Advice on worn top mounts

[Ads22]

Hi there

Think there may be a few on here who have had these go but after getting a slight knocking noise on lock to lock diagnosed, ive been advised my top mounts are worn. Ive been quoted a reasonable amount to get top mounts, springs and struts replaced, also including a CV boot which has started to tear. Of course i can get the strut mounts replaced but advised to referesh the whole lot. Is this normal procedure or is this unnecessary?
At the same time the car is an absolute pig to drive at the moment with hard inaccurate steering and generally heavy feeling front end, especially steering left - tyres are newish and alignment done recently. So not sure if doing all these would help or will I likely be just eliminating the knocking noise?
Initially i was concerned it might be the rack, but usually this is accompanied by a light on the dash?

[pudding]

If the bearings in the top mounts are worn out, it can make the steering heavier, so new ones might fix that.

[Ads22]

Got it, funnily enough its heavier on the side the steerings playing up. The ride does look a little lower on the front but may just be me. Tempted to just get the top mounts done but garage said itll be worth doing springs and shocks??

[Ads22]

Got it, funnily enough its heavier on the side the steerings playing up. The ride does look a little lower on the front but may just be me. Tempted to just get the top mounts done but garage said itll be worth doing springs and shocks?? They did say however there is some corrosion on the springs.

[pudding]

Depends if there are signs of wear in the struts and springs.  Snapped off pigtails, oil leaks and such like.  No point spending money if it's not necessary.  OEM struts are good for 75-100K, but OEM springs can break off the lower pig tails far sooner.  If it were my car, I would probably go with the full refresh.  Worn suspension is like putting on weight.  You don't know it's happened until you've gone up 2 waist sizes 

[Rigsby]

I’ve just done my top mount on drivers side  due to clicking knocking noise.
Haven’t driven it yet but the old one was goosed.
Cost me £20 for the part and an 1 hour to fit.
If your shocks and springs are knackered then upgrade them I say but if you just want to get rid of the knocking noise then just replace the offending part

[Ads22]

I’ve just done my top mount on drivers side  due to clicking knocking noise.
Haven’t driven it yet but the old one was goosed.
Cost me £20 for the part and an 1 hour to fit.
If your shocks and springs are knackered then upgrade them I say but if you just want to get rid of the knocking noise then just replace the offending part

Siunds about the same as mine. Let me know if you notice any difference. I did consider upgrading but from what i hear the stock setup is very capable- not sure whats best to upgrade to. The worn cv boot probably isnt helping matters either.

[Rigsby]

Didn’t sort my clicking/knock noise on parking

But has got rid of play in the steering , feels tight again

I originally took my car to garage for them to fix it but they couldn’t find anything

[Ads22]

Didn’t sort my clicking/knock noise on parking

But has got rid of play in the steering , feels tight again

I originally took my car to garage for them to fix it but they couldn’t find anything

Sounds odd, good it sorted the steering though. if anything steering in mine feels too tight so opposite problem. Read another post on here recently where they need a reconditioned rack! Really hope in my case its not that as ive spent more than enough on the thing!

One thing I have considered is upgrading the suspension all around, the Bilstein B12 kit looks good but the standard setup seems very capable. Of course with budget in consideration.

[Ads22]

Right update on this, wondered if anyone could provide any wisdom.

The top mounts and torn CV boot have been replaced. The faint knocking noise i initially thought had gone but unfortunately noticed its made a comeback. I returned to the garage who could not recrated the noise and ensured everything had been tightened up after the work. They could not find any play in the suspension components and or any signs of wear.
I got them to try and recreate the noise where they could hear a very faint knock when reversing and straightening up steering but the noise was intermittent.
All sounds very odd and the noise just not occur when stationary I have discovered. Usually only when rotating the wheel while parking. Anything else I could look for? I was concerned about it being the rack but 2 garages have confirmed that rack seems fine and there are no codes.

[Ads22]

Right update on this, wondered if anyone could provide any wisdom.

The top mounts and torn CV boot have been replaced. The faint knocking noise i initially thought had gone but unfortunately noticed its made a comeback. I returned to the garage who could not recreate the noise and ensured everything had been tightened up after the work. They could not find any play in the suspension components and or any signs of wear.
they could hear a very faint knock when reversing and straightening up steering but the noise was intermittent and they did not think it was anything problematic.
All sounds very odd and the noise just not occur when stationary I have discovered. Usually only when rotating the wheel while parking. Anything else I could look for? I was concerned about it being the rack but 2 garages have confirmed that rack seems fine and there are no codes.

[shail]

I had a knock, but mine turned out to be rack.

During diagnosis they also checked the subframe bolts as apparently these have a tendency to get loose and cause knocking - something easy to check.