Clunking found and my ramblings

["Andy Holmes" <scalainj@hotmail.com>]

Some of you might remember that i had an unidentifiable clunking that was 
driving me mad well last night i found the cause.

I popped down to see my parents who live out in the middle of Kent (England 
- just in case you dont know)down many fine country roads and on the way 
back i was on this nice twisty country lane which was empty so i thought 
this is a nice oppurtunity for a bit of proper driving.

Anyway i'm zipping along at 60-70 mph when i come round the corner to be 
presented with what can only be called "the roads slipped down the hill and 
left a crater". Unfortunately there was someone coming the other way so i 
cant drive round it so i go through it at about 50mph.

Basically the whole car went bang as the front suspension met the bumpstops, 
topmounts et al and i came out the other side airborne and landed with a 
sickening crunch and pogoed down the road.

Pulled to a stop with the front of the car feeling a bit strange. Couldnt 
see anything in the twilight so drove home (25 miles) with it pulling to the 
left hard, the front end was jumping around like crazy off every bump and 
stopping was a real heart in the mouth affair.
When i gets home i inspect the car.
Both front shocks have exploded and sprayed their contents all over the 
place - Nice
Both front topmounts have snapped, the steel being about 1.5 cm away from 
the rubber which have big cracks in them.
Both bumpstops havd had the shock body forced through them and are 
absolutely blown.
Both front wheel bearings - talk about play in the wheels and just to add to 
the joy the steering rack has a mile of play and is clacking away.

So i now know the light clunking is the shocks bouncing away with out any 
absorbing. The heavier clunk is the top mounts shifting about, the clacking 
is the rack and i suspect the wheel wobble is a combination of everything.

Now this is a bit of a problem as the Jetta currently has no engine in it 
and the Scirocco feels like the front tyres are made from margarine coated 
greaseproof paper but i've still got to drive to work (36 miles)

So to work i came this morning and it feels like i'm driving a powerboat. 
The front wanders around all over the place, its extremely difficult to get 
it on line round bends, sometimes you have to steer with the rear (turn in 
real hard - back off sharply seems to work), the nose dives heavily under 
braking and traction is problematic but its quite stable in a straight line 
;-) Luckily the wishbones, subframes, ARBS, poly bushes etc etc all seem to 
have come away unscathed as there is no sign of any other damage (Been 
underneath this morning in the car park).

However the front is riding real low now and looks quite cool ;-)

But the best bit is that the place i use for repairs cant do anything until 
August 24th.

Andy Holmes
91 Scirocco Scala
83 Jetta Surprise


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