Trying to solve a knocking noise coming from the car which is making the engine shudder. If im decelerating then ever soo slightly accelerate i hear this knock. Definalty not the engine mounts as they were all replaced then my engine was rebuilt but my tca's were replaced about 1 year 6 months ago and they weren't g40 ones, yoof tutted when fitting the stage 3 frame lol. The top mounts were changed last month with vw ones and still got this knocking. Feels like the wheels are moving back and forth moving the engine via the driveshafts. Im thinking it could be TCA's are shagged.
Any suggestions?
Planning to change all top mounts and suspension in feb/march but trying to solve this 1st.
All bolts on the subframe still nice and tight? I had something similar when the offside subframe arm was loose - the nut and bolt on the 'elbow' of the arm where it meets the TCA needed tightening and all was well. If I grabbed the offside wheel with the car on the ground, and turned the wheel back/forth it would shift a little and knock.
I still get another knocking when going over bumps with the car in neutral or decelerating though which I need to check, but sounds a little like your symptoms also.
try your drive shaft nuts, they might be slack. i have had this happen on a couple of vw's
did you suss this problem out? i have exactly the same symptoms as you describe.
but all my suspension is completely standard
Taylor
Never really found it to be honest. I have only done 3k miles since then so hopefully will look into once it backs on road. Changing the suspension soon so hopefully will find/solve the problem.
Not sure if this is the problem with yours but, new VW engine mounts have a centre bush which is too long, and doesn't allow any compression on the rear C-mount (gearbox mount) rubber, meaning the rubber is fairly pointless!
I've taken them out on a few cars and cut 5-10mm off the metal bush, allowing you to compress the rubber, and thus raise the engine angle at the back (which is dropped when fitting a subframe).
Other than that, the usual TCA bushes, compression strut rose joints (new ones from Rally Design £15 a pop I think) check as Chris says all bolts are tight (I paint penned all of them) and check your offside front TCA mount to chassis. From memory the rear TCA bolts holes on your car had been elongated by a muppet, check the TCA bolt isn't rattling around in there too.
I think it was that forward mount that goes onto the chassis that was screwed as i got one from you.
Prob worth taking that rear mount off and cutting some of the bush down to see if this solves it. Havent got much engine movement though. All bolts were fine when i last checked them as i replaced the tca's.
Ive just ordered 3 new poly engine mounts, phil j ones :) and an h&r cup kit with new mounts, hoping this solves it :)
where can you get rose jointed inner tca bushes? can you send me a link to the correct ones as ill only buy the wrong ones lol
taylor
When you fitting the h&r kit?
Im deciding between that and the more expensive bilstein b12 kit or what ever it is.
Was supposed to be fitting it today... but it hasn't arrived :( not that it matters as i cant get the locking wheel bolts out, i broke the halfrauds tool. i bought the car 3 months ago and the prick didnt give me the locking tool, even though i know he had it because he changed the rear shocks
might write something on seller reviews. anyway not to rant
i will hopefully be fitting it next weekend and let you know the results :) ive only ever heard good things and i got mine at a bargain price :D
Taylor
Was supposed to be fitting it today... but it hasn't arrived :( not that it matters as i cant get the locking wheel bolts out, i broke the halfrauds tool. i bought the car 3 months ago and the prick didnt give me the locking tool, even though i know he had it because he changed the rear shocks
might write something on seller reviews. anyway not to rant
i will hopefully be fitting it next weekend and let you know the results :) ive only ever heard good things and i got mine at a bargain price :D
Taylor
Yeah i have heard a lot of good things about them.
Have you tried an 17/18mm socket on it? My mate had a problem when he couldnt get his off so we put the socket over the locking bolt and hit it on with a hammer. Undid it really easy actually, makes locking ones pointless.
What price you get them for? Cheapest i found is £330 i think.
Quote from: Jezza-7 on February 09, 2013, 08:30:45 PM
Yeah i have heard a lot of good things about them.
Have you tried an 17/18mm socket on it? My mate had a problem when he couldnt get his off so we put the socket over the locking bolt and hit it on with a hammer. Undid it really easy actually, makes locking ones pointless.
