200t shocks/struts: clicking on turning, wandering steering

[gerard@dockside.co.za]

Hi!

About 2-3 months ago I put in new Gabriel GasRyder
shock absorbers on my 1990 200t. About a week or
so after this I started to hear clicking and creaking
noises from the front suspension as the steering
was turned. Upon looking at the upper strut mounts
as the wheel was turned and as the strut rotated I
noticed clicking coming from the nut and castellated
area of the mounting, the nut would turn with the
strut and the rubber of the mount was dragged along
with it and would release with a clicking noise.
Taking it back to the fitters didn't help either.

I've just come back from another suspension shop
and found the following. If I put my finger on the
rubber boot part that covers the piston rod under
the spring and then have the steering turned the
clicking can clearly be felt.

I was thinking it was bad fitting, so that the
problem would lie with the nut that holds the
shock into the strut not having been tightened
properly (180Nm). But the guy at the workshop
told me today that the problem is probably with
a seal inside the shock. This means new shocks
for me.

Has anyone had similar experience with shocks
that click upon turning?

Could this be a seal dragging in the shock or
is it deeper seated, like perhaps the entire
shock turning within the strut? I was told that
cannot be the case and when I looked at the shock
myself before it was fitted I saw a raspy band
on the lower edge that could provide quite a bit
of resistance to turning if seated properly into
the strut.

Even when driving it sometimes feels like the
car wants to go in 2 directions. I am attributing
this to shocks as well, but what do I know? I
will be checking the steering sometime this week.
Could shocks that have the affects mentioned above
give the feeling that one wheel is dragging?

Thanks.

G.

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