Crunching noise front w/ bottoming out

[Joe V]

Howdy folks!

Here to pick your collective infinitely wise brains again. Thank you all in advance for sharing.

Condition:

When the front bottoms out when going over a speed bump too quickly, a distinct crunch sound is heard from the left front of the car. Sounds quite a bit like a 915 second gear grind, only much more brief in duration.

What's new in the neighborhood:

Lower ball joints, sway bar bushings, A arm bushings, turbo tie rods.

What's old in the neighborhood:

Struts (Bilstein greens, seem original), strut housing bushings (have a new set on hand for replacement shortly, and they are loose on the vertical plane {Could this be the cause?}), wheel bearings (though they are secure and spin free), strut plate.

I'm concerned that I'm causing some irreparable damage to my Bebe.

Any help, ideas, or suggestions are appreciated.

[Rot 911]

Tow hook hitting the speed bump?

[Joe V]

Kurt,

Great observation. Just ran to the garage and they do look pretty beat up. I'll have to put a zip tie or something on there to check if that's what's making the noise.

Would weak struts or old torsion bars be the most likely cause of it bottoming out? Ride height is Euro.

Thanks!

[Deschodt]

My tow hook is ground to a stump from the same symptoms ;-) struts are new. So I vote old torsion bars or car a little too low to fly over bumps...