UrS and 200 ball joint failures

[michael]

I have had a mysterious clunk in the front end for many miles(since  
150k, now 230k).  Alignment specialists have not been able to figure  
it out.  A good indy with lots of 5000/100/200/S experience has not  
been able to figure it out.  It now happens more often.  Happens only  
when turning at very low speed (out of a parking space for instance)  
and mostly when just starting out (less than 5 mph).

Any clues as to what to have checked that may have been missed?

- michael

On Aug 12, 2008, at 2:00 PM, 200q20v-request at audifans.com wrote:

> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:41:09 -0400
> From: "mike claire" <mike.claire at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] UrS and 200 ball joint failures
> To: "Peter Schulz" <pcschulz at comcast.net>
> Cc: 200 20v List <200q20v at audifans.com>, s-car-list
> 	<s-car-list at audifans.com>,	Fred Munro <munrof at sympatico.ca>
> Message-ID:
> 	<d219f42d0808120941m636c26edl2d8f895aa6ef2458 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Good deal, that answers it for me.  No clunks and tight front-end =  
> don't
> worry about it.  I'll have somebody I trust give the pinch bolts a  
> good look
> the next time it's in.
>
> On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 9:55 AM, Peter Schulz  
> <pcschulz at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I second what Fred said about the pinch bolts..happened to my wife  
>> in our
>> green S6 and luckily it was in a parking lot.
>> If you purchase your car used, and have a mysterious clunk in the  
>> front end
>> that you can't resolve despite checking everything and replacing  
>> most wear
>> items save the control arms, don't just check the torque on the pinch
>> bolt...remove it and make sure its not a: the wrong type of bolt,  
>> hardness
>> unknown, b: cross threaded, so you "think" it's tight...
>>
>>