Its been a long long time...

[John Wesley Hardin]

Its been a long long time...Is that George Jones or Conway Twitty ? Hey folks been a while . TDI Jetta is still kicking . Have a few questions for the seasoned veterans of the Forum. Turbo is still firing baby. Pissing off a lot of road rage drivers trying to get one car length ahead ,haha
New shocks , new front end . drives great. Lately though the rubber bushings in the front end have started to squeak. Also when I hit bumps the shocks dont know which one yet makes a hard hitting sound like PLOCK. This sound was evident when my rear shock mounts were bad . Those I have replaced recently. Actually I think I replaced them twice , not sure.
Is there a lube or other product like belt dressing or something to stop the squeak? How bout the PLOCK?

 

[J_dude]

Well, the only one by that title I know is sung by Kitty, and I don't mean Wells:

You're probably thinking of Hello Darlin' which was recorded by both Jones and Twitty, but the line is actually just "it's been a long time."

Anyway, I'm no seasoned vet, but I'm guessing you've got some hardware that's loose up front causing your "plock." Bushings could probably be sprayed with some silicone lube to keep them from squeaking.

 

[Bradm]

Get out the chicken lube john!

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Hello Darlin' which was recorded by both Jones and Twitty

I wish one of them did a rendition of that as a mean drunk who finally tracked down his ex-wife. The music video would have been epic.

 

[J_dude]

I wish one of them did a rendition of that as a mean drunk who finally tracked down his ex-wife. The music video would have been epic.

Never thought of it that way before, it could totally work

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Get out the chicken lube john!

Forgot about the chicken lube, works on everything even small farm animals!

 

[Zak99b5]

I'd suspect the sway bar bushings for the squeak. You can break out the WD40 and hit them with it. If it still squeaks, try it on another pair of bushings, such as the front LCA bushings. Thing is to keep going, one at a time, until the squeaks stop. Then you'll know which ones are the issue.

You should not hear a hard KNOCK, obviously. Check for something loose (or broken). To try to isolate which side, you could find a parking lot with a speed bump or nice pothole and drive over it, one front tire at a time.

I prefer the Conway Twitty version of that song, but George Jones overall. Plus Conway wouldn't think twice about hitting on your wife.

 

[The Cream Dolphin]

More of a twang than a plock... but my front spring broke and made a somewhat similar noise over bumps. Worth a check. Also, can you hear it if you rock the car by its roofrack?

 

[jmodge]

Crank up Conway Twitty’s “It’s only make believe” and don’t worry about it

 

[Dannyboy]

Mk4 springs break quite often. 3 of the 4 mk4s I've owned had broken springs or broke shortly after owning.
They tend to break about 3 inches from the end.

 

[csstevej]

Forgot about the chicken lube, works on everything even small farm animals!

I’m not even gonna touch this one……..

 

[J_dude]

I’m not even gonna touch this one……..

We're just gonna pretend we didn't hear it...

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I’m not even gonna touch this one……..

I couldnt stop laughing for about five minutes Haha !

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

We're just gonna pretend we didn't hear it...

Im still laughing and cant stop when I read your post!

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Mk4 springs break quite often. 3 of the 4 mk4s I've owned had broken springs or broke shortly after owning.
They tend to break about 3 inches from the end.

Ooh.. didnt know that. I have replaced all front end parts . It initally performed beautifully after install. Now when I hit certain bumps I here a hard knock, thats troubling me. Thanks for the info!

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Crank up Conway Twitty’s “It’s only make believe” and don’t worry about it

Did Elvis sing that on his movie Clam Bake?

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

More of a twang than a plock... but my front spring broke and made a somewhat similar noise over bumps. Worth a check. Also, can you hear it if you rock the car by its roofrack?

Conways got a twang I got a plock. Hey I think thats the start of a Country song !

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I'd suspect the sway bar bushings for the squeak. You can break out the WD40 and hit them with it. If it still squeaks, try it on another pair of bushings, such as the front LCA bushings. Thing is to keep going, one at a time, until the squeaks stop. Then you'll know which ones are the issue.

You should not hear a hard KNOCK, obviously. Check for something loose (or broken). To try to isolate which side, you could find a parking lot with a speed bump or nice pothole and drive over it, one front tire at a time.

