Creaking suspension AFTER refresh
Discussion
Just looking for some thoughts on this!
Has a load of suspension work done to get my car. (Mk6 GTi) through the MOT, including new coil springs all round, new dampers at the front, new top mounts and arb link arms and various bearing and mountings.
There is now a fairly obvious creakiness in the suspension. It wasn’t perfect before, but is definitely worse now.
My theory is that any bushing that was fairly tired that hasn’t been replaced is now noisier due to everything being moved about a bit and the new components “highlighting” the issue.
Has a load of suspension work done to get my car. (Mk6 GTi) through the MOT, including new coil springs all round, new dampers at the front, new top mounts and arb link arms and various bearing and mountings.
There is now a fairly obvious creakiness in the suspension. It wasn’t perfect before, but is definitely worse now.
My theory is that any bushing that was fairly tired that hasn’t been replaced is now noisier due to everything being moved about a bit and the new components “highlighting” the issue.
jimmy156 said:
Just looking for some thoughts on this!
Has a load of suspension work done to get my car. (Mk6 GTi) through the MOT, including new coil springs all round, new dampers at the front, new top mounts and arb link arms and various bearing and mountings.
There is now a fairly obvious creakiness in the suspension. It wasn t perfect before, but is definitely worse now.
My theory is that any bushing that was fairly tired that hasn t been replaced is now noisier due to everything being moved about a bit and the new components highlighting the issue.
Creaks can be hard to find.Has a load of suspension work done to get my car. (Mk6 GTi) through the MOT, including new coil springs all round, new dampers at the front, new top mounts and arb link arms and various bearing and mountings.
There is now a fairly obvious creakiness in the suspension. It wasn t perfect before, but is definitely worse now.
My theory is that any bushing that was fairly tired that hasn t been replaced is now noisier due to everything being moved about a bit and the new components highlighting the issue.
Did they suggest your original creaks would go after their work?
Or have they just replaced what was needed for the MOT?
In my short time running a workshop, I relised that some of the aftermarket parts were awful, especially some of the springs, that really didn't fit properly, so I'm not surprised at what you're finding.
Take it back to the garage, hopefully they can find out which area it's coming from, and go from there.
But as you say, some new parts, mixed in with worn parts, could cause some creaks, but where do you stop?
Thanks everyone!
No, remedying the creaks was not part of the brief, it was just get it through the MOT and replace anything else that made sense "while you're in there" without costing the earth. e.g. the front springs weren't an MOT fail, but the dampers were, but didn't make sense to put the old springs back on.
If its a case of the bushing creaking under load; my non-mechanic brain would file this under "Ignore and it might go away / won't cause a problem" Is this the right approach. I can deal with creaky suspension (can only be heard sub 20mph anyway before other road noises drown it out)
Taking it back to the garage is a mild PITA as they book weeks in advance and faffing around kids drop off and work always makes it a minor headache.
No, remedying the creaks was not part of the brief, it was just get it through the MOT and replace anything else that made sense "while you're in there" without costing the earth. e.g. the front springs weren't an MOT fail, but the dampers were, but didn't make sense to put the old springs back on.
If its a case of the bushing creaking under load; my non-mechanic brain would file this under "Ignore and it might go away / won't cause a problem" Is this the right approach. I can deal with creaky suspension (can only be heard sub 20mph anyway before other road noises drown it out)
Taking it back to the garage is a mild PITA as they book weeks in advance and faffing around kids drop off and work always makes it a minor headache.
My bodge solution to a creak on my wife's car was to get her to drive slowly over speed ramps while I stood next to the car, and I narrowed down to the wheel concerned. I then squirted the various joints and suspension rubbery bits with lube and this shut it up until I could get the part properly looked at.
Did they use genuine parts?
Cheap aftermarket bushes can be terrible. I've had drop links that were impossible to tighten to a point they were actually tight or rubber that was such poor quality it cracked immediately.
Unless it's genuine or the likes of Lemforder (the Germany produced stuff not the stuff made in the far east) I'd be highly suspect.
Cheap aftermarket bushes can be terrible. I've had drop links that were impossible to tighten to a point they were actually tight or rubber that was such poor quality it cracked immediately.
Unless it's genuine or the likes of Lemforder (the Germany produced stuff not the stuff made in the far east) I'd be highly suspect.
WPA said:
Could be something as simple as a bush being tightened on the ramp with no load on it, once under load it will creak
That would be a significant screw-up on the part of the garage if so. Aside from any noise in use, leaving rubber bushes distorted at rest is a good way to kill them pretty quickly!Forum | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff