Clunking coming from the front (with vid)

[jeffmills69]

Just changed the front struts and noticed the sway bar bushes were within reach through the wheel arch so changed them at the same time.. Haven't gone for a big drive yet but I noticed the new struts shoot up to their max height and my old ones sorta drop which tell me theres no pressure in the shock and they're well past their use by date, also they don't make a "hiss" sound when going over a speed bump as the old ones did. If this does fix the clunk I'd be interested to know if it was the struts not functioning properly or the bushes that was causing the clunking.. but anyways thanks for the help fellas

 

[jeffmills69]

just changed the rear struts and springs and there is only 1 word to describe that job... everything else feels smooth now but still have the clunk and noticed I could actually move the caliper which i'd have to guess could be a culprit of a clunking noise, would the caliper being a bit loose be the shims not holding the pads in place or something else? After the ordeal yesterday figured I'd leave that for another day

 

[_R_J_K_]

Did you check out the castor rods while you were in the front? Surprised nobody mentioned that pretty early on.

 

[greenacc]

Calliper slide pins can wear out and make a clunk noise when you apply the brakes. Other than that you can try tightening the 6 big bolts connecting the front subframe to the body. There's 3 on each side and most of them are 24mm from memory. They need to be really tight so you need a long handle bar or gun for that job

 

[jeffmills69]

Did you check out the castor rods while you were in the front? Surprised nobody mentioned that pretty early on.

https://imgur.com/a/23ZFD5j

Is the castor rod whats circled (it seems rather difficult to find what they are online)? If so it has no movement when the wheels are off and the car is jacked up, is there anything specific to look for?

Calliper slide pins can wear out and make a clunk noise when you apply the brakes. Other than that you can try tightening the 6 big bolts connecting the front subframe to the body. There's 3 on each side and most of them are 24mm from memory. They need to be really tight so you need a long handle bar or gun for that job

Reckon a good test would be to sorta slide the pins in and out to try recreate it and speaking about the pins Is bendix brake grease a good idea to use for them? And is the subframe the same thing as the K frame?

 

[greenacc]

Yes and yes. That grease helps them slide properly and also reduce noise but if they're already worn grease wouldn't fix them. On the VE the big bolts are fairly easy to see when you get under the car.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Is the castor rod whats circled (it seems rather difficult to find what they are online)? If so it has no movement when the wheels are off and the car is jacked up, is there anything specific to look for?

Correcto, I think a lot of places call it a "caster arm" and the bush at the front wears out. Superpro sell the as new or you could try replace the bush. Usually it's only going to see movement or make sounds when the car is on the ground and driving, but you can look for cracks in the bush by just unbolting the front bolt. If there's a gap in the bush you can stick something in and lever on it to see if there's excessive flex in the bush.

 

[MYVESSV8]

Did you check out the castor rods while you were in the front? Surprised nobody mentioned that pretty early on.

I mentioned them early on, your lower control arm bush and castor arm, did full replacements on mine with top strut polylast from superpro, steers like its on rails

 

[syked]

Did you check out the castor rods while you were in the front? Surprised nobody mentioned that pretty early on.

I also mentioned them earlier in the thread.
I've always known them as caster not castor and even superpro call them caster arms

They could also be known as radius arms.

 

[Gary Bowen]

I know this question has been resolved ages ago. But heres a little cheat/trick. With car on ground take the strut top off and put a washer under everything and put top back on. If noise stops it's the tops. Worked like a dream on my WM. Then u know the problem and dont have to replace whole front end trying to find it