Clunk sound when turning steering wheel

E

esamk

Member
Hi,
I have a 1.4 TDi 2002 with 78k. all standard.
I have developed an issue since replacing the front tyres as they were beyond the legal limit.
The first thing i noticed was that when pulling away from the tyre store, the steering seems to have 'slopped' to one side (to the left by a couple of inches). This eventually corrected itself when taking a few corners.

The next day when reversing out of my drive, i full locked right and heard a clunk, when driving off the steering slacked to the left again. as above, it eventually sorted itself out after a few minutes of driving and taking a few turns.

I checked my suspension (with my limited knowledge) and cannot see anything being untoward or loose, i.e. wishbone, drop links, tie rods/ends. i decided to replace the rod ends and had the car tracked but this made no difference. i jacked the car up again and noticed some grease near the driver side inner CV boot on the shaft side, there is no play on that joint, so re-greased and put a clip on to prevent further grease leaking out.

Not sure what to do next, took it to my independent mech and say there is nothing wrong, but there obviously is.
I dont get any noise from suspension when driving straight, turning or going over bumps.

The clunk can only be recreated when car is stationary or creeping forward/back very slowly and turning the wheel full lock left to right and vice-versa. i do want to get this sorted but don't want to be throwing money replacing items which are fine.

My thoughts are turning towards struts. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
PLEASE take it to a steering / tyre specialist.

When you say that the steering is to the left and then corrects it, that is scary.

There is nothing that would make it do that unless I was a serious steering malfunction. It might just be the way you are describing the problem, but if you are right there is something seriously wrong.

The clunk may be just a broken spring or seized top mount, but please don't drive the car far until you have had this checked by a specialist.

Please get it checked, even if you take it (carefully) back to the company that changed the tyres and ask them to check.

Steve B
 
hmmm, I must firstly concur with Steve - this MUST be checked without delay!

If this issue manifested itself AFTER the tyres were fitted, then you have to consider what is normally done during this process. The only item that gets loosened and fastened is the wheel itself - obvious perhaps, but have you checked the security of the road wheel itself, if the tyres are correctly beaded on the wheel rim and if they are at the correct pressure?

Failing that, the vehicle has to be checked, not only a professional, but perhaps by someone with intimate knowledge of the A2.

Let us know how you get along.

blue skies
tony
 
Long shot, but could it be that you have a cracked spring on the one side and when they raised the car to change the wheel it misaligned when lowering it back down, therefore causing an imbalance in the level of the car and a pulling to one side?
 
Hi, thaank you all for your responses.
Turned out to be a worn out strut bearing.
Got a mate to turn the wheel, the left strut seemed to judder when approaching full lock
i've ordered the parts and will get it fitted this weekend.
If anyone has any instructions on how to remove the passenger strut, that would be great. the drivers side looks like a pain with the power steering fluid being in the way.
 
many thanks spike.
quick question about the top nut on the strut under the black dome cover, does it have to be loosened/removed before before taking the strut out of the car after clamping down the spring?
Also any idea on torque specification for the bolts on reassembly?
 
As Jeff's PDG illustrates, unlike many older VAG cars, the strut top nut stays in place while the whole strut and spring assy is removed from the car. After removing the 3 top locating bolts and separating the bottom of the strut from the lower split clamp the assy can be eased out and the spring compressors can then be used to take the load off the top bearing while the centre nut is slackened.
Note that on assembly it's almost impossible to fit the black dome after the strut is installed so make sure you it's fitted first.

Cheers Spike
 
thanks.
out of interest what size is the top center strut nut and do i need a special tool to remove it?
 
esamk said:
thanks.
out of interest what size is the top center strut nut and do i need a special tool to remove it?
Click to expand...

I believe it is either a 21mm or 22mm socket/spanner. I used an off set ring spanner and you will need an allen key to hold the centre shaft to prevent it from moving whilst you undo the nut. Note: that when you remove the strut from the front hub you will need a substantial wedge to open out the clamp that holds in the strut. You may also need to get a new bolt and nut here as these can corrode quite badly in the hub mount.
 
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thank you.
I tempted the job last weekend, i got stuck trying to remove the strut from the steering knuckle. i stopped short of banging the knuckle senselessly with a heavy hammer as i did not want to accidentally damage something else.
Anyway, i threw in the towel and will drop it off to my trusted mech.

Thank you all for your valuable advice.
Esam
 
You need to wedge open the rear of the hub using a special tool that you tap into the gap, that then separates the gap slightly so that the strut can be removed from the hub.

When i did my A3, i used a chisel placed in the gap and held it to the side with some pressure and WD40 i managed to remove the strut.

Putting it back together was even harder! Until i had a friend hold the hub down whilst i re fitted the strut
 
Yes, its definitely not easy the first time you do it. We used the wedge shaped part of a hammer and tapped this into the slot to open up the gap.
There is not much room to get the hammer in to tap but we managed to get it opened up enough to get the old one out and the new one in on both sides.
We did the near side first which was difficult enough but the off side was much worse...
Definitely a good idea if you have a friend or a mechanic to help.

Having completed the job the car rides beautifully again.
 
Does anyone know if the brake /abs cable braket and be removed from the old strut and mounted onto the new strut? If so, could you describe how this is done. Many thanks
 
just thought i'd update the thread to conclude. the mounts were the issue. Since the shocks were replaced, the issue has gone away and the car now feels more nimble to drive which maybe isnt a good thing if i want to keep a clean license.

I will consider doing the rears when funds allow as i have a list of advisories from a recent MOT which indicated "slightly corroded" springs and damper.

Thanks for all who contributed to this thread.
 
Correct, to be precise the NS (passenger) top bearing was shot. when the mechanic showed me the mounting, i was able to open the mount case by hand and the ball bearings inside were all rusted. the driver side was in much better condition but replaced both as i always replace these sort of things in pairs.
 
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