[T3] Noisy Front End

[Jim Adney]

On 17 Oct 2011 at 10:04, Chris Sheridan wrote:

> I have the following symptoms: 1) Brake Judder as I apply the Brakes. It's a
> band of judder that sometimes ends with a squeal as my foot travels through
> the pedal. 2) must pump the pedal a second time to get the car to stop.
> First pedal push is soft. 3) Vibrating steering wheel at speed. 4) Noisy
> creaky front end when driving over bumpy roads.
> 
> Inspection reveals: 1) play/rock in front wheels at 9/3 position, even more
> pronounced at 12/6 position. 2) some minor wetness on the outside of the
> front rubber brake hoses. 3) Ball Joints look okay but old. Right lower one
> has a crack in the rubber. 4) Front Shocks are 10 year old GR-2's. 5)
> Calipers, pads and bearings replaced last year. 6) Master Cylinder and
> metal/rubber lines replaced 10 years ago. 7) No fluid getting to the back
> wheels. 8) Steering Stabilizing and rubber steering column disc original to
> car and toasted. 9) Tie Rods original to car (c.1970) appear tight but also
> very old. 10) Front end has been greased from time to time and shows fresh
> grease at the seams.

First thing to check would be to check to see if the upper torsion 
bar (sway bar) has come loose in the LU torsion arm. If it has, it 
could cause many of these symptoms.

Do the 12/6 play check while someone looks where the upper torsion 
bar comes out of that side. If you can see more than 1 mm of 
movement, the bar has come loose. Check your Bentley for details. 
This can be fixed without taking the beam apart.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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