SUSPENSION KNOCKS

My vehicle is a 1984 VW Polo and the problem I am concerned about is the continual knocking from the front suspension. The noise sounds like it is coming from the top of the road springs, but I have checked these carefully and they are both in one piece with no bits missing.

If I bounce the vehicle by pushing down on the top of the wing, I do not seem to get the noise, but when driving along the road as soon as I hit a tiny bump the knock appears.

I’ve had the Polo for just over fifteen years and have always had it regularly serviced and MoT’d, with any preventative maintenance being done before it was needed.

This is the first time in all those years that I have had such a problem.

Colin Ironside

The noise you describe sounds as though the knocking you are hearing is a result of the top strut mounts failing. This would explain why when you are pushing down on the wing the noise does not appear. This is because you are effectively holding down the vehicle onto the strut top. When driving along the road, the body is free to jump slightly allowing the worn strut top to separate from it housing and the knock is the result as the body comes back down into place.

The VW Polo strut tops were a common problem and it is surprising that you haven’t encountered this problem before.

The struts will need to be removed to replace the top mounts and this will also need the road spring to be compressed. The spring does not need to be removed though and once the securing nut is removed the strut top can be quickly swapped over and the nut replaced.