checking balljoints off the car?

[jakes97gs]

Hey guys, I have had a mystery front end clunk (drivers side) in my 96 talon tsi fwd since I got it about a year ago, it has recently gotten more frequent and I can't stand it any longer. I usually hear/feel the clunk going over medium or larger bumps at lower speeds and it is sometimes accompanied by a squeaking from the suspension that comes and goes. I have already replaced the tie rod ends, and upper balljoints, and just recently had the dealer do the lower control arm recall for my passenger side and they inspected the driver side and told me it was fine (the lateral arm at least). from all the research I did on the forums it sounded to me like my problem was my lower compression control arm, which didn't necessarily seem to have much play on the car, so I just pulled it off and the balljoint has no slop at all, the stud is pretty easy to rotate around in it's socket, but overall it doesn't seem to bad. so I guess my question is: is there a chance that the compression arm is my problem even though I don't feel slop in it? like I said its pretty easy to rotate the stud and the boot had a nice gash in it but when I changed the compression arms in my NT a year or two ago it was easy to detect the slop in them. Any Input is much appreciated, and any ideas what else this could be? my sway bar link appears plenty tight as well. Thanks!

 

[97blkeclipse]

Well, if you already have the driver lower control arm off, replace it with an oem unit. They are cheap and that will confirm if it is or isn't coming from there. I would inspect the shocks and springs, your upper mount may be toast or bump stops.

 

[luv2rallye]

Use a crowbar to try to move all the various suspension parts (ball joints, control arm and anti-sway bar bushings, springs, shocks) around to check for looseness or play. You really have push/pull hard.

 

[1995silvergst]

This was, for me, the rack bushing that keeps the rack from hitting the subframe. When I went over light bumps or speed bumps it would sound like a knock or bump by the firewall and steering column. This is all of two bolts that hold the bracket on, then you feed the new bushing around the rack, in between the rack and subframe and bolt the bracket back on. Viola no more knocking noise over bumps!

Also the compression arm, when bad, allows play forward and backward when letting the clutch out increasing wheel slop/vibration. After changed these I also had much better hard take offs!

 

[1995silvergst]

Here is what I am referring to they get compressed over time and allow wiggle room

 

[jakes97gs]

come to think of it, when I let my clutch out or enter/exit my driveway it feels like my suspension shifts, which is also why I chose to remove the compression arm, so it seems more like a suspension movement than rack bushings. Although I will definitely check that on my 1g awd, that one makes all kinds of strange noises . but as far a checking the compression arm balljoint, off the car it doesn't seem to have any slop that would allow for clunking. If I were to put it back on the car and then test it with a crowbar how much movement should I look for and is it likely that it would make a noise? thanks guys!

 

[luv2rallye]

Shouldn't have any slop movement at all. On the car is really the only way you can test them with all the forces that are present there. You might also try to move the wheels as hard as you can left/right and up/down (top/bottom) with wheels on the ground. Besides checking wheel bearings it can sometimes show bad ball joints. It helps if you can watch under the car while someone else does the wheel (eg. front wheels on ramps). Off hand it doesn't sound like your compression arm joint is the problem since you say it doesn't have slop off the car which when bad, they usually do. But you never know till you have the full car weight on all the suspension pieces. And when you use the crowbar, you a LOT of muscle. There can be 1000 lbs of force at start/stop/turn conditions on the suspension!

 

[jakes97gs]

I just found that my sway bar link on that side is quite bent, which could possibly be the/a cause So I will definitely get that fixed and then I will reinstall my control arm and get crazy with a pry bar . Also the boot on my compression ball joint is ripped pretty bad, If I recall correctly energy suspension makes a boot that fits correctly? otherwise is there any ball joint boots available (preferably at a parts store) that can fit the lca balljoints? thanks

 

[luv2rallye]

A ripped boot will leak out the grease and let sand, water, rust go in which will cause the ball joint to get wasted.

 

[TSImuchforyou]

i need to change all my suspension parts and im not looking forward to it haha but good luck to you.

 

[1995silvergst]

Here is how you test the ball joint also I used a bench vice and put a screw driver thought the bushing bolt holes on the other end. Then pry the bushing back and forth and check for tears in the bushing. They are hard to see and move takes a lot of force as previously stated hope this helps.

 

[jakes97gs]

perfect! Thanks silvergst I'll try that today and if the balljoint checks out I'll find me a new boot!

 

[jakes97gs]

Ok guys so my balljoint in my lca checked out and I picked a new sway bar end link which fixed my clunking probelm! However I still have the shifting feeling when I let the clutch out and going into/out of my driveway. It seems like this isn't my lower compression arms, does anybody have ideas as to what could be the cause of this shifting? Also I have a suspension squeak that remains undiagnosed as well, it comes and goes at random but for the most part only squeaks when I hit a bump. could this be a strut bushing that squeaks or maybe something I should lube? in the winter months sometimes I would have the squeak occur just when turning the wheel as if it was steering related... I really don't know. Any Ideas are much appreciated, Thanks Guys!

 

[buddy3824]

im not super familiar with the front of a 2g. but as for your shifting with clutch coming and going, possible torque mounts in the engine bay. I wouldnt call that a "shift" but everyone calls it something different....
your strut bushing could def be causing a squeak, but they tend to make noise driving down the road all the time and unless you have chassis ears, diagnosing a sometimes squeak on some bumps is going to be difficult..
One last thing I could suggest is make sure all your subframe bolts are tight.