Suspension knocking in front

VAspeed3

Member
:
2007 MS3 purchased new October 2006
This is a very high mileage 2007 MS3, but it's been doing this a long time. Hearing knocking on choppy bumps, and can be pretty loud. Replaced the struts -- no change. Replaced stabilizer end links, the knocking in the rear disappeared, but the front knocking stayed. The usual VA safety inspections find nothing worn out of spec and say they cant reproduce the sound on a lift or a ramp, so, what's left? Stabilizer bushings?

Thanks.
 
Yes. Sway bar bushings. I had same problem,. I had already replaced struts and shocks, which were due for change anyway, so I knew it was not from that install. I replaced the end links, but that did nothing. It turned out to be the front sway bar bushings. They are cheap. I got the aftermarket ones with grease fittings, but you don't have to. Either way, grease them up very liberally.

You can do them pretty easily from under the car with one cross member removed. Get the front up high on jack stands, chocked at the rear and with emergency brake set. Position yourself with your feet sticking straight out the front. You will need a very long breaker bar on the socket, as those bolts are very, very tight and space is very cramped, but you can do it. Movement is limited, so you can only move the socket maybe 1/6 of a rotation at a time. Slow going, maybe 30 minutes per side. One other thing: If you use stock parts, they will fit perfectly. But if you use aftermarket parts, it seems like all of them require you to make a horizontal slot in the brackets for your bolts to line up, as the aftermarket brackets are too wide.
 
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Awesome feedback. Thank you. I just dropped it off at the shop early this morning - I'm willing to pay somebody else to do suspension work. I'm going to call them now and tell them they probably should just replace the bushings. Maybe they can get the parts and finish it in one business day. Will advise.
 
When you did struts did you replace the upper strut bearing?

No idea. I had my local garage do it. I don't know what an upper strut bearing is, honestly. Does it allow the strut to rotate versus the chassis mounts with steering inputs?

By the way, shop says original sway bar bushings were plenty shot (no surprise), as well as the Moog replacement end links that I just replaced about 18 months ago. It will take until Thursday for the sway bar bushings to ship in, so I'll be sporting my 20 year old beater Taurus wagon for a few days.
 
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When you did struts did you replace the upper strut bearing?

If your question is addressed to me, the answer is yes. It is very foolhardy not to replace the bearings, both halves on both sides. I tried without it and ended up having to redo the job. The top pieces may have worked fine with your old, worn out struts, but are highly likely to make a lot of noise when subjected to the loads from properly working struts. They are cheap, about $40 per side if I recall.
 
If your question is addressed to me, the answer is yes. It is very foolhardy not to replace the bearings, both halves on both sides. I tried without it and ended up having to redo the job. The top pieces may have worked fine with your old, worn out struts, but are highly likely to make a lot of noise when subjected to the loads from properly working struts. They are cheap, about $40 per side if I recall.
I don't think you'd have posted if that didn't solve your problem ;-)

to op:
That's good that they found the issue, they likely helped wear down your new endlinks as well.
 
Knocking solved! It was primarily the front stabilizer bar bushings. Car feels and sounds new again.
 
Brandini, I just noticed you're in Richmond. I'm in Petersburg. I got my MS3 new in October 2006 from Whitten. It was the second one they ever sold. Sitting at 236,000 miles now. No mods except the Koni Sport adjustable shocks I had put on about 3 years ago. Wife complains about the stiff ride, but the handling improvement is worth it.
 
Nice! I'm @100k behind you. My only mods are an MSCAI, HT tune, and Koni FSDs- with a JBR rear bar waiting in the wings. My front bushings died around 120k...
 
Mine did too. I just didnt know it was the bushings, so I replaced everything else to get rid of the knocking.
 
Brandini, I just noticed you're in Richmond. I'm in Petersburg. I got my MS3 new in October 2006 from Whitten. It was the second one they ever sold. Sitting at 236,000 miles now. No mods except the Koni Sport adjustable shocks I had put on about 3 years ago. Wife complains about the stiff ride, but the handling improvement is worth it.

Nice mileage! Have you tried running the Konis both toward the softer side and attempted a rear bar upgrade? A Tri-Point RSB in in my future but not for a while after I get my drivelne back up to snuff. Have you had to touch axles or clutch yet?
 
Nice mileage! Have you tried running the Konis both toward the softer side and attempted a rear bar upgrade? A Tri-Point RSB in in my future but not for a while after I get my drivelne back up to snuff. Have you had to touch axles or clutch yet?

No, clutch is original. So are all the CV joints, wheel bearings, and turbo. I hear a few clickety-click sounds up front sometimes when I start off from a dead stop, but that's been going on a while and seems not to change over time. Only things I've had to replace other than the usual wear parts are timing chain and VVT actuator at around 170k miles. Timing chain had stretched and I could hear it rattling against the housing at idle.
Pretty surprising to me since I drive it fairly hard sometimes. I tracked it several times at VIR, but not since it passed 150,000 miles. I have no plans for mods, but I might like a short ram intake to hear the turbo during the summer.
 
Noob mechanic here. I'm having similar clunking from front and maybe rear as well on slow speed bumps. Anyone got any pics of the sway bar and bushings. I want to start with easiest to change and move on from there. I have 2010 speed3. Just changed rmm in hopes some noise was from that.
Thanks
 
All good advice, except I was able to change bar-to-frame bushings without removing the crossmember. You just have to find the right routing for each of your arms to get to the bolts. It's been a year since I did the job, but I recall there was only one roundabout way to get to the driver side mount with both hands at the same time. You'll know it when you find it. And yes, let the exhaust cool first.
Be sure to note the orientation of the cut in the old bushings that lets them slide off the bar.
Maybe removing the crossmember makes more sense.
 
I changed the sway bar end links last weekend. Had to cut one out but otherwise not too difficult. Unfortunately clunking noise did not go away and now that its colder, ther is a squeaking/rubbing noise. I suspect the new links are now causing the bushings to really show their wear, so i plan on just replacing whole thing with new corksport sway bar sinc the labour cost,(too tricky for me without a lift), is the same to change the bushings or swap out the whole bar.
 
It is actually easy to change the bushings. Can be done in 30-45 minutes max. It is a tight fit up in there, but you do not have to remove the sway bar or even loosen the end links. There is a cross member that you remove for access. You can do this with the car on jackstands, on your back feet toward the front bumper. You may need a breaker bar to move the bolts to begin with, but this is not hard.
 
Well, the new CS sway bar is in. No more clunking and squeaking, which was getting older in the cold weather. It was most likely the bushings, but I'm glad I swapped out the whole thing. Now just can't wait for the spring and dry roads to see how it really feels. And also to swap the rear sway bar.
 
I'm having the same issue. I'm relieved to have read this thread, since this seems like an easy and cheap fix. I have 114,000 miles on my 07. Cobb springs and swaybars. These were on the car when I bought it in 08. I added Koni sports about a year ago. I don't know if the swaybar bushings are stock or not, but this definitely sounds like the issue I'm having.
 
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