I recently replaced the front air struts on my 2008 GL450 while changing brakes. I was going to change the CV axle RH at the same time as the inspection garage said that one of the boots appeared to be leaking. I saw no sign of leaking myself so I passed on changing it. I am hearing a clunking when I drive it cold that follows the rotation of the tires, RH front. then more clunks at every small bump in the road. I did check the compressor mounts and found 2 worn rubber spacers and the 3rd gone. I padded above the compressor and test drove. some of the clunk went away but still there. Would a loose wheel bearing cause this noise or should I focus on the CV or something else. No other connections seem loose to me. 160K miles.

 

moved to X164 forum...

 

Check your sway bar links, as well as the sway bar bushings. Both are very simple DIYs, although the links can be a challenge to remove due to corrosion.

 

Since you just replaced your front struts I’d start looking there, such as the strut mounts. Did you put an airbag on the old strut or replace the strut entirely? When I replaced the airbag on my struts and put the new one on I had to after tighten the airbag after driving a while to get rid of the knocking noise that the loose bag on the strut caused. Sway bar links or bushings are also a known offender here.

 

Since you stated the clunking matches the rotation of tire, I assume even on flat ground, I think it's a pretty safe bet that you're on the right track to look at a rotational item - something in the axle/etc. You might get lucky - jack up the front end (both tires off the ground) and spin the tire to see if you can duplicate the sound - it may not do it with the load off, but it could. And if it does, it should be pretty easy to ID where it's coming from. That'd be my first step, anyways.

If you do start to think it's sway bar links/etc, disconnect both and go for a drive - if the sound goes away, you know the issue is the anti-sway bar system. As mentioned, though, the old links can sometimes be a bear to take off - you may want to get a set to have on hand in case you trash the existing ones if you need the car as a daily driver.