Top mount bearing

Elpres

Elpres

Member
When I turn the steering wheel. There is a sound like the front spring is moving in a wrong way. It’s kind of a “guuuunnng” sound.
I think it might be a top mount bearing issue.
How can I test it?
Is it a DIY?
And if yes how is it done?
Thanks...
 
When I had this problem turning the steering wheel the steering produced a cracking noise as it moved. My Audi dealer suggested the top mount bearings and suggested to test I squirt some lubricant on. The bearings were absolutely totally covered in mud and corrosion so I replaced them. There's not much else can make a noise like that.

Jack car up, remove struts, compress springs, replace bearings. Refit, though access to strut top screws is difficult and I have a tool to lever open hub to strut clamp and I also have the spring compressors. There is probably a how to somewhere on the forum.
 
Mine regularly Boinged from the front when parking and turning the wheel through a wide range.
I thought top mounts and sprayed on a fair amount of white lithium grease to see and it seemed to help.
The Garage checked both mounts a few days later and said they were fine... it still happens but nothing has come of it in four years.


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Thank you guys. I had my wife turn the steering wheel, and it’s the bearing acting up. I’ll try with som lube. Thanks again
 
The only cautionary tale to add to this is that the noise is the spring moving against the lower part of the bearing assembly. I believe that this is a cause of premature spring failure and the bits are cheap enough, it just takes time to fit them. Though as Philward says, access to the top (especially on the offside) is not at all easy.
 
That's a good point from Simon regarding the springs slipping.

It is therefore likely that squirting lubricant around up there is good for diagnosis in that it allows the springs to slip therefore reducing noise. The chances of lubricant penetrating and restoring a seized bearing is minimal. They will still need replacing.

Bearing top and the holes for three screws securing the bearing to the car:

1lbG1QM.jpg


The smooth surface that the spring can slip on (is there also a rubber pad between the spring and bearing?):

U8bkftA.jpg


Bearings hidden deep inside behind a seal:

las2edu.jpg
 
I had the exact same symptoms this January following an encounter with a damaged road. Nearside toplink. Had garage change both with new pattern parts. Not expensive.
 
I'd advise replacing with the heavy-duty versions and not with pattern ones; the non-OEM parts have a tendency to fail again after a couple of years whereas the cupra / gti parts survive very nicely indeed.

That's at least the reports off of the German Forum. You should be running a geometry check after this as the struts are *the* thing that will move the front geometry around as much as moving the subframe will, and so at least one setting can only be changed by shifting the strut around.

- Bret
 
bretti_kivi said:
I'd advise replacing with the heavy-duty versions and not with pattern ones; the non-OEM parts have a tendency to fail again after a couple of years whereas the cupra / gti parts survive very nicely indeed.

That's at least the reports off of the German Forum. You should be running a geometry check after this as the struts are *the* thing that will move the front geometry around as much as moving the subframe will, and so at least one setting can only be changed by shifting the strut around.

- Bret
Click to expand...
Damn, mine were pattern parts but let’s see: they’ve been on 8 months so far! I don’t suppose you have the part numbers for the heavy duty ones do you please? Always useful to know.
 
Try 6N0 412 249 C or D There's 2 variants. I'd check with your nearest TPS counter, or failing that, with Audi parts if you are desperate.
 
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