Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs

Technical Grrr.....still knocking

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Technical Grrr.....still knocking

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nuddmann

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I thank the Lord I'm already bald as this would have me tearng my hair out!

My 04 JTD has just been in for it's MOT, I took it to the garage a couple of weeks beforehand as I've been gettng that all too common knocking over uneven roads from the front nearside. I knew that the nearside wshbone bush was on it's way and my mechanic had a look and, indeed, it was well worn and would fail the MOT. He also found the offside drop link was a failure too. Nearside drop link was done about 5 months ago.

Anyway, took it in yesterday, new wishbone fitted (Mister Auto- £76 for a genuine Lemforder part) new drop link fitted and a set of Superflex poly bushes put on the ARB. So I could be forgiven for expecting it to be as quiet as a mouse.....................................Nope. Still rattling and now I'm very cross!

That said, it's got 150k on it, so I can't be too angry and it generally behaves very well, it's just really annoying listening to the rattle on uneven roads. Nothing else on the MOT as an advisory and the guys I use are very thorough and I trust them so it's unlikely that they've missed anything, although the track rod end on the offside sounded very similar when that wore out.

To be honest, I'm not disposed to spend unecessary money on it as it's not really worth a lot now, but it's very reliable so I'll be keeping it and now it's got a year's MOT I can embarass my teenage kids in it for another 12 months!

Any ideas on the mysterious rattle?

P.S. Would it be possible for the moderators to put up a sticky thread where people can post links to cheap priced good quality parts, I've found 2 recently and would like other people to benefit from them too
 
just a suggestion...

disconnect one end of the new drop link and tie it up out of the way.
Go for a drive and see if the rattle goes.
If it doesnt go away it is nothing to do with ARB/drop links and you need to look elsewhere.
If the noise does go away then you need to look again at your droplinks/ARB bushes...make sure they are nice and tight
Marty
 
nuddmann said:
I thank the Lord I'm already bald as this would have me tearng my hair out!

My 04 JTD has just been in for it's MOT, I took it to the garage a couple of weeks beforehand as I've been gettng that all too common knocking over uneven roads from the front nearside. I knew that the nearside wshbone bush was on it's way and my mechanic had a look and, indeed, it was well worn and would fail the MOT. He also found the offside drop link was a failure too. Nearside drop link was done about 5 months ago.

Anyway, took it in yesterday, new wishbone fitted (Mister Auto- £76 for a genuine Lemforder part) new drop link fitted and a set of Superflex poly bushes put on the ARB. So I could be forgiven for expecting it to be as quiet as a mouse.....................................Nope. Still rattling and now I'm very cross!

That said, it's got 150k on it, so I can't be too angry and it generally behaves very well, it's just really annoying listening to the rattle on uneven roads. Nothing else on the MOT as an advisory and the guys I use are very thorough and I trust them so it's unlikely that they've missed anything, although the track rod end on the offside sounded very similar when that wore out.

To be honest, I'm not disposed to spend unecessary money on it as it's not really worth a lot now, but it's very reliable so I'll be keeping it and now it's got a year's MOT I can embarass my teenage kids in it for another 12 months!

Any ideas on the mysterious rattle?

P.S. Would it be possible for the moderators to put up a sticky thread where people can post links to cheap priced good quality parts, I've found 2 recently and would like other people to benefit from them too
Click to expand...

You describe " Rattling " Based on that word have you checked your springs, that you do not have a section rattling in the lower cup? Also have you checked the upper strut mounts ? Rattling could also be loose brake disc protection shield and suspect track rod ends.
 
I bought a cheap pair of drop links from ebay (Motorist Warehouse, aka ziggy-a2z). The nearside one lasted just short of 6 months before I started to get the knocking again. I only do 8-10k miles per year.

I bought a pair of Birth ones from Shop4Parts to replace them both. No problems so far (fingers firmly crossed).
 
Right, replaced the track rod end this evening, in view of the fact that I never do any mechanical work because I lack the kit and it usually goes wrong.........this went swimmingly. Sadly the knocking is still there. I'll be putting a new drop link on tomorrow as I tried to get the old one off to see if that made any difference and, predictably, the nut wouldn't come off, allen key end of the stud cammed out, so removed it with an angle grinder!

