Its not the sway bar end links/bushings because I changed those while doing the control arms. Inner brake pad maybe but upper strut mount seems more likely, something tells me I'm gonna have to take this **** apart to truly figure this one out.

 

http://www.kyb.com/technical/faq/faq01.php

Now I'm almost positive its the mounts. Hey bro, if you're able to figure it out, make sure to let us know. I'm guessing a bunch of crap needs to be taken apart just to change the mounts

 

Yeah I will definitely let you guys know, I'll be doing the right side control arms in a week or so and once I get into that I'll probably take my left apart again to check out the strut mount. It will be easy to take apart since its all new over there, phew lol. I'll post my findings in here.

 

if the mount is bad its like a total of 6 bolts to pull off.

 

I checked the nuts that connect to the upper spring seat and they were on very tight. Getting those tabs off to get to the nuts was a PITA. This is what it looks like.



I'm thinking the strut mounts could be cracked/deteriorated, causing the strut shaft to make contact with the frame or something. Here's the strut mount.

 

upper strut mount bushing usually doesn't go bad. i've seen those bushings with 180k on them and looks almost new. if you really want new ones passats use the same bushings. the upper strut mount is the large triangular piece that the upper CAs bolt onto btw.

if you're sure everything is tight, take a few minutes to take the caliper off to check the inner pad. i thought my car was going to fall apart because at one point both of mine were loose lol.

 

ever figure out what the problem was? im trying to solve this problem as well. is it the actual like shockmount/spring seat or is the the top mount the the whole assembly mounts to?

 

I'll check the pads then I guess, but the sound I hear sounds like it's coming from the top of the engine bay. Can struts themselves make this noise anyway if they are failing by any chance? I still haven't checked the tightness of the bolts on the ca's yet though. Also, I was thinking mm's could be a possibility?

 

Could it possibly be rear calipers making this noise? I have a similar noise in the rear, but it only happens on bumps, and to my knowledge still happens while braking. Haven't confirmed this though. How can I check?

Also, is there a strut mount for the rear strut?

 

an upper strut mount that is. (D'oh)