Mysterious front end clunk / knock (Video added)

Did you check all the wiring mounting points on the chassis? Like the the mounting point inside the fenders on each side for the ABS system sensors? Sounds to me like one of them is loose and banging against bare metal. Also, Are you positive all your bolts are tight to spec?

A noise like that can be most commonly made by strut-to-mount nuts (48ftlbs) being loose, Pinch bolt on the strut being loose (52ftlbs), LCA bolts being slightly loose causing pinch movements (48ftlbs) and finally the hub mounted brackets right in front of the shock, where both the brake lines and ABS wiring runs through. Those are hand tight + 90'

If one of these does not solve your issue then I would look elsewhere from the front suspension.

peterbg16 said:

Did you check all the wiring mounting points on the chassis? Like the the mounting point inside the fenders on each side for the ABS system sensors? Sounds to me like one of them is loose and banging against bare metal. Also, Are you positive all your bolts are tight to spec?

A noise like that can be most commonly made by strut-to-mount nuts (48ftlbs) being loose, Pinch bolt on the strut being loose (52ftlbs), LCA bolts being slightly loose causing pinch movements (48ftlbs) and finally the hub mounted brackets right in front of the shock, where both the brake lines and ABS wiring runs through. Those are hand tight + 90'

If one of these does not solve your issue then I would look elsewhere from the front suspension.

Click to expand...

I've double checked all the bolts along the struts and sub-frame except the strut-to-mount nuts. But like my OP said the strut mount & bearing have been replaced recently because I thought that's where the noise came from and I am pretty sure I torqued them to 48 ft-lbs when I put everything back together.

Is there a quick & easy way to re-check them without pulling the struts off the car?

Do you mean the one I highlighted below? If so no I didn't check that bracket.

firefly said:

I've double checked all the bolts along the struts and sub-frame except the strut-to-mount nuts. But like my OP said the strut mount & bearing have been replaced recently because I thought that's where the noise came from and I am pretty sure I torqued them to 48 ft-lbs when I put everything back together.

Is there a quick & easy way to re-check them without pulling the struts off the car?

Do you mean the one I highlighted below? If so no I didn't check that bracket.

View attachment 40882

Click to expand...

Yep that bracket, and also if they were tightened enough you should be able to stick a 13/16ths spark plug socket in there and plug in your torque wrench. It would be very tight but if you have someone prying the windshield cowl up CAREFULLY you can get it in there. Set it to 48ftlbs. If the strut starts spinning when you try to torque it it is not tight enough. With the torque being correct, the wrench would click before the bolt generates enough torque to spin the strut. If it is spinning it that means the strut has space to move while the car is driving, which also means that it is most likely rotating slightly along with the bearing.

That can also cause new bearings to go bad.

Strut bearings generally only make noise when turning.

peterbg16 said:

Yep that bracket, and also if they were tightened enough you should be able to stick a 13/16ths spark plug socket in there and plug in your torque wrench. It would be very tight but if you have someone prying the windshield cowl up CAREFULLY you can get it in there. Set it to 48ftlbs. If the strut starts spinning when you try to torque it it is not tight enough. With the torque being correct, the wrench would click before the bolt generates enough torque to spin the strut. If it is spinning it that means the strut has space to move while the car is driving, which also means that it is most likely rotating slightly along with the bearing.

That can also cause new bearings to go bad.

Click to expand...

I will try to see if I can fit a torque wrench & socket in there without removing the cowl from the windshield. That thing is a bitch to reinstall. I would be surprised if that nut is loose because I used the same torque setting on both sides, and only the driver side is having issue.

peterbg16 said:

Yep that bracket, and also if they were tightened enough you should be able to stick a 13/16ths spark plug socket in there and plug in your torque wrench. It would be very tight but if you have someone prying the windshield cowl up CAREFULLY you can get it in there. Set it to 48ftlbs. If the strut starts spinning when you try to torque it it is not tight enough. With the torque being correct, the wrench would click before the bolt generates enough torque to spin the strut. If it is spinning it that means the strut has space to move while the car is driving, which also means that it is most likely rotating slightly along with the bearing.

That can also cause new bearings to go bad.

Click to expand...

Just checked the strut to mount nut with wheels on the ground and it's not loose. The noise has gotten a lot worst in the last two days. Now it clicks and clunks over expansion joint at highway speed.

