Hi everyone,

Have a strange problem.

One day couple months ago my superb started making knocking sound that was coming from front suspension. I could not identify what side it was coming from as sometimes it seemed that is on the left and the other times on the right. The sound disappeared next morning so I did nothing.

Last week when the weather improved and it was pretty hot hear in Ireland, the sound appeared again. It only happens when I'm going straight and on even road upto 50mph. It disappears on higher speeds. It is actually worst on slow speed. But as I said before it happens on even non bumpy road. Also for some reason the air temperature has an effect on it. When it was hot it would always happen. Also during one of these hot days I've went to automatic car washer to wash my car and after the wash the knocking sound was gone and I could drive back home 30mins. But next morning it was back again. This week when the temperature has dropped and is raining the sound has gone again.

All front arms were replaced on the car 60K ago as the lower one was making bad noise on bumpy roads.

The only things that were not changed at the time were drop/stabilizer links. So these are my primary suspects.

Anyone had something similar? Any ideas how to test drop links as I cannot see anything wrong with them.

P.S. I think the car is a bit more wobbly on the motorway, but that could be me imagining things.

Have you installed a new set of front suspension a couple of months ago?

Have you installed a new set of front suspension a couple of months ago?

No suspension was not touched for couple years.

Then i dunno..

What about anti roll bar bushes?

What about anti roll bar bushes?

Did not think about them. Will have to check them to see if I can spot anything. The problem is that the knocking sound is gone now and I don't want to go to the garage and let them start replacing everything until they find the problem. As I'm sure they will start with the expensive parts.

You cynic you I can't believe that in someone.

I have the exact problem.

There is a knocking sound from the suspension when it is warm and there isn't any sound when it is cold. Also all the suspension is been checked and everything seems to be fine.

Do you know what was the root cause of your Issue? Please.

I think I've the same problem. I have this always I've I drive away from work, when its getting warmer outside, especially when it's cold in the morning.

If I thurn at low speeds it seems to be worst case. After a while the noise is gone. I could be from suspension or maybe the dashboard, I hate this noise!!!

I can't believe no one has got a fix for it. After reading the forums lot of people has got this Issue but couldn't able to fix it.

My mechanic has spent two hours checking everything in the suspension and couldn't find anything wrong.

Has anyone got a solution for it?

I had the problem and got it fixed but i'm not sure how to explain it, sorry. i would even have problems explaining it in my own language.

I had the problem and got it fixed but i'm not sure how to explain it, sorry. i would even have problems explaining it in my own language.

come on, at least have a go at explaining.

What about top mounts? Being made of rubber they will shrink and expand with temperature.

In fact last week I have changed the Front Shocks and the Top Mounts as well. Initially the front suspension was leaking and i believed that this was the Issue. But after the change the Noise still occurs.

I getting fed up with it.

I have changed Lower arm, Front Shocks, Top Mount and double checked all the Suspension armm's and bushes several times. Still No Joy.

i am having the same/similar problem even after overhauling the whole front suspension!.

im suspecting the knocking that im getting over the smallest of bumps "maybe" due to the 2 M8 nyloc nuts working themselves loose as this has happened before resulting in the top of the strut basically floating moving left to right within the top mount slots.

ive ordered some new nylocs.

im hoping my problem is due to the bump stops not being shortened and as a result the springs/shocks cannot work there full travel as the bump stop is stopping the travel and probably putting some excess strain on the strut tops etc.

well after cutting the bump stops and checking the 3 strut top bolts aswell as the 2 spring top nuts i still have this goddamn annoying knocking coming from the passenger side front.

Ive noticed that if i make the car move up and down by pressing on the passenger wing i can actually hear a knock every time the car gets pushed down.

Also when coming off my driveway onto the road there is a feeling like something is loose when the wheel goes down the 1/2" kerb, i feel a knock/clunk when the wheel goes down the 1/2" kerb.

I cannot 100% pinpoint this knocking/clunking sound, but it does sound like its coming from the passenger side and or possibly the centre of the car.

the car is very unstable, more so when going around an island turning towards the right, it doesn't seem that bad turning to the left.

this is the most annoying car ive ever owned

Have you checked steering rack bolts also? There have been numerous reports that these get loose. There are 2 in the cowl (under battery and brake booster) and one underneath the car (really hard to get). On the last one you need quite good maneuvering skills, as you need to get the extension through some pretty harsh road .

