1995 EVC Torsion Bar Bushing?
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Our 95 EVC has been making an odd clunk from the front right corner for about 2 years now.? Originally I would hear it maybe once a month and it was crazy loud.? Almost sounded like something heavy and metal broke or shifted very quickly when I was on the brakes and then sometimes when I accelerated again.? Usually happens when braking and turning to full lock and back while backing into the garage door or other slow braking/turning hard.
Over time the sound has decreased in intensity dramatically but increased proportionally in frequency.? Now when I hear it it usually sounds like something is rattling or loose but you can still tell that it is suspension related and seems like a heavy component.
Finding anyone in the Colorado Springs area that will even look at Eurovan, including VW speciality shops I've called, has been difficult.? I brought it to a small local shop that has done some other work for me to diagnose the?problem but they are mostly domestic vehicles and don't have any real speciality.? They could hear it, however, they suggested I take it to a suspension shop for a full diagnosis since it wasn't obvious.
I found a shop that specializes in Porsche/Audi/VW who does everything from Porsche race prep to air cooled VWs.? They seem to be pretty familiar with Eurovans and I've seen one or two at the shop the few times I've been there.
This shop has had a look at it twice.? The first time they too couldn't quite pinpoint it and said to bring it back when it was more frequent.? About a month later, and now with the noise more frequent, I brought it back.? They still aren't sure what the noise is but have checked all the usual stuff like ball joints, looked for any loose stuff, etc.? They now 'think' it is the torsion bar bushing.? This page sorta corroborates their thinking: ? "
worn torsion bar bushings can cause a clunk noise when going over bumps"I'm told this is one of those fun jobs that takes hours to replace a pretty inexpensive part. They say I should brace for about $800 for labor since a ton of the suspension has to be completely disassembled to get to this bushing. So my questions are these: - Does anyone know how to definitively?diagnose a bad torsion bar bushing?
- Has anyone ever had to replace a torsion bar bushing and can you corroborate that this is a pretty huge job?
- The shop is pretty backed up and won't be able to get to it for a bit.? Assuming it is in fact a torsion bar bushing, is it unsafe to drive or just annoying???
Thanks all!?
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