Strut Top Bearing Problem / Lubricate / Replace

[Ginettamad]

When manoeuvring my steering slowly I get a clunking or twanging noise from my strut tops as the lock builds up and on inspection the top rubber doughnut appears to be sticking then releasing and going twang!

So this suggests to me that the bearing inside the rubber has seized up causing the whole outer part to turn instead of the inner race only. As per usual my strut tops are badly rusted and I cant see a chance in hell of releasing the top nuts without destroying the struts to get at the bearing.

Has anyone found a way off getting some oil in to lubricate the bearings? If water gets in then surely oil might be enough to get the bearing moving again?

 

I noticed the whole strut top mount actually drops about half an inch in the turret when the car is jacked up and during recent restoration work I pressure washed the arches when jacked up so no doubt I blasted the bearings with water too sadly.

 

I have soaked in some WD40 from the top which seems to have help one side a bit so I

[sepulchrave]

No, you must remove the strut completely.

I tried to remove the pinch bolt from the hub carrier and the bloody thing sheared (M12 x 1.50) fortunately (or not) it's not tensile so I was able to drill it and chase the threads out.

 

I therefore recommend you leave the hub carrier attached:

 

1. Undo driveshaft bolt (27mm)

2. Jack up, Remove road wheel, brake caliper (hang to one side on wire) and ABS sensor plug.

3. Undo the two bolts holding the bottom ball joint to the hub carrier and separate.

4. Pop the track rod end.

5. Undo nut on strut top while supporting the weight (~25 kg)

6. Lift out the entire strut assembly complete with hub, carrier and disc still attached, you can rest the driveshaft on the lower wishbone.

7. Now you can hold the spring and undo the second nut retaining the bearing and replace it.

 

Good luck, it's not too difficult if nothing shears!

[TimK]

i had the similar twanging and creaking noise on both my strut tops. I got a can of Comma Spray grease and sprayed plenty from above and below and once it worked its way in it was as quiet as new.

[sepulchrave]

TimK, are you happy that your strategy released the bearing or did it simply lubricate the strut tunnel top and rubber doughnut sufficiently to make it quiet?

 

I would not be happy spraying solvents/grease onto metalastic components since it may degrade them significantly over time.

 

Forgot to mention unbolting ARB drop link where it attaches to the strut in my description of works above. I soaked the top nuts in penetrant for some days before attempting the job, they are not actually that tight, I also used a Torx key to hold the damper rod since I did not have a 7mm allen key, it fitted snugly.

 

It's also worth mentioning that the moronic MOT tester made me do the work for no reason, since he didn't use the correct procedure when checking for play in the top attachment.

Use the search tool for a good link to the VOSA website where you read and print off the amendment to MOT procedure relevant to Sharan/Galaxy/Alhambra introduced in 2005.

[TimK]

TimK, are you happy that your strategy released the bearing or did it simply lubricate the strut tunnel top and rubber doughnut sufficiently to make it quiet?

 

To be honest i'm not sure whether it free'd the bearing or just lubricated the doughnut but it is still quiet several months later and there are no problems so far. although saying that has probably jinxed me :-p

[neil sherry]

No, you must remove the strut completely.

 

NOT TRUE!

 

I was able to change the top mounts & bearings without removing the strut and without using a spring compressor - it was a couple of years ago, but I remember compressing the strut by jacking (gently!) under the bottom ball joint after removing the top nut and plate. I did need to disconnect the ARP link to let the strut drop far enough to get the mount of the top, but I left the brake caliper on and connected, and left the strut bolted to the carrier. Worst part was getting the nuts off.

[marinabrid]

did someone say not to fill the top mounts wiht grease to stop water sitting in there ? got ours done and i filled em both with grease . will the grease destroy the mounting rubber then ?