Old Library

So far, the brakes are quiet.  The dealer said the strut bearings needed
replacing anyway even thought it didn't fix the squeaks over bumps.  This is how
he checked for bad strut bearings: With the car up on the lift he pushed up on
the contact patch of the tire.  If you can move the suspension assembly up and
down then the bearings are worn.  If they're worn out you should be able to see
movement on the bearings.  This is how he checked them, maybe someone can verify
this method.  As for sluggish throttle, have you removed the snow screen and
cone from the air box yet?  This makes a huge noticable difference.

gary

At 01:11 PM 2/21/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Along with my torn rack boots, I've got a strange looseness in the front end
>of my GTi VR6 that I can't pinpoint.  I do have 60K on original strut
>bearings, and I've had the subframe down a few times and never replaced the
>bolts, so I'm gonna look into those two areas for trouble.  Is there a sure
>fire way to test strut bearings?  The archives were not very helpful there.
>The clunk can be felt in the wheel over bumps at all speeds, but the
>steering itself is tight with no play.  I've also developed a clutch chatter
>recently, so maybe the subframe is loose or even a motormount is on its way
>out.  Anyone got ideas?
>
>Thanks,
>Greg
>
>

this is an easy one. Jack up the front end and let the wheels drop. Pushing up
under the wheel will determine the amount of free play in the strut bearings.
Over a period of time the strut mounts will collapse from continual pounding.
If the new mount is appx 25 mm in height it may collapse by close to 10 mm
especially if the car is driven over very rough roads. When the strut hits a
bump it will compress. The rubber strut stop will absorb some impact. If the
bump is very bad the strut bottoms out against the mount. Over a period of time
it collapses causing excessive wheel up/down movement.

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Had the same clunking noise. It ended up being the strut bearing. Mine
went at 60k. Try this test. Jack up your front end so your tires are off
the ground. Grab the tire and try and lift it up and down, you should
not be able to do this if your strut bearings are good. If the tire
moves up and down, your strut bearings are gone. If you lift the hood
you can even see and hear the top of the strut moving up and down in its
perch..