What can be done about noisy spring seats?

Question

On a MacPherson strut car, sometimes the springs of the front suspension will bind in their seats, and when turning the wheel sharply at low speed (or at a standstill) you end up with a kind of "bung, bung, bung" sound as the spring intermittently lets go.

I've had this issue on a couple of vehicles. I can be sure that the noise is coming from the struts (the springs, really), because of the very distinctive sound that comes from the ringing of the springs.

New strut-top bearings generally help, but I find that the noise sometimes comes back rather quickly. What can be done to address this issue?

Answer 1

I would imagine that if it was binding of the strut and it's seat causing the noise then the you would notice a few things in other characteristics of the ride. I say this

1. What kind of car is this? (year / make / model / engine)
2. How did you determine that the noise was coming in fact from the strut assemblies?
   1. Was the rest of the front suspension checked for worn components?
   2. If applicable have the grease-able components been greased at manufacturer's suggested intervals?
3. Are the front struts indicating signs of wear? (excessive sway, "chopped" tires, excessive travel over bumps?)
4. Have you/anyone replaced anything in the front end to attempt a fix? If so, what?

There just seems to be a little too little information in the question to determine or give an educated guess as to what is/can be happening. There are countless amounts of from suspension setups aside from just the struts themselves.

Also, mechanics that specialize in certain vehicle makes and mechanics that have access to databases containing diagnostic/repair bulletins for common problems. Then, more information is going to be needed for us to help you.