I start to investigate other parts of the front end. Checked my transmission mount and I see this. Not sure if these are grease filled but those black tar around the mount seems strange. There's no abnormal vibration while driving though.

firefly said:

Just checked the strut to mount nut with wheels on the ground and it's not loose. The noise has gotten a lot worst in the last two days. Now it clicks and clunks over expansion joint at highway speed.

I start to investigate other parts of the front end. Checked my transmission mount and I see this. Not sure if these are grease filled but those black tar around the mount seems strange. There's no abnormal vibration while driving though.

Click to expand...

Hard to tell but those look fine. Is it grease? Touch it and see. Are you sure that your sway bar end links are 100% tight and properly seated? If oyu have checked every bolt in the suspension and you are certain there is nothing going wrong there then honestly it would be time to start checking all mounting points underneath.

Also, check the rear. Clunks from back there can travel and sound like they are coming from under the front.

Another thing to check is the subframe bolts. Check all of them. Look for rubbing marks around the bolts where the bolts may look like they have moved.

Check the sway bar mount bolts underneath. they are a light torque. 30NM or so.

Are your shocks seated properly? Check the torque on the ball joint you installed. 60NM

A good test would be to raise one side of the front and do the 12-6 and 9-3 test. Pull with one hand on the wheel and push with the other. The tie rod may make noise but outside of that shifting nothing should move.

Only other thing I can think of is that something is loose, maybe a splash shield underneath the middle of the car or the engine. Also look at the strut mounts up top and make sure the space between the metal and rubber at the top is even. There is a small chance that those were bad from the start and blew out, causing the metal to move inside the rubber which in turn would cause such a noise as this.

Update June 11

So I triple checked all bolts along the front end and can't find anything unusual...including all the fender liners on both sides and they all look fine.

Pulled the battery out today with intention to check my tranny mount. The mount looks fine. The driver side half shaft is easily accessible with the battery out so I went ahead to check them...



Is this slack/free play normal? Feels like it's coming from the diff and the metallic click sounds exactly like what I am hearing in the car.

firefly said:

Hey everyone, a little problem I've been trying to diagnose but getting nowhere.

Currently running DG springs, H&R 26/22mm sway, Neuspeed dog bone mount. Used all new hardware during install and had this setup since 8k miles with no problem until now. I am now at 40k miles.

Symptoms: A single and light clunk / knock from the front of the car. Only happens when the driver side is disturbed either through small bumps or mild undulations in the road at moderate speed (20~30ish). Does not sound like subframe clunk, pushing hard into corners cannot replicate the noise.

Attempt: Replaced strut mount and strut bearing. Re-checked all bolts and all seems torqued to spec. Disconnected my end links today and the noise is still there. All other bushing seems ok visually.

Suggestions? Ideas?

Click to expand...

Found this thread while researching my Golf's new front end noise (unrelated to yours it seems), but I wanted to throw it out there just in case: Are you sure it is the suspension? I ask because I had a knocking/clunking front end noise on my 135i back right after I got it and after a few months of f-bombs/multiple trips to the dealership/pulling my hair out it ended up being a part in the HVAC system that expanded/contracted on really hot days that was causing the noise.

Only happened when wheels were slightly turned to the left while going over bumps (driver's side only).

Sounded just like a CV joint clunk/loose strut mount, etc.


Anyway, I'm sure what you've got is not what I was experiencing, but I just wanted to chime in because even though it might really seem like suspension noise (I've been fooled myself as you can see), maybe you just have small fastener or something that fell down the vent during assembly and is rattling around in there.

Good luck!

firefly said:

So I triple checked all bolts along the front end and can't find anything unusual...including all the fender liners on both sides and they all look fine.



Pulled the battery out today with intention to check my tranny mount. The mount looks fine. The driver side half shaft is easily accessible with the battery out so I went ahead to check them...







Is this slack/free play normal? Feels like it's coming from the diff and the metallic click sounds exactly like what I am hearing in the car.

Click to expand...

Did you ever figure out where the noise was coming from?? I'm in the same shoes you were.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reviving this thread because I'm having the same issue, but front both my driver and passenger side.

I've replaced all of my subframe bolts and tightened to spec, tightened my front sway bar after changing it to the same on you have. I tightened my drive axle bolt to spec last night to make sure it wasn't that; still knocked! Went to the dealer today to get an alignment and the mechanic said he had the same issue on his 2011 GTI, and he only has 28K miles on it.

Was the noise in the last video you posted the culprit?

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk