Front End Clunk

D

dtreid

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2003
Location
Alberta, CANADA
TDI
2015 Passat TDI 128k km
My Passat has developed a clunk from the front end when going over rough road.
Seems to be in front of the drivers feet somewhere. I haven't been able to detect anything loose in the suspension....any suggestions?
 
BamaB4S

BamaB4S

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Location
AL
TDI
1996 Passat
Recommend inspecting the front control arm and sway bar bushings.
 
C

Cashcropin

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Location
Michigan
TDI
2014 Passat tdi se dsg
Had a clunk in the front end of our 2014 Passat at around 100,000 miles I inspected the front end found no loose parts so I replaced the stabilizer ends It was a fairly cheap and easy repair and that took care of the clunk
 
7

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
sway bar end links were the source of our rear clunk on our '12 Passat.

I'd recommend sourcing some MOOG, lifetime replacements.
 
S

Strider17

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Location
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
Beetle(sold) MK4 Golf TDI(sold) Mk4 Jetta TDI(parted out) MK4 Golf GTI w/ALH swap (built then parted out) 2015 Passat TDI Highline (current)
sway bar links or control arm bushings
 
D

dtreid

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2003
Location
Alberta, CANADA
TDI
2015 Passat TDI 128k km
I can't see any play in the torsion bar links or bushings or the control arm bushings?
Any other suggestions?
 
7

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
dtreid said:
I can't see any play in the torsion bar links or bushings or the control arm bushings?
Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
rubber boots may cover up the sloppy links, also seeing they maybe loaded up while stationary it you may not notice the sound. One sure fire way is to disconnect the links and drive around see if the sound goes away. Another would be to lift the whole front until suspension is unloaded then wiggle some stuff around.
 
S

Strider17

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Location
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
Beetle(sold) MK4 Golf TDI(sold) Mk4 Jetta TDI(parted out) MK4 Golf GTI w/ALH swap (built then parted out) 2015 Passat TDI Highline (current)
i had clunks going over pot holes...swaybars were tight as well as everything else....control arm bushings looked fine as well until i actually took the control arm off the car. turned out to be the bushing....take another REALLLY good look at them
 
Fixmy59bug

Fixmy59bug

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE
dtreid said:
I put a wrench on all of the subframe and steering rack bolts....everything's tight
Click to expand...
Making sure the bolts are tight will do nothing if the bushings are worn out or torn.

The most common parts to wear out are the bushings at the rear of the front control arm(hokey puck shaped bushing) and the sway bar links (the ones that connect the sway bar to the suspension strut).
 
J

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
my new to me 2015 SEL sure clunks when entering driveways with that 1" cement lip- something that my 120k mile SE never did. very "clunky" over man hole covers as well. prob worth starting a new thread about- the 2015 is a completely different animal than my 2013 in regards to ride quality
 
D

dtreid

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2003
Location
Alberta, CANADA
TDI
2015 Passat TDI 128k km
Turns out it was the sway bar links. Funny because with the old ones removed I can't detect any play.....but new ones are on and the clunk is gone.
 
S

Strider17

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Location
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
Beetle(sold) MK4 Golf TDI(sold) Mk4 Jetta TDI(parted out) MK4 Golf GTI w/ALH swap (built then parted out) 2015 Passat TDI Highline (current)
when i was changing over my sway bar links i noticed the MK6/NMS platform doesnt carry any of the "TT" style bushing. (TT bushings are completely filled with no holes)

so i had to go an purchase regular bushings since noone makes TT ones.

ps. mk4 TT style bushings are smaller and mk5s use completely different style control arm.


anyone know of a bushing upgrade for the control arms for the mk6? maybe third party poly ones?
 
0

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
dtreid said:
Turns out it was the sway bar links. Funny because with the old ones removed I can't detect any play.....but new ones are on and the clunk is gone.
Click to expand...
FWIW, PT Cruisers suffer from this too. People have swapped out every else as "it can't be the sway bar" and in the end it was the sway bar.
 
7

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
dtreid said:
Turns out it was the sway bar links. Funny because with the old ones removed I can't detect any play.....but new ones are on and the clunk is gone.
Click to expand...

was it the fronts or the rears? its amazing how sound travels through a car and give you false diagnosis of location.
 
7

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Strider17 said:
when i was changing over my sway bar links i noticed the MK6/NMS platform doesnt carry any of the "TT" style bushing. (TT bushings are completely filled with no holes)

so i had to go an purchase regular bushings since noone makes TT ones.

ps. mk4 TT style bushings are smaller and mk5s use completely different style control arm.


anyone know of a bushing upgrade for the control arms for the mk6? maybe third party poly ones?
Click to expand...
The rear end of the NMS is straight up Mk5 (which is mk6 depending how much you want to get into the nitty gritty)

At least they aren't "plastic" end links like they are on the mk7 IRS. Thank god mog makes a traditional metal replacement end link.
 
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