Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

Clunking noise from VE front end

Adam Spark

New Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2017
Messages
2
Reaction score
2
Points
3
Age
43
Location
Newcastle
Members Ride
Ve series 2 Calais V 6.0L V8
Hey everyone. My VE has developed a clunking noise when driving and turning the wheel half to full lock or when turning from one direction to the other. I thought sway bar links and so did a few other people I mentioned it to. I purchased a new set of links and replaced them as it was a reasonably cheap place to start. After replacing the links, I found that I’m still getting the clunking sound. Would anyone have any suggestions at what I might be able to look at next? I was thinking maybe sway bar bushes or possibly strut top mounts
 

J_D 2.0

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2020
Messages
2,929
Reaction score
6,803
Points
113
Location
Ipswich
Members Ride
2009 VE SSV M6 on LPG and 2022 Kawasaki Z650L
Hey everyone. My VE has developed a clunking noise when driving and turning the wheel half to full lock or when turning from one direction to the other. I thought sway bar links and so did a few other people I mentioned it to. I purchased a new set of links and replaced them as it was a reasonably cheap place to start. After replacing the links, I found that I’m still getting the clunking sound. Would anyone have any suggestions at what I might be able to look at next? I was thinking maybe sway bar bushes or possibly strut top mounts
Does it clunk when going over bumps in the road as well? Mine did in my SSV and it turned out to be the strut tops. I replaced mine about 12 months ago and now I’m up for replacing them again because of all the potholes I had to drive over during/after the floods.

One thing to bear in mind is that the rubber mount in the strut top holds the shock absorber (damper) so if your dampers are excessively harsh they will flog out the strut tops.

I think that’s what is happening with mine as I’ve never had to replace the strut tops in my SV6 and it’s done 320,000kms and quite a bit of that was on dirt roads etc. The ride on my SSV is a lot harsher than my SV6 even though they would of had the same suspension setup from the factory.

I suspect the previous owner had harsher sports shocks in the SSV as it was lowered when I bought it. I changed out the springs not long after I bought it but now I’m putting decent quality shocks on my list to replace before I bother replacing the strut tops for the second time.
 

Adam Spark

New Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2017
Messages
2
Reaction score
2
Points
3
Age
43
Location
Newcastle
Members Ride
Ve series 2 Calais V 6.0L V8
Does it clunk when going over bumps in the road as well? Mine did in my SSV and it turned out to be the strut tops. I replaced mine about 12 months ago and now I’m up for replacing them again because of all the potholes I had to drive over during/after the floods.

One thing to bear in mind is that the rubber mount in the strut top holds the shock absorber (damper) so if your dampers are excessively harsh they will flog out the strut tops.

I think that’s what is happening with mine as I’ve never had to replace the strut tops in my SV6 and it’s done 320,000kms and quite a bit of that was on dirt roads etc. The ride on my SSV is a lot harsher than my SV6 even though they would of had the same suspension setup from the factory.

I suspect the previous owner had harsher sports shocks in the SSV as it was lowered when I bought it. I changed out the springs not long after I bought it but now I’m putting decent quality shocks on my list to replace before I bother replacing the strut tops for the second time.
It doesn’t do it when going over speed bumps, hitting usual bumps on the road or general driving in a straight line. It only does it when turning the wheel left or right at low speed ( between 0kmh and say 50kmh). When turning a corner there is one clunk. It’s not a continuous clunking
 

Shen Long

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2011
Messages
962
Reaction score
359
Points
63
Location
Roxby Downs
Members Ride
WH Caprice 5.7L
It doesn’t do it when going over speed bumps, hitting usual bumps on the road or general driving in a straight line. It only does it when turning the wheel left or right at low speed ( between 0kmh and say 50kmh). When turning a corner there is one clunk. It’s not a continuous clunking
Tie rod ends or something connected to your steering system (ball joints)
 
Top