If you are into mountain biking there is Cannock Chase with a lot of fun trails. You can hire bikes there if you don’t want to bring your own. There is a forestry commission campsite on the chase but no toilets on that one so I think you need your own loo to be let on now (they used to have a tarsus but every walker and mountain biker and their dog would fill it daily) and there are other campsites nearby but I haven’t tried those. They sometimes have concerts on the Chase too - maybe coincide your visit with one of those?Well.... I do like chips
Clunk clunk clunk
- Thread starter Cuiken
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- drop links suspension
ARB bushes are normally a dulish thud / clonk felt on floor at normal driving speeds, either side but more to the middle of the offending side if that makes sense on moderate bumps and pot holes, like the part of the floor where passenger or driver feet go (as that roughly corresponds with where they are). Drop links are like an annoying rattle more frequently closer to the wheel over any uneven surface and more rapid, go through a really rough smashed up car park slowly and it’ll be rattling like mad. Ball joint is a clonking at slow speed over holes, uneven road and manoeuvring and you can feel it on the wheel. Really noticeable on a dodgy smashed up car park surface.
Jack it up, remove one wheel, top of the drop link on that side and push behind, grab the roll bar and force it back and forth by hand, if you feel any movement or a dull thud replace them. Also check by putting a bar between disconnected end of the ARB and subframe again to see if it moves in the bush or thuds on the bar or clamp. If you removed the drop links that eliminates them but not necessarily the arb - if it’s totally disconnected and the bushes are worn bad enough, you’ve got a heavy bar with two other bars either end and it could still be bouncing in the bushes and rattling around over bumps under your feet.
You can get a pair of poly bushes from Problem Solving Bushes on eBay, about £18 including postage. Just measure and make sure you get the right thickness.
You’ll need a M14 spline socket (not Xzn), and some wd40 and some copper paste (for the new bushes to stop them squeezing). And patience to get them bolts out as there isn’t much room for a wrench to turn.
ARB D clamp Bolt torque if I remember is 110nm, but it’s on this site somewhere. Drop links if I remember are a 15mm spanner on the back and I think 18mm socket on the front.
It’s a pretty straight forward job, longest part is undoing the bolt a fraction of a turn at a time. I even tried a wobble bar and such but couldn’t really get in there properly, so slow and steady it was.
Good luck.
Edit, few random pics attached for reference of when I did mine. Absolutely zero play with new bushes in.
Oh yeh, and I’m sure you already know, but for future ref if anyone reads this, it’s easier to jack the hub up on a block to relieve arb strain to remove top bolt, and jack up to realign when refitting. I normally use two jacks, but also have used an axle stand under the subframe and then use the jack I used on the jacking point. But I’m comfortable with how I jack cars up, everyone else does what they want or at their own risk!
Jack it up, remove one wheel, top of the drop link on that side and push behind, grab the roll bar and force it back and forth by hand, if you feel any movement or a dull thud replace them. Also check by putting a bar between disconnected end of the ARB and subframe again to see if it moves in the bush or thuds on the bar or clamp. If you removed the drop links that eliminates them but not necessarily the arb - if it’s totally disconnected and the bushes are worn bad enough, you’ve got a heavy bar with two other bars either end and it could still be bouncing in the bushes and rattling around over bumps under your feet.
You can get a pair of poly bushes from Problem Solving Bushes on eBay, about £18 including postage. Just measure and make sure you get the right thickness.
You’ll need a M14 spline socket (not Xzn), and some wd40 and some copper paste (for the new bushes to stop them squeezing). And patience to get them bolts out as there isn’t much room for a wrench to turn.
ARB D clamp Bolt torque if I remember is 110nm, but it’s on this site somewhere. Drop links if I remember are a 15mm spanner on the back and I think 18mm socket on the front.
It’s a pretty straight forward job, longest part is undoing the bolt a fraction of a turn at a time. I even tried a wobble bar and such but couldn’t really get in there properly, so slow and steady it was.
Good luck.
Edit, few random pics attached for reference of when I did mine. Absolutely zero play with new bushes in.
Oh yeh, and I’m sure you already know, but for future ref if anyone reads this, it’s easier to jack the hub up on a block to relieve arb strain to remove top bolt, and jack up to realign when refitting. I normally use two jacks, but also have used an axle stand under the subframe and then use the jack I used on the jacking point. But I’m comfortable with how I jack cars up, everyone else does what they want or at their own risk!
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@T6_FunBus, just to say thanks for the outstandingly helpful post. Whether I find time to change them myself or roll the dice with a local garage, I'll see if I can get the ARB bushes changed this month.
@Cuiken, i might have the solution to your problem , a few weeks ago i had a golf gti for front springs and top mounts, a job I've done hundreds of times. the owner supplied the parts and the top mounts were aftermarket (not Miele). stripped and rebuilt with new bits and the noise coming from the top of the struts was horrendous. checked everything was tight but still the same. started to doubt myself so stripped one side out again and all was as should be and no change. stripped out again and replaced top mounts with vw oem and hey presto, silent as a new car. there was no visible difference in the 2 mounts nor wear on the top hat at the top of the strut. got to be worth a try as theres not much left.