Haha, wish that had worked. i spent about two hours hammering chisels and various sockets onto it, tried the special left hand thread tool, stripped all the threads, even broke out the air chisel, nothing would touch it! gonna have to get the belt sander on it and just grind them down for about 4 years
ah, i didnt get them new. theyve got about 8000 miles on them from saf or grunge is dead, think his name is, £265 delivered but came with top mounts, bearings and the complete strut, which is ideal as mine are fudged and i want to refurbish the struts then swap them back over.
how much is the b12 kit? ive also heard very good things about that, but its still early days and hasn't been on the market as long
ah thats a shame that lot didnt work!
them b12 kits are around £470.
Well i got the HnR kit. disappointing. the wheel bearings were shot and needed replacing anyway, so paid nearly new money for worn out suspension
the 60mm/60mm lower ride height is spot on. however the handling is not. it bounces around wayy to much! as if the dampers arnt beafy enough and it bounces around on the springs after going over a bump. not impressed. dont buy it. get the b12 which is what i will be doing in a year or so
Taylor
Really?
I thought they would be more solid than that.
You've been really unlucky Taylor. My G40 was a total piece of shit when I bought it too. :'(
The HnR setups were known as one of the best kits available. As you say, the new Bilstein kits are said to be even better. Koni dampers with Eibach springs are another excellent choice so I hear.
I reckon your HnR kit must be knackered, uncontrolled bouncing around sounds like worn dampers. A mate of mine has them fitted to his MK2 Coupe along with polybushes and 185/50/14 tyres, the ride is pretty firm but certainly well controlled.
Quote from: breadman on March 09, 2013, 02:43:26 PM
You've been really unlucky Taylor. My G40 was a total piece of shit when I bought it too. :'(
The HnR setups were known as one of the best kits available. As you say, the new Bilstein kits are said to be even better. Koni dampers with Eibach springs are another excellent choice so I hear.
I reckon your HnR kit must be knackered, uncontrolled bouncing around sounds like worn dampers. A mate of mine has them fitted to his MK2 Coupe along with polybushes and 185/50/14 tyres, the ride is pretty firm but certainly well controlled.
Yeah indeed i have :( trying to put it right but nearly everything is faulty! oh well you live and learn.
it definitely feels like worn dampers. well its an improvement from what i had on there anyway. will just have to save up for the Bilstein kit as it sounds spot on for the road and the price is pretty decent for what you get. i just wont by second hand this time haha
Taylor
How much did you spend on yours to get it right breadman?
just put some new nylon arb blocks and lateral clamps on as well as nylon outer tca bushes. checked the inner nylon bushes and they are fine
still getting a horrendous knocking noise, is worse now with the uprated parts
all bolts and nuts are tight
the only thing i did notice is if i jack the car up and then lift the wheel up and down theres play in the top mount and it rattles a bit, but was told this is normal on the polo top mount design? i was also told the top mounts were recently changed on the suspension i bought so im not sure. but the play doesnt seem right
if the noise is top mounts im gonna be pissed!! lol got to take everything back out for the third time!!
my wheels scrub out soooo bad on full lock but putting this down to tracking.... or probably a bent chassis leg haha
Taylor
My wheels scrub on full lock and my tracking is good but run 14" wheels.
Depends on what size, et and width you got.
Quote from: z3i on March 16, 2013, 06:38:34 PM
How much did you spend on yours to get it right breadman?
just put some new nylon arb blocks and lateral clamps on as well as nylon outer tca bushes. checked the inner nylon bushes and they are fine
still getting a horrendous knocking noise, is worse now with the uprated parts
all bolts and nuts are tight
the only thing i did notice is if i jack the car up and then lift the wheel up and down theres play in the top mount and it rattles a bit, but was told this is normal on the polo top mount design? i was also told the top mounts were recently changed on the suspension i bought so im not sure. but the play doesnt seem right
if the noise is top mounts im gonna be pissed!! lol got to take everything back out for the third time!!
my wheels scrub out soooo bad on full lock but putting this down to tracking.... or probably a bent chassis leg haha
Taylor
Have you told Saf the bearings are shot? I'm sure he'll sort you out- might be worth speaking to him?
Sounds like the castle nut isn't tight on your top mount, another utter PITA to find is the shock being loose in the strut- which knocks like a bugger, and everything appears to be tight on the outside.
The H&R kit are well matched springs/dampers if it is very crashy then you might have a leaking damper (fairly sure H&R are oil filled) so have a look for fluid around the shock.