Have you checked steering rack bolts also? There have been numerous reports that these get loose. There are 2 in the cowl (under battery and brake booster) and one underneath the car (really hard to get). On the last one you need quite good maneuvering skills, as you need to get the extension through some pretty harsh road .

I will check this out next

had that problem myself for a few months so with the NCT looming thought its time to sort. I put it down to the front brake pads as they were spurious and had to have a little shave to fit.

My knock was more prominent when going slow on a concrete surface and if you just lightly touched the brake it disappeared, but a while back when changing the front struts I noticed the front top suspension arm was jumpy when the ball was moved from side to side but when in place it seemed fine so to be on the safe side I decided to replace it at this stage it had got bad enough to know it was kaput, and at the same time I replaced the pads hey presto knock gone. Now its pi***** me off cause im not sure which was the guilty party so much so I would nearly put the old pads back in just to see. but in the back of my head I reckon it was the top arm cause with pressure on the brake this would pull the wheel back and stop the knock as well. Still failed the NCT they reckon cracks in a front brake pipe had a look at it their heads is up their ***

Edited 24 July, 201213 yr by dohertyjj

Here's an overview of the front suspension on the MK1 Superb:

1 - Screw, 75 Nm

2 - Washer

3 - Screw

4 - Rear upper steering arm

5 - Screw, 5 Nm

6 - Screw

7 - Self-locking nut, 50 Nm

8 - Screw

9 - Self-locking nut, 40 Nm

10 - Front upper steering arm

11 - Suspension strut

12 - Trailing arm

13 - Nut

14 - Wheel-bearing housing

15 - Screw

16 - Screw, 10 Nm

17 - Cover plate

18 - Nut

19 - Screw

20 - Self-locking nut, 90 Nm

21 - Supporting arm

22 - Screw, 70 Nm + 180°

23 - Screw, 40 Nm + 90°

24 - Self-locking nut, 40 Nm + 90°

25 - Coupling rod

26 - Screw, 40 Nm + 90°

27 - Screw, 110 Nm + 90°

28 - Self-locking nut, 40 Nm + 90°

29 - Screw, 75 Nm

30 - Engine console

31 - Assembly carrier

32 - Self-locking nut

33 - Self-locking nut

34 - Screw, 70 Nm + 180°

35 - Support for assembly carrier

36 - Screw, 110 Nm + 90°

37 - Screw, 30 Nm

38 - Screw

39 - Shim

40 - Drive shaft with CV joint

41 - Drive shaft with tripod joint

42 - Screw, 70 Nm

43 - Bracket

44 - Self-locking nut, 50 Nm + 90°

45 - Self-locking nut, 22 Nm

I've had problems with '4' & '10' many times before. The way to notice this, is when the car is squeaking and knocking turning at low speeds. Typically over small bumps or holes on the road etc.

When i did an overhaul of my suspension installing shocks & springs, the first set did not "fit the car" properly. This resulted in a strange knocking sound from the right front suspension. Later it also started on the left. It turned out to be an incorrect fitting '11' into the socket at '45'. The metal in the top of the shocks was, within 2 weeks, totally worn out and you could clearly see metal damage to the shocks. My mechanic had never seen anything like that before and the fact that the metal itself was totally destroyed left him stunned.

Dunno if this could help anyone in any way. :-)

WIth these cars it's important to orientate the suspension spring correctly and as far as top arms are concerned to tighten them in the correct position otherwise the rubber mounts will get ripped to shreds once you start driving the car. Furthermore, correct torque settings are also important, and the bolts are single use also. I changed front shocks, springs, and all the 4 upper arms not so long ago. Spings/shocks Bilstein, and arms and bolts by Febi. My brakes are EBC. I found the painful way that the front pads are handed - only after I heard a disconcerting knock on bumps which I thought was a ball joint!

Another weakness of the front suspension are the CV boots - last time I fitted NGK parts (from GSF) and have so far lasted around 29k miles, slightly cracked but still not leaking - taking a spare one with me on holiday as I am about to cover 3.5k miles!

Edited 30 July, 201213 yr by oh_superb

NGK - spark plugs.

GKN - driveline components.

rotodiesel.