Noise from front of car WITH VIDEO

[c150student]

Hi guys,

Loving Toledo ownership so far, bar a few niggles, one of which is an occasional noise from the front end. I can only describe it as a sort of clicking or creaking noise, which happens at low speed when turning the steering wheel slightly.

My online research so far says it may be suspension strut bearings, ARB links, wishbone bushes, ball joints perhaps... I've uploaded a video onto youtube for your viewing pleasure, please let me know if you've experienced anything similar and what the problem turned out to be.

youtube.com/watch?v=9THtJvBUx2g

Thanks in advance

 

[Matt-V5-Duffy]

Might be the topmounts, my Tolly has started doing that this week albeit not nearly as bad as that.

 

[S3 AKR]

That's the first place I would look, and also check the bottom ball joint - it could be dangerous if its the ball joint. Jack the car up and make sure that there is no play on the point where the hub meets wishbone. There will also be 3 nuts on a single bracket on top of the wishbone that hold the ball joint in place. make sure they are all intact as I had one on my Toledo break. Easy and cheap to fix yourself in about 10 mins with new parts, but worth checking as it secures the ball joint (not sure it would cause that noise though).


Item 2 (part# 1J0 407 175) and 13 (part# N101 277 07) in the diagram:-

 

[c150student]

Thanks for the replies chaps, I'll take a look at those things when I've got a moment. Her MOT is due soon so maybe it will get picked up there?

How would I go about checking the top mounts? What are the signs of them being gone?

 

[Matt-V5-Duffy]

Mine makes a creaking sounds, plus you can feel it through the suspension top mount when someone rocks the steering.

 

[the polisher]

sounds like top mount to me.

 

[S3 AKR]

There is a guide as to how it all comes apart in this post :-

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showpost.php?p=3682799&postcount=82

 

[c150student]

Whoah, that looks way too complicated for someone with my mechanical abilities! Lol

 

[c150student]

Right, the car decided to make the noise again as I parked up today, so I popped the bonnet and rocked the steering wheel with one hand and held onto the top of the suspension strut in the engine bay with the other. Whenever it made a noise, I felt a slight vibration. Does this mean the top mount is out or could it just mean a worn steering component is vibrating through the mount?

The bit I'm talking about is the black circular cap that unscrews to reveal a bolt, which I suspect holds on the shock.

 

[Matt-V5-Duffy]

When mine went it was quite a noticeable almost notchy feeling. I swapped my damaged topmount bearing today, it was quite easy but my coilovers are a fair bit shorter than the stock shock setup.

 

[c150student]

Fair enough, was it an expensive part to get hold of? Although I suspect just changing the bearing would be cheaper than replacing the whole thing?

 

[Matt-V5-Duffy]

£13 for a pair posted from Awesome GTi