Knocking, clunking, squeaking front left suspension area - upper control arm?

[LIRS6]

(Doubt the suspension as DRC gonzo for years).

[hahnmgh63]

Probably, I think the upper rear arm (inside bushing) was the worst on my car when I did them last fall.

[RS6Steve]

Or your ARB needs lubing

[gooseleg]

In my case when the TC was done in December of last year an undercarriage bolt was stripped, I have gone back to the dealership 5 times and changed all 4 upper arms it’s still not fixed so now I have contacted AOA for a resolution.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

[LIRS6]

Removed the wheel and visually examined the control arms - I couldn't find any sign of extensive wear. But I did notice that the outer boot had a lot of oil and dirt build-up, and lacked a clamp at the end to retain it tightly on the axle.

[4everRS]

There you have it. The grease is likely gone from you CV joint and wore it out. Can you "feel" it in you steering wheel? You need a new CV joint is my bet. However the squeaking is odd. Hmmm???
Removed the wheel and visually examined the control arms - I couldn't find any sign of extensive wear. But I did notice that the outer boot had a lot of oil and dirt build-up, and lacked a clamp at the end to retain it tightly on the axle.

[LIRS6]

There you have it. The grease is likely gone from you CV joint and wore it out. Can you "feel" it in you steering wheel? You need a new CV joint is my bet. However the squeaking is odd. Hmmm??? Feel some mild vibration on occasion. That boot was replaced by dealer 10 months ago ... do I have a legitimate argument with them?

[hahnmgh63]

I'm still betting on Control arms as they are mostly worn out by 50K and the CV's are a little more reliable. It would help a little on the diagnosis if you share your mileage? CV joint will usually be more of a groaning than a clunk and swerving slightly back and forth while driving down the road will change the toan on a bad CV whereas the suspension bushings are more noticeable while turning sharply and at slower speeds. Worn bushings aren't always readily identifiable, you need to turn the wheel so the rubber in the bushing is stretched so you can see the tears in the rubber. A complete kit of control arms for the front are fairly cheap but I went with 034 motorsports Spherical control arm bushings for the lower arms, not cheap but the preciseness of the steering is much improved.

[LIRS6]

Mileage is 85k. No groaning, but a lot of clunking. RS6Steve may be on track with his comment that ARB may need lubing. Going to the dealer Saturday (had scheduled for 85k service already). Meantime have parked the beast - now driving my mother-in-law's '93 Caddy Sedan de Ville ... got a lot of heckling today at the office

[hahnmgh63]

Yea, I see you have Hotchkiss, The Hotckiss mounts have zerk fittings for grease. Just put about one full pump of grease in each fitting and see if that does the trick. I try to grease mine at every oil change (6~7K between changes) and once in between. I just do one full pump. I try not to keep pumping until it oozes out, then it just collects dust & dirt.

[ben916]

:harass::harass: '93 Caddy

How is the slushy ride???
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[LIRS6]

:harass::harass: '93 Caddy

How is the slushy ride???
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Hey - I can finally blast over the speed bumps on our lane .. I have to crawl over them in the rs6

[LIRS6]

Had the car at the dealer - did a road test - tech heard the clunking, and went to work. Diagnosis - my front left Stasis-Ohlin MS was leaking from the reservoir canister. ARGHH!

Need to contact Stasis to determine my next move.

[LIRS6]

Just removed the 2 front dampers - sending them to Stasis for re-building. Thought about pussying out and having my Indy do the removal/replacement, then figured that if I could tackle an IC replacement successfully, then I should be able to remove the dampers. Took me a lot of time and WD40, but I got them out. Presently with FedEx. Hopefully this was the issue causing the recent clunking. Meantime I have far too many 14mm, 17mm, 19mm wrenches, and too few 16/16/18's; I had to make a late-night run to Home Depot to buy a wrench, but could only buy it as part of a set. Anyone want to swap some wrenches?

[vangelis]

Guys, I just wanted to update you maybe it is the same issue you face. I used to get the same clunking and squeaking coming from the front right corner when i turn or move the steering. It was not happening every single time but most of time. When I took to MTM we found that all control upper and lower arms are fine, i have KW v3 so no DRC issues and the shock mount is just replaced. So, finally we found the problem coming from the steering rack itself. It was loose and that 3 bolts that holding it was just loose for some reason. Tech in MTM tighten them and it is PERFECT now for a week. No moreee sound and it is just perfect again.

[4everRS]

Good info Vangelis. Without searching, I seem to remember that another member or 2 had this same issue. Can anyone verify where the steering rack bolts are? I have never specifically looked for them. I have heard that 2 are pretty easily accessible, but another may be very hard to get to?

LIRS6 - keep us updated on the results.
Guys, I just wanted to update you maybe it is the same issue you face. I used to get the same clunking and squeaking coming from the front right corner when i turn or move the steering. It was not happening every single time but most of time. When I took to MTM we found that all control upper and lower arms are fine, i have KW v3 so no DRC issues and the shock mount is just replaced. So, finally we found the problem coming from the steering rack itself. It was loose and that 3 bolts that holding it was just loose for some reason. Tech in MTM tighten them and it is PERFECT now for a week. No moreee sound and it is just perfect again.

[LIRS6]

Up-date:

After sending the front dampers to Stasis to be rebuilt, all is well again - no more clunking etc. I did check the steering rack bolts - they were tight. For anyone who has Stasis MS, be guided that Stasis said that the 3 yrs that I got out of their dampers w/o a rebuild was very good. The cost was $100/damper. Turn-around time at Stasis was 1.5 days. In the DIY process, however, I managed to leave the trunk open or such .. battery died :(

[MaxRS6]

Congrats on the resolution!