Date:         7 Feb 1996 23:15:20 U
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Kirk van Druten" <kirk@lansharks.batnet.com>
Subject:      88 Westie Front End Noise?

88 Westie Front End Noise?
I've had a rumbling/clunking type noise in the front end of my 88 Westie for a
while now.  I thought the front shocks were shot and finally got around to
replacing them.  Unfortunately the noise has gotten worse with the new shocks,
not better.  Now the sound is more of a 'klunk'.

The sound I hear/feel is at speeds under 20mph on fairly bumpy surfaces.  I can
feel/hear a hollow clunk or two or three or four depending on the frequency of
the bumps in the road.  The sound is particularly pronounced on the passenger
side but I do hear/feel it on the drivers side intermittently.

To troubleshoot I removed the shock on the passenger side.  The noise was
reduced and/or eliminated.  Next I'll swap the shocks from side to side to see
if the noise follows.  These are KYB gas shocks and appear fine to visual
inspection.

Questions:
1.  Could the shock itself make a clunking type noise that I could actually
feel?  The top and bottom bolts are as tight as can be.
2.  Is there something else in the front end suspension that having a new,
stiffer shock would cause to show signs of wear/looseness?
3.  What else moves up and down under there that could cause such a noise?

Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated!

Kirk out

Kirk van Druten
lansharks@batnet.com
88 Westie-->that goes knock-knock-who's there?

P.S.  I'm in digest mode so please copy my email address as well-thanks.