Will see if new drop link makes any difference but I'm more and more convinced it might be somethind to do with the driveshaft. There is noticeable lateral movement when I grip it and move it from left to right and it knocks in a very similar sounding way to when I drive it on a lumpy road, the type that's likje driving on cobbles. If it is the drive shaft I'll probably leave it until it becomes an mot issue as they're expensive parts and it's beyond my ability to fit it
 
Have you had a look at the wishbone bushes?

If you're getting the knocking when you hit bumps and the wheels are pointing straight ahed, I doubt it's anything to do with the CV joints or drive shafts. More likely ARB bushes, drop links or the wishbone bushes. Don't despair though as all the parts are cheap. Even if it is the CV joint, they're laughably cheap as well - I bought new ones including the gaiter etc for £19 each. Other bits:

Wishbones, including bottom ball joints = £60 per pair
Drop links (good ones) = £24 per pair
ARB bushes = around £10-15 per pair.

All the above include VAT and delivery.
 
Last edited:
As per my first post, new arb bushes and a new wishbone fitted as part of the mot so I'm happy it's not those. I don't know why I'm letting it annoy me so much, it's 9 years old with 150k on it, what else should I expect! :eek:
 
Hi
From experience with my 163k jtd multipla, have you looked at the shock top mounts? On mine, with the bonnet open, if I pushed the car up and down, the nut the end of the shock moves about 3/4 inch within the shock top rubber mount. When I replaced the shock top the middle of the old one rattled within the outer casting. It was, to be technical, fooked, and was instantly quieter. it might be worth checking considering everything that you've replaced.

Hope this helps you.

Jamesatthews
 
Thought I'd just post a good news story for all of us who have a phantom knocking that drives us insane!

Typically, a couple of weeks after passing the mot the front offside coil spring broke. I took t to a guy I know down the road to have new shocks and springs fitted, also askd him if he could diagnose the knocking.

He thought it was the arb as it had a bit of movement, even with th new bushes, so he packed it out and tightened up the clamps. Stll bloody noisy!

Anyway, he put the new shocks and springs on today and found that the offside shock inner part was very worn and was knocking against the outer tube, I'm no mechanic so I assume this makes sense. Result.....................................????

It's now like driving a different car, no knockinh, didn't realisehow bad the suspension had got until having the new stuff fitted. Looking forward to a few months quiet driving til something else wears out :p
 
Hi nuddman

From what you've described it is the same part that I mentioned had caused me all the same untraceable deep noises. I'm glad that you've got this sorted, its odd driving a multi without knocking noises, isn't it!

Cheers
Jamesatthews
 
Just replaced drop links for 3rd time (100k miles - 04 plate) still knocking. Replaced ARB (whole bar) at 60k. Just noticed that strut tops move 5+mm ish when car is bounced with bonnet up. Is this normal?

Nick
 
Hi

Movement between the rubber shoulder and the serrated washer is normal, as my new shock mounts prove, but this should be no more than 5mm. Two things that I noticed when mine were due to be replaced were 1) The nut on top of the shock, could be spun round with a spanner on it, proving that the middle bit of the shock mount had separated from the cast rubber that surrounded it and 2) When I pushed down on the car and let go, the shock nut and serrated washer would bounce up and down for a bit after I let go, which also indicated that the middle section had parted company from the rubber cast around it.

To help minimise the noise, and as a test to see if these are gone, I made some rubber donuts, and slipped them over the serrated washer and in between this and the rubber should below. I noticed a slight improvement which proved that these rubber shock mounts were goosed.

I hope this helps you.

JamesAtthews
 
Thanks James, I will investigate the tops. My feeling is that its probably the ARB but as ever, it gets to be an expensive job eliminating the cause.

Nick
 
To test the ARB, temporarily detach the drop links from the ARB ends and tie them up out of the way. Go for a test drive. If the knocking stops, that proves it's something to do with the anti-roll set up. If it doesn't, your problem lies elsewhere.
 
Thanks wmf,
I'll try this at the weekend. Off to France in a couple of weeks for the annual holiday so I want to sort it ASAP. I will post back the results....

`Nick
 
Don't know if you've solved this but a really random reply from me and I hope it helps!

My knocking came from the fact that, upon inspection, I'd lost the fixing clamp that holds down the battery and the whole thing was jumping about as I drove.
Don't know if this is the case for you but worth a look.
Good luck. :)
 
Still knocking

Jack it on the Subframe until you have a few inches clearance under the Tyre, stick a couple of Axle Stands under the Subframe as well, then stick a plank under the tyre and lever up to check for play in the system.
 
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