Hi folks
This is my first post on the forum.
The problem with my Panda which is a 60 plate with 87000 miles on is up and down play on the stuts which is causing knocking.New shockers with top mounts fitted also new wishbones drop links and roll bar bushes recently.All jobs carried out by myself.This is the second set of shockers I've put on it and never had this trouble.Shockers are Boge and I've checked and rechecked everything.About off my head trying to fathom this one out.Any help greatly appreciated.

Do you mean when the car is jacked up the front struts drop down? If so they are designed like this. Only the top washer/cup stops the strut from dropping further. They are designed to have lateral play when hanging free unlike most cars where the top mount is bolted to the cars strut top mounts.
When the weight is on them the top mounts should be tight against the strut tops. Did you fit the top mounts the correct way?
Are you sure the noise is coming from the front suspension and not a rear shocker top bush failed or the exhaust knocking on the body? Or possibly a knackered engine mount?

When do you get the noise

Pushing the strut down over bumpy ground and so on.


Are you sure its from the strut. Ball joints and bushes also make knocking noises as do subframe bolt and so on.

Steering rack OK?

Thanks for replying guys.
When it's jacked up there is about 1/2 to 1 cm movement downwards.
It's noisy going over rough or undulating surfaces,it really knocks but the handling seems ok.
I had it up on ramps today and checked the gearbox mount too it seems alright,I felt just a tiny bit of play in one of the droplinks but I don't think enough to make the noise it does
Tomorrow I'll check the back end though the shockers and bump stops are new also.

Drop links with play make a lot of noise.
Strut tops are common for seizing up. Make sure they fitted the right way round. They have a small arrow.

Everythings in the right way,I might try new drop links to see they're not expensive.

Drop links make a lot of noise, even with only a little bit of wear. Cheap and quick to replace.
As said above, rear shockers can cause noise, and it often appears to be at the front, so check them.

Al Russell said:

Thanks for replying guys.
When it's jacked up there is about 1/2 to 1 cm movement downwards.
It's noisy going over rough or undulating surfaces,it really knocks but the handling seems ok.
I had it up on ramps today and checked the gearbox mount too it seems alright,I felt just a tiny bit of play in one of the droplinks but I don't think enough to make the noise it does
Tomorrow I'll check the back end though the shockers and bump stops are new also.

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That's good should be able to work it out without throwing components at it.

Its as the pressure is unloaded and reloaded.

Doesn't sound like a strut as they are always under pressure.

More like a ball joint or rubber mount.


I would put the front on axel stands with the wheels off the ground.


Grab the wheel and check for play side to side and top to bottom


Then use a pry bar in between each moving part or ball joint of the suspension and see which moves. If none has any play try jacking the arm up slightly and try again.

New drop links fitted today,quiet for a while but started knocking again.
Totally puzzled.

Lets try and diagnose it rather than throw components at it.

Put the handbrake on tight. Move the car forwards and backwards slowly a few centimetres . The car will rise up and sit down. Is there a clunk.

I'll try that tomorrow.

After that, when driving have the rear seats folded down. This allows you to hear rear end noises better.

An easy way to check the wishbone rear bushes is to park on level ground, handbrake on, and try to roll the front wheels back and forth. If the top of the wheel can be moved, it means the rear bush in the wishbone is worn and might be the cause of noise. The bushes can be bought separately from the wishbone, but would be difficult to remove and replace without being able to make extraction and refitting tools on a lathe.
An inch of movement at the top of the wheel would indicate a shot bush.

portland_bill said:

After that, when driving have the rear seats folded down. This allows you to hear rear end noises better.

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lack of response may mean they've found something loose in the boot..

varesecrazy said:

lack of response may mean they've found something loose in the boot..

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Or the exhaust fell off.

Sorry I haven't had time to do anything else so it's still knocking away.
I'll try to look at it again next week.It's just frustrating knowing that every part has been replaced.
I'm wondering if some of the bolts are maybe the cause.

Al Russell said:

Sorry I haven't had time to do anything else so it's still knocking away.
I'm wondering if some of the bolts are maybe the cause.

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Bolts..??

What do you mean by loose bolts:

Have you removed and replaced the front springs?

Were the spring retaining nuts tightened correctly?

Did you replace the strut top bearings?

Have you checked all suspension bushes and ball joints for slack/play?

Everything but the springs have been replaced and all bolts have been torqued up.I just wondered if some bolts were worn maybe.