Dunno if anyone else here has had a front end suspension clunk. I mentioned my clunk last week. Since then, it progressed to a CLUNK! Then, yesterday, it became a major CLUNK!

Took it to my crew chief's shop and we found that the front sway bar end link bolts had not been torqued at all - on either side. The little red paint spots were there, as though it they had been torqued. But, we could undo the nuts with two fingers. Not good.

If anyone else has a clunk, or worse yet a CLUNK!, from the front end of the car, you might want to check those sway bar end link bolts...

My car has less than 700 miles on it. And I haven't driven it hard yet... Still in the break in period.

 

Yes, I have heard of this problem quite frequently last winter/spring. No clunk for me yet (probably not driving it hard enough), but will check the bolts soon. Thanks for the heads up.

 

i think i have this in my cayenne.. will take to dealer soon hopefully

Ryan T.

 

oops

 

In my case, the clunk started before 500 miles on the ODO, and progressed to the point that it sounded like the sway bar was about to disconnect - at 660 miles. It's now tight and good to go.

The rear was fine.

But, what are the odds that neither the left nor the right side of the sway bar was actually torqued?

Oh well, at least it gave me a chance to change the sway bar settings based on the first 660 miles of feedback through the old butt-o-meter.

 

I had the same issue with my front sway bar after only a couple of days, as did a friend who got his GT3 at the same time I got mine. The dealer said it was a common problem with GT3's. I asked if they used Loctite, they said it just needed to be torqued.

 

Is the Quality Control dept sleeping on the job?
What else needs to be torqued?

 

I had two other QC issues with mine, headlight connector came loose and screws loose behind rear interior panel. Unacceptable for a 6-figure car. Fortunately, all fixed in one visit to dealer and no issues since. Hope they tightened the lugnuts...

 

I thought the paint marks were put on as part of the torque spec check on vital components - you mean some guy just went around under the car and dabbed everything just to move it along ?

 

Well, on the sway bar, it seems to be the case... Makes me a little worried about whether anything else is loose. But, my ear and rear end are pretty well attuned to noises of imminent failure from racing. So, I think I will have warning if something crucial is about to fall apart.

At least I hope so!

 

I just had a set of GT3 swaybars installed on my TT. There seems to be a clunk that is getting louder, particuliarily at low speeds or when going over a bump. They've only been on for a week. Have had 1 hard driving day at the track last weekend.

 

Hmmm. Mine started out as a noise only heard at low speed. By the time it got really loud, it could be heard at any speed. But, only when the bump was located on one side or the other. If I went through a dip, where both sides compressed about equally, there was no noise (as you might expect). It only made noise when the sway bar was picking up one corner or the other...

 

Hey Doc,

I apologize for getting off-topic, but I would very much like to hear more about your M3 (including all mods, what you do with it, and how it performs). DO you happen to have a link to a website with info. and pics? Feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at dwishen@gmail.com.

Thanks,

David

 

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY GT3(SILVER) SWAYBAR BOLTS.I TIGHTENED THEM 9 TURNS WITH A RACHET,SO I COULD DRIVE IT TO THE DEALER FOR MY OIL LEAK.WHAT I'VE OBSERVED IS THAT IT SEEMS TO BE THE ARCTIC SILVER GT3'S HAVE HAD THE MOST PROBLEMS(OIL LEAKES,SWAYBARS,ETC) I ONLY HAVE 1100 MILES ON MY CAR AND ITS BEEN IN THE SHOP 6 TIMES ALREADY.

 

I had the same issue with my GT3. It actually went through 2 rounds of tightening (the first tightening solved the problem for a few months, then it started up again). I've since sold the car, so I'm not sure if that problem persisted.