What is this front end suspension related noise? Strut bearing?

[Drclaw]

I've had this new front end noise since around May after I did a bunch of front end work. The recent front end work that introduced this noise includes a new driver side axle and while I was in there I put in new A3/TT strut mounts and then shortly after that decided to replace the tie rod end bushing, control arm bushing and sway bar link on both sides. The noise is most noticeable/present at very low speeds when turning the wheel in either direction. Its not present when going straight or going over bumps. It sounds like its only present on the the passenger side.

I've taken the wheels off a few different times in the past couple months to make sure everything was tight (unloaded and loaded) and everything seemed fine. I also confirmed the sturt bearings were both oriented correctly, checked the springs for damage and made sure the strut bearings bolts on top were tight. I think the noise is coming from the passenger strut bearing. I took some videos to capture the noise but also to watch the joints etc.... the noise is present in these videos, is a squeaking groan like noise. I am able to make the noise present by pushing in/out on the top of the passenger tire with the car on the ground.

I noticed the passenger side strut bolt that goes through the center of the strut bearing has a lot larger range of motion compared to the driver side. It also looks like the driver side passenger nut is torqued down a little further and has 8 threads exposed whereas the passenger side has 6 (at least I think I counted them correctly) I did not have a strut socket tool to best torque those nuts to spec so I started with an impact driver (low power/low volume air) to get the nut started then used a 22mm offset wrench with an alan key holding the center and hand tightened.

I am running Koni active reds with the IDparts towing spring package (Tiguan fronts and Jetta Towing Rears).

If the top strut nut is not in the correct position (could be down 2 more threads maybe) then is that strut a little longer in the extended position and somehow causing more stress on the suspension bearing or something? Alternatively, I could have gotten a bad strut mount or maybe there is something about combining the A3/TT mount with Koni Reds and the Tiguan spring combo?


Ive since gotten the correct strut mount tool , so my next steps were going to be to take the passenger strut out again and 2x check the strut nut then reinstall everything.
Any other thoughts?

Passenger Side Squeak noise - Upper Strut Mount?

 

[Wilkins]

I think you’re on the right track. Both struts should appear identical from the top. Your description makes me wonder if the bearing didn’t seat quite right.

I’ve never had the right tool, always found some way to get it pretty tight. Never had a problem.

 

[McGuirk]

I'm going through almost the same issue. Mine is popping/clunking at low speeds with my A3 TDI. I also have koni reds, ECS upgraded strut and shock mounts, changed my control arms, connecting rods, link bars, ball joints, and pulled out my passenger Axel to replace the boot. Haven't had a chance to take apart the struts again. Hoping to do that Monday.

 

[Drclaw]

I'm going through almost the same issue. Mine is popping/clunking at low speeds with my A3 TDI. I also have koni reds, ECS upgraded strut and shock mounts, changed my control arms, connecting rods, link bars, ball joints, and pulled out my passenger Axel to replace the boot. Haven't had a chance to take apart the struts again. Hoping to do that Monday.

It's a really annoying problem. When I take the strut out, I pull the axle bolt and strut mount bolt, both are torque to yield and supposed to replace each time. Not a huge deal, but I don't have extra strut bolts around, and they're also like $13 a pop. I might just try it and reuse the existing strut bolt. I've taken the shocks and struts out of this car, probably four times in the last 3 years, and it's one of the worst jobs for me. Not looking forward to having to take this out again and screw around with that strut bearing. I'm also worried that I might have just gotten a bad strut bearing and I don't have a replacement on hand. I really don't want to go through all the effort to pull everything apart, check everything, not find anything, put it back together and then still have a noise. End rant.

 

[Drclaw]

Problem solved - strut bearing nut wasn't square/centered


Took the passenger side front wheel apart and got to the bottom of this. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use the spring compressors and pull the strut mount off but ended up needing to. The problem was that the nut that holds the top strut bearing to the strut wasn't square. I think this happened because I had/have a really difficult time using those spring compressor tools. The 19mm nut to tighten them down always has an interference and gets jammed up on the spring etc... I use a deep and short 19mm socket on a 1/2" air gun hooked up to a pancake compressor , so there's not a lot of power but is easier than hand tightening them. You can see how much the strut cups are chewed up and a lot of that is from sockets rubbing against them, getting jammed etc.

What probably caused this problem is that I did not have the spring compressed enough or even and it caused the strut mount plate to get askew and then the bolt wasn't fully engaged. You can see where the bolt walked around the cup and had a small amount of metal shavings when I took everything apart. here are some before pics and after pics

Once I got that nut seated correctly it looked a lot better. I put everything back together, didnt use the new strut socket pass through tool because i didnt have a 90 alan key handy and couldnt fit a T style alan I had on hand, so used the impact gun and then offset 22m box wrench . Put it all back together and took it for a test ride and was great, no noises at all. Im fairly certain the problem is fixed.

Front end noises/work over the last 2 years n chronological order includes:

- passenger spring broke, didnt realized it for about 6 months except would periodically hear a twang.
- driver side wheel bearing CV joint (cracked boot), rebuilt
-passenger side upper strut mount - bearing was smoked and sounded bad- drove with it for like 4 months before I fixed it.
- front pads and rotors - got the brake pad light.
- driver side wheel bearing 1 year later - heard in extreme turns. Found water in the boot and wheel bearing was damaged with scoring and pitting. replaced with new Axle assembly.
- new A3/TT strut mounts on both sides. (current noise introduced)
- driver side sway bar link, control arm bushing and tie rod end joints
- passenger side sway bar link, control arm bushing and tie rod end joints
- passenger side , fixed upper strut mount

Finally able to really appreciate all the recent updates and nice suspension setup.

 

[McGuirk]

Thanks for the detailed writing. Should be tackling my disassembly tomorrow/Tuesday. I'll try to remember to take pictures and post a follow up.

 

[McGuirk]

Finally got a chance to take out the front konis and they were fine. Disassembled and re torqued. Ordered new sway bar links. Mine had too much play and regardless of how tight they are they pop at low speed turns. They came off the front suspension refresh kit from ECS tuning. Would not recommend the kit.