Thudding on front end driver's side
 

Hey guys, I took my car up to Tahoe last weekend in the snow, and while driving through the snow my driver's side started thudding. It was a really loud solid thud, like something was hitting the chassis. At first I thought maybe some snow/ice was jammed in there, but after the trip it's still pretty happening. It seems to thud while going over bumps and uneven surfaces (speed bumps/humps, sewer caps, even parking lot inclines), and it's really loud and jarring. :crap:

I'm assuming the shock is busted, but this is my first year with a brand new set of MR bilsteins.... ugh. If I knew the Bilsteins were that fragile I would have stuck with the stock shocks. A new shock costs $771 from the dealership - any chance I could send the shock back to Bilstein for repair or anything? :confused:

I have a slight mystery thud on the front passenger side that I have yet to resolve so I'm no expert on the subject but do yourself and everybody that rides in your car a favor and pull the wheel and inspect. Just push, pull and pry everything to see if something is loose. Make sure to check the top bolt on the shock in your engine compartment that can often be overlooked. Hopefully it's not a blown strut already. Hope this helps neighbor.

maybe ice or some sit in the spring?

or skull of some small animal? lol

hit any thing to make it start?

I've got the same thing with a KYB on the front passenger side. I called the maker. They suggested a broken valve inside the shock. When temperatures are above freezing the problem goes away.

Nice to know but mine never goes away. Thankfully their not too expensive to replace.

Yeah, I was going to get one ordered last spring. But then it got warm :). This winter I decided to keep the car out of the snow. But, I had it out today, it was cold and it was hammering.

have you inspected the axle for any leaks and propper function? mabye its shot, my cousins vw jetta use to chew up axles all the time until he got built ones and the thumping was insane!

I'v'e been under and I see no wrong.

What happens is exactly as the OP stated. If the road is fairly smooth the ride is normal. But hit an imperfection, say the pavement has heaved which is common around here, and it is like someone hit the underside of the vehicle with a five pound rubber mallet. Or, in other words, like the strut has gone solid. I first noticed this when driving on rutted snowpacked streets a year ago. In this case the ride is alarming.

If I wasn't so lazy I could report that replacing the strut fixed the problem. :crap:

Blown strut. All it takes is one hard impact. Struts care where they bottom out, not where they stroke from.

Bilstein can be rebuilt at Bilstein West.

Highly unlikely, but check the sway bar bushing as well. The Bilsteins are pretty stout though. Could be either or.

just a heads up.. when my cousins axles went they looked fine.. visually there was nothing wrong. when we took it apart the damage internally was a disaster.. strut would be the easiest to pull and check.. but at that point just pop the axle out

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I did a quick visual inspection - everything looks OK from the outside. I'm leaning more towards a blown strut, hopefully it's not the axle. I mean, it's just snow, I'll be damned if packed snow destroyed the axle...

I scheduled an appointment with the shop on Monday, will keep you guys posted.. if it is the strut, should I revalve the the FR strut too? Not sure if there will be negative performance if I just revalve the FL, but not the FR while at the same time (same goes for the back two struts). I'll email Bilstein for an estimate.

im having the same problem. In town over little bumps it rattles, but when cruising around 40 or 50 its fine just slow driving bumps. Put up on lift and everything is solid all around too. Keep us updated on it

I went through some speed bumps today at super low speeds (< 5mph). I noticed something interesting - the thudding doesn't occur during compression (going up the speed bump) but rather decomrpession, when I'm coming off the speed bump. It sounded almost like the shock itself was "catching" on something, like a sort of "click". At higher speeds it just goes all the way thud, though. I'm not sure what that means though?? :confused:

I'm in the same boat, this ish gets pretty load and i can kinda feel something hitting the chassis through the vibrations in my foot. how do you check your strut while its off to know it bad?