Have an '05 A4 1.8T w/ CVT. 56k miles on it.

Recently started making a clunking noise in right front at low speeds when going over some bumps or during some tight turns (i.e., into a parking space at the mall.) Wife says she has also heard noise in the left front. To the extent I can tell, it sounds like the noise is out board / in the area of the wheel.

Examined all 4 CV joints today. Boots all intact, look near pristine.
From under the car, I was able to slide both shafts about 1/8 of an inch in and out and while that made a noise, it's a different noise than we have been hearing. Is it normal to be able to move the shafts like this?

Tried to twist the shafts forward and backwards to see if any rotational play, but none.

I read the posts on control arm bushings, so I visually examined all the control arm and other bushings. I didn't see any that looked obviously worn, broken, or missing. (Though I admit I don't know what a good one should look like.)

Any suggestions on other places to look or on things to reexamine?
If I grab the different control arms and links and try to shake / move them, can that help show which (if any) has gond bad?

And is the half shaft play that I found normal?

Thanks in advance.

 

Actually what you describe is what you want to do.

There is no magic to diagnosing most suspension problems. You grab it, you shake it, if it moves, its bad.

There should be a slight amount of play but if you have half shafts moving that much they probably should be looked at more closely.

They are fairly simple to replace. A hint if you do them, they all come with a new bolt for the axle and I've seen people struggle with getting the shaft seperated from the bearing. Just back out the axle shaft bolt a bit, maybe 1/2 an inch and whack it with a rubber mallet, way easier than screwing around with other methods. Make sure you replace it but the new axle should come with one and follow the directions, 125ft lbs then an additional 180 degree's, its a torque to yield bolt and for it to seat itself properly in the bearing you need to do the 180 degree's, get a long pipe, I use a 3ft breaker bar w/ a 6 ft pipe on the end of that and its still a bit of work.

If the control arms move then they are bad. Remember, even if your a strong guy the 200lbs or so of force you can exert is nothing compared to the thousands upon thousands of lbs of force the suspenion goes through just pulling out of your driveway.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll get it back up on the ramps this weekend, maybe take the front wheels off, and give everything a closer look.