Thanks, in this case though, all replacement parts were VW original aside from the shocks and springs. I later swapped VW bushes to poly bushes but this only improved things.
Cheers,
Cuiken
I used ‘corteco’ mounts from ECP on a Mercedes once, they were horrendous. Caused a lot of play and knocking from the struts. Had to remove and replace with genuine ones causing me to do the job twice.
I think you should cut your losses and visit a suspension specialist as @CRS suggested.
You are not the first and certainly won’t be the last to have lowered a van and had issues.
I’m not sure if your van is sound deadened and insulated or is stock. If stock there are many noises transmitted into the cab that are present on any vehicle but cars are well sound proofed and you don’t hear them. It’s also a commercial vehicle, built on a budget.
Indeed but I'm going to cover the obvious bases before I head off on a 10 hour round trip
The van is heavily sound deadened etc and was silent on the old shocks/springs that actually sat lower than the new ones. I don't believe it is the new shocks/springs, just a combination of wear and tear and, possibly a bit of 'disruption' during the install of the new parts.
Either way, the rear ARB bushes definitely need to be changed (squeaking/gronching terribly) so I figured I'd have the front ones changed while they are at it. At that point, I will have replaced every suspension component there is (all with OEM aside from the CRS supplied shocks/springs and front wishbone poly bushes) and will either be looking at a failed new part or an install error. At that point, I may fuel it up and head South to CRS
Cheers,
Cuiken
The van is heavily sound deadened etc and was silent on the old shocks/springs that actually sat lower than the new ones. I don't believe it is the new shocks/springs, just a combination of wear and tear and, possibly a bit of 'disruption' during the install of the new parts.
Either way, the rear ARB bushes definitely need to be changed (squeaking/gronching terribly) so I figured I'd have the front ones changed while they are at it. At that point, I will have replaced every suspension component there is (all with OEM aside from the CRS supplied shocks/springs and front wishbone poly bushes) and will either be looking at a failed new part or an install error. At that point, I may fuel it up and head South to CRS
Cheers,
Cuiken
Hailing from near to Edinburgh you'll be used to the bright lights of the big cities but it's worth putting a few hours aside to explore the many gems on offer in Cannock and it's surrounding principality.
Note at this time of the year the ski slopes will all be closed but nearby Alton Towers will be open and fully staffed plus as I pointed out in a previous suggestion there is an excellent chip shop stocking Irn Bru and other imported soft drinks.
A chance to help solve the mystery of what's putting years of doubt on your sanity countered with the chance of experiencing some of the best Staffordshire has to offer shouldn't be passed up.
Note at this time of the year the ski slopes will all be closed but nearby Alton Towers will be open and fully staffed plus as I pointed out in a previous suggestion there is an excellent chip shop stocking Irn Bru and other imported soft drinks.
A chance to help solve the mystery of what's putting years of doubt on your sanity countered with the chance of experiencing some of the best Staffordshire has to offer shouldn't be passed up.
Hailing from near to Edinburgh you'll be used to the bright lights of the big cities but it's worth putting a few hours aside to explore the many gems on offer in Cannock and it's surrounding principality.
Note at this time of the year the ski slopes will all be closed but nearby Alton Towers will be open and fully staffed plus as I pointed out in a previous suggestion there is an excellent chip shop stocking Irn Bru and other imported soft drinks.
A chance to help solve the mystery of what's putting years of doubt on your sanity countered with the chance of experiencing some of the best Staffordshire has to offer shouldn't be passed up.
Hey, you guys already have me sold on the mountain biking and chip shop
Just doing the diligence before setting off...
I'd be very dissapointed, they are brand new VW ones!
Has the torque been checked since installation? I’m no suspension expert but I suspect a rubber component in compression would bed in after some service.
It's quite the opposite actually. the top plate (item 7 below) deliberately does not contact the top of the wheel arch when bolted down. The weight of the van holds the top mount (item 8) in place and the top plate is only there to prevent it dropping out when the van is jacked up.
For that reason, you need to use the 16mm nuts between the top mount and the top plate so that they do not sandwhich together. 16mm nut is item 9 on diagram below and prevents the top plate (item 7 from even contacting the top of the wheel arch when the van is at rest).
I was very surprised by this and assumed an install issue when I noticed the gap between the top plate and wheel arch. However, it does make sense. If you sandwich top mount and top plate together firmly, any change in angle from the strut as you steer and suspension compresses will cause stress forces at the top of the suspension strut. In time, these forces can cause the strut to fail/snap.
Most top mounts are bolted to the turret and the strut is isolated from the body by the rubber part of the top mount.
It is interesting that VW use gravity acting on the chassis to keep the top mount in place. I do wonder if the noise is something to do with the amount of free play in the top mount on bump / rebound?
It is interesting that VW use gravity acting on the chassis to keep the top mount in place. I do wonder if the noise is something to do with the amount of free play in the top mount on bump / rebound?
And as I understand, steering simply rotates the shock body around its central strut, which is fixed. There is usually a bearing arrangement so the spring rotates with the shock body.
Maybe they assumed it’s a commercial and will be carrying a bigger load than a Carista and an empty wallet
The castor and camber angle actually do make the top pin of the shock move around a lot , it would snap the shock mounting pin off if it were solid