Pete sells new Febi top mounts on here, which aren't expensive :)
Thanks for the reply people
I dont mind buying new ones, like you said pete does febi ones for pretty cheap
Its just the effort involved with doing it on my driveway and i was trying to diagnose a knocking noise which i first thought to be top mounts on my old suspension, so when i changed it for suspension with what i thought were good top mounts it led me to believe it was another component. now ive changed everything and the problem still persists its confusing me :S
Thanks for the info on the shock being loose in the strut i never thought of that. but when its jacked up all the movement left, right up and down is coming from the top mount.
When i checked the castle nut it all seemed tight, im going to get one of the castle nut sockets from gsf and double check tomorrow.
Checked the shocks before i put them in and none of them had oil or any signs of leaks. the rears returned at different rates but that was it
Also i have original g40 ra's the 5.5" wide ones
I didn't fit the shocks into the struts in that HnR setup I had, it came on a car I purchased and I swapped them onto the G, so its plausible that they haven't had the ol' 2p trick down the shock tube, or filling with oil around the front shock to take up any movement in the strut tube.
I did have to with my KW's and haven't before with another HnR kit. With all of them I've found the castle nut to get loose over time, me and adam, the roads in manchester are shockingly bad but im sure thats the same story all over the country.
the last time the kit saw the road was our trip round europe, and everything felt right on the car going over bumps etc, we did get uneven tyre wear on both fronts as if the tracking was out, i just dont think my mate at the garage setup the geometry correctly for toe and castor.
ive always ran HnR or KW's on all on my poloes, and have only experienced budget shocks and springs on Karls GT which is a firm and unforgiving rides, I was always happy with the softer more compliant ride that the more expensive setups gave.
as said in previous correspondence,I can buy you a set of new bearings, or top mounts to replace if you want. if you were closer i could fit them too of an evening.
hopefully when your at a show in the future you could ask to jump in a couple of peoples G40's and get a feel for how they handle as a comparative benchmark, as I'm not sure if you've had any old poloes in the past.
hopefully ill get you a beer in too :)
Quote from: grungeisdead on March 17, 2013, 10:58:48 PM
I didn't fit the shocks into the struts in that HnR setup I had, it came on a car I purchased and I swapped them onto the G, so its plausible that they haven't had the ol' 2p trick down the shock tube, or filling with oil around the front shock to take up any movement in the strut tube.
I did have to with my KW's and haven't before with another HnR kit. With all of them I've found the castle nut to get loose over time, me and adam, the roads in manchester are shockingly bad but im sure thats the same story all over the country.
the last time the kit saw the road was our trip round europe, and everything felt right on the car going over bumps etc, we did get uneven tyre wear on both fronts as if the tracking was out, i just dont think my mate at the garage setup the geometry correctly for toe and castor.
ive always ran HnR or KW's on all on my poloes, and have only experienced budget shocks and springs on Karls GT which is a firm and unforgiving rides, I was always happy with the softer more compliant ride that the more expensive setups gave.
as said in previous correspondence,I can buy you a set of new bearings, or top mounts to replace if you want. if you were closer i could fit them too of an evening.
hopefully when your at a show in the future you could ask to jump in a couple of peoples G40's and get a feel for how they handle as a comparative benchmark, as I'm not sure if you've had any old poloes in the past.
hopefully ill get you a beer in too :)
Cheers for the reply mate :)
ok, it might be worth just rebuilding them then, new oil check everything is tight and new top mounts
Thanks for the offer mate, they are only cheap so no worries and same for the bearings, it was more the fact i was just hoping to do a straight suspension swap and not have to worry if you get me?
Besides if i were to pay you for all the advice you've given me, it would probably be equivalent to the price of two top mounts and two bearings haha :P
And yes! that would be spot on! theres loads of things im unsure off on my car but have nothing to compare it to. it would be good if someone with lots of polo history could drive mine and give me some feedback (probably condemn it lol) and yes this is my first polo and my first car with this crazy ass suspension set up
Thanks for the help mate
Haha ok ill hold you too the beer :P
Took all the suspension apart today, cleaned it, rebuilt, made sure everything was tight, new gsf top mounts and the noise has stopped :D
now i can hear all the other horrible noises the car makes haha