I prefer the Conway Twitty version of that song, but George Jones overall. Plus Conway wouldn't think twice about hitting on your wife.

Thanks for the info , I'll whoop out the ol Chicken Lube. I like the Conway version myself and please take my wife !

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I wish one of them did a rendition of that as a mean drunk who finally tracked down his ex-wife. The music video would have been epic.

Hey just come to The Sugar Shack bar in Rockport and you'll see a live rendition unfold before your eyes along with other debauchery !

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Well, the only one by that title I know is sung by Kitty, and I don't mean Wells:

You're probably thinking of Hello Darlin' which was recorded by both Jones and Twitty, but the line is actually just "it's been a long time."

Anyway, I'm no seasoned vet, but I'm guessing you've got some hardware that's loose up front causing your "plock." Bushings could probably be sprayed with some silicone lube to keep them from squeaking.

Great post , and some good info! Breakout thee Chicken Lube !

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Crank up Conway Twitty’s “It’s only make believe” and don’t worry about it

Or how bout "Im lying here with Linda on my Mind" by Conway

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I'd suspect the sway bar bushings for the squeak. You can break out the WD40 and hit them with it. If it still squeaks, try it on another pair of bushings, such as the front LCA bushings. Thing is to keep going, one at a time, until the squeaks stop. Then you'll know which ones are the issue.

You should not hear a hard KNOCK, obviously. Check for something loose (or broken). To try to isolate which side, you could find a parking lot with a speed bump or nice pothole and drive over it, one front tire at a time.

I prefer the Conway Twitty version of that song, but George Jones overall. Plus Conway wouldn't think twice about hitting on your wife.

Well, you know I have replaced all the shocks . I replaced the rear shock mounts . New bearings all around. whole front end kit.
The only thing I didnt replace was the sway bars. These are plastic ! Unbelievable! Your right that could be the source of the squeaking.
I still hear a hard knock when I hit certain bumps. Now when the rear strut mounts were bad it was like a bad pogo stick whacking away.
This has me stumped , I Believe its coming from the front end. I am going to take it to a mechanic tomorrow to put it on a lift , see if they can find the problem. Any info before tomorrow would be helpful thanks.

 

[P2B]

The only thing I didnt replace was the sway bars. These are plastic ! Unbelievable!

Agreed, I've only ever seen plastic sway bars on pedal cars.

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

Agreed, I've only ever seen plastic sway bars on pedal cars.

Of course you would never know till you took them off or tapped them with aa wrench. Those sway bars I will replace

 

[J_dude]

Of course you would never know till you took them off or tapped them with aa wrench. Those sway bars I will replace

I believe you mean sway bar *links*

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

I believe you mean sway bar *links*

Yes I think so, they look like a dog bone about 6-8" long with a hole on each end 90 degree opposed

 

[P2B]

Yes I think so, they look like a dog bone about 6-8" long with a hole on each end 90 degree opposed

... and a rubber grommet in each end, which are unlikely to be squeaking.

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

... and a rubber grommet in each end, which are unlikely to be squeaking.

Well upon further review I am replacing the sway bar links with metal ones from Moog. One thing I overlooked is the top front strut mounts. These are hard rubber mounts for the top of the front shock. I am replacing with Monroe. Which is probably the source of my hard knock when I hit a bump . I am also replacing the Tension assembly and serpentine belt by Gates which I know is bad. and the alternator by Bosch because its probably never been changed in 317'000 miles .
Today I had my new aluminum rim put on the right front tire and had a chance to look at the sway bar links and so on. The new rim seemed to take care of the of the vibration I was experiencing at around 60 mph. The rim I got on Ebay from a business out of Houston that refurbishes aluminum rims. The other parts on Rockauto , at a huge savings. So far so good. Thanks for everyone's help, greatly appreciated.

 

[John Wesley Hardin]

More of a twang than a plock... but my front spring broke and made a somewhat similar noise over bumps. Worth a check. Also, can you hear it if you rock the car by its roofrack?

If I had a roof rack. I took it off when I got rid of my goats and my ex wife

 

[The Cream Dolphin]

If I had a roof rack. I took it off when I got rid of my goats and my ex wife

You know what they say...

No goats, no roof rack.

I just meant rocking it in general. My broken spring creaked and popped when I rocked the car vigorously.