I replaced all of my glh's suspension up front years ago. Van control arms, new bushings, tie rod ends ( outer), struts, and ball joints. I tried to replace the strut mounts but they didn't seem to fit properly, so I just reinstalled the stock ones. I soon noticed a clunk coming from the front left. It was most obvious if you went through a dip in the road, or any where the suspension would unload. When the suspension would reload, there was a clunking sound. It also clunks when I first go to move the car from a stop. If I turn the wheel a bit as the car 1st moves, I will hear the same clunk. It's fairly loud. When I hear it, I thought it was the sound of the strut being pushed up into the mount, but when Its barely moving, it sounds more like something bound up releasing. If I jack the car up so the front wheels are off the ground, I can grab the wheel and move it up and down in the strut mount. I figured this was my problem, so I replaced the strut mounts. I was able to remove the slop from the driver's side, but the clunk is still there. On the passenger side, no matter what I try, I can't remove the slop. The bearing doesn't seem to fit into the strut mount well. This allows the bearing to move around. I test fit the pieces to just the strut and when they are tightened down, the strut mount still wobbles around.
My question"s are-
How are the strut mounts supposed to be installed? I have an 89 service manual that shows the order of assemble is spring perch on the bottom, then the mount bearing, then the strut mount, and finally put the spacer piece into the bearing and then the top washer/ dish shaped thing the nut tightens to. On the ds, i had to put a washer or 2 on the spacer piece to get rid of the slop. On the ps, no matter what I do, I can't get rid of the slop.
The popping sound on the ds doesn't seem to be related to the strut mount, so what other component would pop when the suspension is unloaded or the car barely moves. I don't know what brand the ball joints are. They came from an ebay vendor selling older car parts. I also didn't change the inner tie rod ends, but I doubt they would cause this problem. Maybe there's a way to test them that I'm not aware of. Any other ideas
thanks in advance!