Folks, please, can the collective brain trust help me, as the issue below is making me go insane...
Hit a pothole in the Passat (B8 2016, 80k miles), a few weeks later the MOT failed on a leaking front driver's shock.
Indi quoted £300 per shock for Monroe DCC. I found them on AutoDoc for £115, so I bought and supplied direct. Fitted, no issues reported, car returned.
The car has since had an enormously increased road noise from the front and a slight looseness to the steering. Particularly notable on rough surfaces. If you drive on the infamous M25 concrete, it's bordering on being so loud, it's unusable.
Returned to the indi, no faults found with fitment or fitting. Also checked by another indi in the NW during a routine service and no faults found. First indi suggested lower ball joints could do with replacing, so I paid for them to be sorted. Noise is still apparent.
We've now fitted OEM VW shocks at enormous cost. The front feels better through the steering wheel, but the road noise hasn't subsided.
A few considerations - it's not had the tracking done. Nor have I fitted new springs or top mounts. But really unsure as to what the hell it could be that transmits so much more road noise from what was reported to be a simple on off of the DCC shocks...
Any thoughts on where to look next, gratefully received.