VA Polter Ibiza 6L: Hard Cupra Suspension?

Hello,

My Ibiza (Cupra) tends to make a rattling noise in the front area when driving on roads with potholes, especially when the speed (in relation to the length of the bumps) is too high to allow for a slow, controlled movement over the bumps.
I can almost completely rule out the stabilizer links, because they would make a clunking noise every time the stabilizer bar moves up and down, and that would definitely happen much more frequently (I've experienced that before with a Peugeot 205 GTI).
The usual creaking rear control arm bushings are also unlikely to be the cause, because I'm familiar with that noise from my Polo, but the Cupra has solid rubber bushings installed from the factory.

The sound is "moderately hard," so it's not a bare metal clang, but more of a "tick-tock" sound .

Does anyone know of common causes for this issue in the 6L (or Polo 9N / Fabia, as they share the same platform)?

Could it possibly be the shock absorbers?

If the struts need to be removed during the search, I would probably have slightly softer dampers installed at the same time, because the Cupra's suspension is already a bit too stiff for my taste.

Well, I know those rattling noises from my A3 all too well.
There, it was actually the support bearings that were significantly undersized and allowed for too much play.
The rattling noise was only audible under certain road conditions, especially when the left and right front wheels alternately encountered road imperfections.
So, if the stabilizer bounced smoothly from one position to another.
There was nothing to hear during long stretches of road or when driving around curves.
Die verbesserten Stabilager waren um welten Dicker und wurden mit neuen Lagerschalen richtig fest zusammengeschraubt. Since then, it has been quiet.

Ask the parts expert if there have been any changes to the stabilizer links.

Tagessuppe wrote:

So, I know these noises from my A3 very well. There, it was actually the stabilizer bearings that were far too weakly sized and allowed too much play.

Are you referring to the bearings on the lifting platform that guide the stabilizer vertically and allow the up-and-down rotational movement?

Quote:

Why don't you ask the parts expert if there have been any changes to the stabilizer bars.

I just noticed that the Polo, which has the same stabilizer bar, has a different part number than the Ibiza! I think I'll try the Polo bushings, because after about 50,000 km, my Polo still doesn't make the noises that the Ibiza does. . . .

"On the 6L models, the bearings in the subframe often fail. I've replaced them many times. Most of these vehicles had mileage of 60,000 to 70,000 kilometers."

TDI-GTI-4-Motion wrote:

On the 6L, the bearings of the subframe sometimes fail.

Interesting, but at the moment I can't really imagine anything concrete about that (what is the subframe mounted on instead of being attached to?).
Could you please label the parts based on the attachment?

Okay, with the Fabia, I'm familiar with this dull cracking/rattling sound coming from the ball joint bearings (Figure 12). They were eventually replaced with modified ones, but they remained prone to failure.

ulf wrote:

Are you referring to the bearings on the lifting arm that guide the stabilizer bar vertically and allow for up-and-down rotation?

"Exactly those. The old ones were lined with a Teflon fabric on the inside, which allowed for too much movement. The new ones were very tight and made of just rubber, coated with talcum powder."
I replaced the tie rods just to be on the safe side.

Benni wrote:

So, with the Fabia, I'm familiar with this duller cracking/rattling sound from the bearings of the stabilizer bar (Figure 12). These were eventually replaced with modified ones, but they remained susceptible to issues.

I'm also familiar with stabilizer bar noises from the Peugeot 205 (see above): as soon as the stabilizer bar had something to do, it would clatter - practically all the time.
The Ibiza's clock only ticks occasionally, so I suspect the problem is something other than the rods. The most likely culprits, in my opinion, are the stabilizer bars (like the ones from Tagessuppe, see item #11 in the picture above).

I mean the large box in section 23.

TDI-GTI-4-Motion wrote:

I mean the large bushing in part 23.

Ah, the rear lower control arm bushing... that's made of solid material in the Cupra, so it's quite robust.

ulf wrote:

Ah, the rear control arm bushing... that's made of solid material in the Cupra, and therefore quite robust

.
What do you mean by "full material"? I understand that the entire thing is made of rubber. I haven't owned a Cupra before, is there something different about it?

TDI-GTI-4-Motion wrote:

Have you never owned a Cupra before, is there anything different?

See the picture. The Cupra part looks exactly the same as the one from the A2, possibly the rubber compound is different.

I learned something new. All the ones I've replaced so far looked like the ones from the Polo. So, it probably isn't that. Especially not with less than 30,000 km on the clock.

And don't install "softer" shock absorbers, otherwise the tendency for the front of the car to be too heavy will become more pronounced.
I also installed the solid rubber bushings, but it didn't make much of a difference.
Probably, the older ones were still okay. Maybe they had slightly more aggressive handling, but that could also just be my imagination.
I think that a Seat Ibiza or Polo with a 1.9 TDI PD engine is a very crude car.
Especially with PD engines.

RedR32 wrote:

And don't install any "softer" shock absorbers, otherwise the front-end weight will cause problems.

I was thinking about using OEM parts from the Ibiza/Cordoba sport suspension, which are (hopefully) only one number softer than the Cupra shock absorbers...

Quote:

I think that a son'Ibiza or Polo with a 1.9 TDI PD engine is a very unrefined car. Especially with the PD engines.

So, it doesn't bother me at all. A few signs of life from the engine are perfectly okay.

...a diesel engine should also make some noise, so anyone who complains about that belongs in the gasoline engine camp...