Help! What is the knocking noise

[Mike7619]

Hi. I have a Mk2 Superb and get a popping / knocking noise coming from the front offside when pulling away or turning. It doesn’t do it all the time, but I can feel it through the steering wheel and pedals when it does. I’ve turned the wheels out and taken pictures to see if anything is obvious. The only thing I could see that looks different on each side is highlighted below. Pic 1 is the offside where I think the noise is coming from. Can anyone tell me if they can see anything that might be wrong? Thank you! 

[nta16]

Hi, welcome.

 

Difficult to tell (for me at least) by your photo of Offside, pic 1, but if the top joint boot of that droplink is open / torn that might be the noise or a contributor to the noise, the feel through the steering and pedal sounds a bit drastic for this , but I could well be wrong about that, so perhaps if you try a bar or something on it to see / feel / hear any movement from that top joint.  Be careful what you use and where you brace against and what might happen to the car or you with any slippage, also bear in mind you don't weigh as much as the car acting on any parts like that.

 

It could be more other and more serious things and you want to sort anything to do with steering or suspension straight away or ASAP depending the cause and severity.

 

As it tends to be quieter here you might be better posting or Searching in the relevant to your year of car Superb forum. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/171-škoda-superb/

 

HTH.  Good luck. 

 

[Mike7619]

Thanks for taking the time to reply and your suggestions. I did wonder if the connection at the top of the bar was meant to look open like that. 

[nta16]

I'm not very mechanical or expert in anything just going on my limited experience with other cars.

 

If you can get a closer look with more light there you might confirm the boot is open which could have got dirt/debris inside in which case the droplink needs replacing, personally I'd always replace such parts in pairs.

 

I've no idea how awkward or not that droplink might be to replace, the nuts can be a right PITA to get off.  Possibly a thin-headed spanner to hold the thread part on its hex might be needed but I don't know, other Superb owners will.  Going at it with a rattle gun drill, if you can get one in there, might make things worst or might loosen the nut straight away (with a spanner the other side?).

 

I'd clean and pre-soak, and leave to soak in, the fixings in PlusGas or GT85 the day or night before trying to get the nuts off.

 

PlusGas is a good penetrating, releasing fluid, GT85 is that too and a load of other benefits, unfortunately neither are British companies anymore.

 

https://www.plusgas.co.uk/en-gb

 

https://gt85.co.uk/

 

 

One way to find out if it's that droplink causing or contributing to noise and feel(?) is to remove it and carefully test by a short slow drive with turn, preferably off the public road (that's anywhere that the public can be) and if the noise and feel through steering and pedals has gone that's probably it.

 

Let us know how you get on and what the resolution is, cheers.

 

Edited 17 February by nta16

[EnterName]

I'm not sure what that's supposed to look like, but it looks wrong to me.

I ran it through my CSI enhancer (😄) and to my untrained eye, that does not look like a healthy connection.

[EnterName]

On 17/02/2024 at 08:55, Mike7619 said:

Thanks for taking the time to reply and your suggestions. I did wonder if the connection at the top of the bar was meant to look open like that. 

No, I don't think it is.

See my enhanced pic above.