Shock Absorber Piston pushing up through Strut Upper Mounting Cover

[Al]

Based on advice given in this forum, I picked up a 1/2" impact wrench. 
Hfreight has one for under half a C note. Of course you may want to get some 
1/2" impact sockets.

Al

1990 Audi 80 non-Q


-----Original Message----- 
From: mboucher70 hotmail.com
Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2013 6:01 AM
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: Shock Absorber Piston pushing up through Strut Upper Mounting Cover

Took the car to the mechanic last week to put the snow tires on.  Driving 
home, I noticed a new noise from the front driver’s side.  It seemed to be 
suspension related...heard it most when driving over slightly bumpy areas. 
Not loud, almost imperceptible, but sounds as though something is 
rubbing/chirping/moving that shouldn’t be.

With car parked, I pressed down on the driver’s side front fender to see if 
I could hear the problem.  Then I noticed that the shock absorber piston and 
nut would move upwards whenever I pressed down on the fender.  It certainly 
wasn’t like this in the past, nor is it like that on the passenger side.

The first thought would be that the piston nut needs tightening.  However, 
it’s a locknut, and moreover it doesn’t appear to have loosened from its 
usual position.  Before taking it back to the mechanic I’m going to buy the 
correct size Allen key so that I can hold the piston while attempting to 
tighten the nut.  I doubt it will tighten, but I’d be able to verify that 
its tight.

The question I had...since the problem seems to coincide with the car being 
jacked up, is it likely that something just slipped out of position, such as 
a worn dampening ring or bump stop...something that would give the shock 
piston more room to push upwards?

Car drives fine, even at speed...no pulling or unusual sensation in the 
steering....just the new noise.

Thanks

MC
Audi 100 1990 Non-Quattro
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