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I have a audi 80 1.9 tdi and has done 133 000 miles. There is a loud clunky noise coming from under the front in the middle, when breaking sharply or turning sharply. any suggestions about whats causing the problem will be greatly appreciated  

could the problem be with the top strut bearing?  

What you should check is, what reacts when you turn sharply on brake hard. You seem to have a worn part that is related to both items and from what you described it is in the suspension.The suspension "loads up" with energy from a stop or a tight turn and whatever its pushing on thats not tight is making the noise.  I'm not familiar with this car at all but check the areas i described, you have excessive amount of "play" in one or more items there.  

thanks for the tip. i'll need to wait til the w/end til i can have a proper look at things. not totally sure i want to do too much breaking  & turning sharply at same time (tyres aren't too cheap and skidding isn't too safe).

not totally sure what areas you have actually described???? is there any way of checking where the play actually is within the suspension?  

I believe the control arm and ball joint are one unit on this Audi (4000, 5000, or 5000S). These were poorly designed and can give out after 40K miles. This could be the issue (cost=$$$), but since you mentioned the noise is coming more from the midline than driver/passenger sides, check the integrity of the anti-sway bar bushings and connections to the chassis, and the bump stops around the strut as_sembly (can't recall the location). You may be able to grease the bushings and tighten these connections to eliminate the noise (cost=$ for grease). Here's a link with an odd fix for loose springs that caused a clunk in the front end: http://www.audifans.com/archives/1998/06/msg01134.html  Good luck and please post back when (if) the problem is solved.  

many thanks for the tips. this is all getting a bit advanced for me! don't have a lot of experience under the bonnet. time to get my hands dirty.....am trying to also get my hands on the relevant haynes manual to help things, but haynes don't appear to have made one for my particular model, soi i need to identify the correct engine type (AAZ or 1Z). any suggestions how to tell the difference between the 1Z and AAZ engines? or if it is written somewhere? i had a good look, but couldn't see anywhere with an appropriate code.....have pity on a poor novice who is keen to make the most of his old but faithful audi  

have found it is an AAZ engine, which means that there is no haynes manual that covers this model any suggestions about a manual that'll cover this model?  

I suggest that if you really want to get into it, see the dealer and order a factory repair manual or check direct at the factory.