) I could not make the damn thing clunk.So I,ll drop my tyre pressures again later and go and pick up my 120kg mate (100km round trip) and see whether or not it"ll do the same as las night.Surely it wouldn't just be the new king springs setting.,

[wana s' charge stock vt]

120kg's??? geeeeeses. nearly need a horse float

[som]

That's a thought.Thanks again for trying to help.cheers

[Powerpole]

I had a similar symtom with my VXS2 Acclaim. Took advantage of Pedders and their free saftey check and read the report. Parts and labour came to approximately $1300..."F*** THAT" ! I said. One of the items listed was "Radius Rod Bushes". So off I sped to my local Aussie Auto store and ordered the appropriate Nolethane Replacement Kit. The kit had the RRB's plus afew other goodies and set me back around $250. With reference to my trusty workshop manual and ~4 hours of my labour the job was done. $35 for an alignment to check all was good. The noise was gone and the suspension was performing better than original. Hope this helps.

[commoVT]

120kg's??? geeeeeses. nearly need a horse float

horses weigh a bit more than 120kg's

[som]

We'll wait till Monday now and try either my mechanic or pedders for a diagnosis.Thanks for everyone's help.cheers

[som]

FIXED.The problem was (is) what is apparently known as coil bind which is when 2 or more of the coils actually come into contact with one another when you hit a serious bump.Anyway the bottom 2 coils on each side now have flat plastic coil wrap around them to insulate them and the clunk has gone.Took my 120kg mate for a drive on a crappy stretch of road this evening and NO NOISE brilliant.I actually saw a thread once in which a guy from King Spring was quoted as saying that this was fairly common and it was he that offered the solution of the cable wrap.Thanks for everyone's efforts to help.cheers