Clunking sound, rear suspension 88 5kq

[E. Roy Wendell IV]

>
> Patient: 1988 5KQ
> Problem: clunking sound coming from passenger side rear on bumps.
>
> I suspect the trapezoid arm bushings are worn out.
> Which bushing is the main culprit for the clunking sound?
>
> I have a picture of the rear suspension with part numbers posted at:
> http://www.geocities.com/syljay46/audi/88 
> -5kq_Rear_Suspension_Entire.gif
>
> My part guy is a bit confused about the bushings.
> I need someone to verify that the bushing part numbers in the picture  
> are
> correct.
>
> Thanks
>
> SJ
> 85 Dodge PU, D-250, 318, auto
> 85 Audi 4k - - sold but still on the road
> 88 Audi 5kq
> 90 Audi 100q

The usual culprit, which you may already have checked but didn't  
mention, is the upper camber link which isn't on the drawing you linked  
to. Instead of bushings it has metal joints, the outer one of which has  
the bad tendency wear out and get loose. You can usually identify this  
fault by grabbing the top of the wheel and yanking hard. I've seen as  
much an an half inch of movement. As a side note, people bitch a lot  
about rubber bushings because they flex and supposedly cause less than  
perfect handling but they ignore the fact that metal joints have play  
as soon as they wear where as the rubber counterpart doesn't. Many  
newer helicopters have changed to rubber pivots (which they refer to as  
elastomeric bearings) in the rotor head because they have a better  
service life than the combinations of bearings and metal pivots used  
previously. But I digress...

But yes, the bushing at the forward mounting point of the trapezoidal  
arm is also known to go bad and clunk, usually because the shoulder on  
each end which limits fore and aft motion has permanently compressed or  
torn to the point that the retaining washer on each end is contacting  
the housing that the bushing sits in. Last time I priced them, the  
housing and bushing is available as a pre-assembled unit which I highly  
recommend. I bought the bare bushings and regretted it.

Another note about that drawing you linked to, it shows both the early  
and late style of type 44 quattro rear suspension. In mid '86 there was  
a change to both the forward mounting point for the trapezoidal arm and  
the inboard mounting point for the camber link. Your drawing shows both  
types, you need to refer to the lower drawing that shows the just the  
forward part of the trapezoidal arm, busing, and mount, not the upper  
drawing that shows the earlier system. The easiest solution for getting  
the right part is to deal with an Audi parts specialist. I would have  
recommended The Parts Connection but they seem to be out of commission  
so I'm thinking Blaufergnugen.

Roy Wendell
Morgantown WV, USA
turbo quattro type 44 times 3