Clunking on Deceleration

[caputo9]

Okay guys ive come into a problem :/
I have a mk4 Golf 1.6L DUU/AVU

I now have a clunking sound on deceleration which sounds like its coming from my front left.
Ive had a mechanic look at it and has never seen anything like it.
Took the stethoscope to it whilst on the lift and can hardly hear anything.
Noise can clearly be heard when the car is on the ground and driving.
Him and another mechanic i took it to believe it may be a chipped tooth in the diff and im really hoping its not from which ill have to get a new one.
Is there anything else it could be and what should i do?

Cheers,

[dylan8]

How your control arm bushes looking? (Just thinking the easiest to check stuff)

[JustCruisn]

If it just goes clunk as the weight moves forward then control arm or strut top.

If it clunks related to speed etc then maybe it is the ring gear rivets in the gear box, common in the 1.6, also failed in my gti.
Took 3 days from 1st sound to total failure, racq inspection found nothing died on the journey home from that inspection.
A rivet fell out when box oil drained.

[caputo9]

Ive gone over most of the bushings and couldnt find anything wrong with them besides the swaybar d bushes which i have replacements for but just havent put in yet.

The clunk is constant on deceleration (foot off accelerator). it cant be heard when accelerating or braking. as speed increases, so does the noise. clunk clunk clunk etc.. with the rotation of the wheel.

its getting a full check over by my mechanic in the morning and a gear box has been put on hold at a local wreckers for replacement in the worst case scenario. im really hoping its not that, but it seems to be the only logical thing considering it can be heard on deceleration.
is there anything else it could possibly be?

If it is the gear box what would be my best option? get another gear box? if so how much is a second hand duu 5 speed gear box worth?

Thanks heaps!

[caputo9]

Problem Sorted! Thanks guys

[dylan8]

What was it for future reference to other members?

[caputo9]

Swaybar and spacer bolts worked their way loose on the Left Front :| But all good now!

Its worth checking everything is tight every few weeks or so! Especially with spacers and the extra stress they put on the suspension

[JustCruisn]

So you are running wheel spacers, figures why they are illegal I suppose.

[dylan8]

Are you using the right hardware with the spacers? They shouldn't come lose.

[caputo9]

Yeah i need to run them justcruzn as my wheels rub the front coils, plus it looks better when the wheels fill out the guards properly.

Dylan when you say right hardware you mean bolt size?
Im using stock bolts with them because i wouldve thought they'd be fine. the guy i purchased off of, ran them for a while without any problems on stock bolts. so maybe i just didnt tighten them up properly when i first put them on? but it was only the front left that was loose, every other wheel was tight

[Lito]

Yeah i need to run them justcruzn as my wheels rub the front coils, plus it looks better when the wheels fill out the guards properly.

Dylan when you say right hardware you mean bolt size?
Im using stock bolts with them because i wouldve thought they'd be fine. the guy i purchased off of, ran them for a while without any problems on stock bolts. so maybe i just didnt tighten them up properly when i first put them on? but it was only the front left that was loose, every other wheel was tight

You need longer bolts if they are slip on spacers. Ie if they are 5mm spacers, you need bolts with 5mm more thread. Stock bolts are 27mm of thread iirc

[dylan8]

Thread length, seat type, hub centric spacers? All will cause issues if not correct

[caputo9]

They're 25mm bolt on hubcentric spacers and from knowledge of the friend i bought them off, the stock bolt length is correct. the seat type is correct, and the only conclusion i can come to is that they weren't tight enough on the car