Technical Panda 100hp metal tapping noise front end

[zeppelins]

Have had a metal tapping or rattling noise over rough ground coming from the front end ever since I got her 6 months ago.

Just had the drop links and anti roll bar bushes replaced and it's made no difference. The garage said the next culprit might be top mounts, however I had the shocks and top mounts done by another garage when i first bought the car. I mentioned this to the garage diagnosing it now and they said maybe the mounts were installed incorrectly.

Has anyone else had a sound like this and managed to identify it. Once the car is at speed the rattling is pretty much constant as there is no such thing as a smooth road round these parts. Attached a video is as close as I can get to replicating it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[koalar]

It's hard to let in the video

Definitely sounds like a metal to metal contact to me

Standard suspension or.lowered

The chassis side of the arm does not appear to be in time with the back of of the wheel arch

Take video of the rear bush and look for vertical movement

I would have thought a garage would have spotted this though

 

[ZaphodB]

Do another video a bit further out (or landscape)

 

[ZaphodB]

Can't quite see it fully but I'm looking at that bottom ball joint

 

[koalar]

Could be the angle but this does not look right

 

[ZaphodB]

Tantalisingly short and full of moving shadows , I had it on loop and you just can't make it out before it's cut short

I see what you mean there, but it could be the shadows playing tricks

 

[koalar]

It appears to be moving differently to the part the ball joint pinch bolt is

But it could be angle of view

 

[ZaphodB]

Has it had an MOT in your ownership Zeppelins?

 

[zeppelins]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Video was taken as the light was fading so I'll try and set up a better angle with more light tomorrow.

Recent MOT with advisor:

• Front Anti-roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))

Standard suspension set up

 

[ZaphodB]

Try incorporating an able assistant turning it from lock to lock in the video too

 

[koalar]

The gap here appears to alter, top of the ball joint


But it's hard to be 100%

 

[The Panda Nut]

Have had a metal tapping or rattling noise over rough ground coming from the front end ever since I got her 6 months ago.

Just had the drop links and anti roll bar bushes replaced and it's made no difference. The garage said the next culprit might be top mounts, however I had the shocks and top mounts done by another garage when i first bought the car. I mentioned this to the garage diagnosing it now and they said maybe the mounts were installed incorrectly.

Has anyone else had a sound like this and managed to identify it. Once the car is at speed the rattling is pretty much constant as there is no such thing as a smooth road round these parts. Attached a video is as close as I can get to replicating it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Sounds like a noisy strut valve,

or possibly anti roll bar bush.

I would check the spring is seated properly and the strut top bushes are correctly oriented - this can cause noises- and just monitor for a while longer. Maybe also check steering rack inner bushes and column pinch bolts. Maybe replace the lower ball joint pinch bolt.

Seeing Koalars post soak the ball joint to arm with oil. Do 1 thing at a time. Then soak arm bushes with silicon spray 1at a time. See if you can stop the noise. But 1 thing then try it for a day before doing the next bush.

I still think strut valve. Loose strut gaiters and some aftermarket brands can make all sorts of noises too.

EDIT. track rod end looks to be moving, could be that too.

 

[zeppelins]

Going to try and take a better video over the weekend when I can enlist some help. Will try the suggested lubrication too.

Meanwhile, do you think the shock mounts could be out of place? I noticed on one side there are what look like an attempt at alignment markers (my best guess, I'm not very mechanical) that are very far apart.

And on the other side no markers at all.

 

[ZaphodB]

It doesn't matter where that top disc lands as it's tightened up, ignore.

 

[koalar]

Going to try and take a better video over the weekend when I can enlist some help. Will try the suggested lubrication too.

Meanwhile, do you think the shock mounts could be out of place? I noticed on one side there are what look like an attempt at alignment markers (my best guess, I'm not very mechanical) that are very far apart.

And on the other side no markers at all.

View attachment 470104
View attachment 470105

Same answer as here

Front suspension and brakes | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

Dear Community, Due to some noises I hear from the front suspension (left side of the car) I tried to find out what could be the culprit and to (let) replace which parts. Sounds are hard to explain, so I will not try here. A visual inspection gave me the impression that the joints and bushes of...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[MrMagoo]

Looks like the ball joint..

 

[zeppelins]

*Update*

Over the weekend I tried to make a better video in the garage with better light and less sound pollution. In doing so it seemed to isolate the sound, sounded like it was coming from the springs/shock area.

Took her into the garage today and the garage took out the shocks and springs. They found that the springs (which look aged/possibly original) were barely sitting on top of the shocks. And we're rattling around against the circular metal base in the picture here.

He tried putting some new MK shocks (apparently compatible) and the result was the same. So he's getting some new springs in tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

Has anyone else had this experience?

 

[koalar]

Check it's got the right strut fitted, they are unique

Should be a label on the stut,.just an example not the 100hp

There's not much pressure on the springs, how's it compare to the other side which doesn't tick


Can we see a video of the rear of the suspension arm and or ball joint with the camera still

 

[zeppelins]

Thanks again Koalar.

The car is with the garage at the moment but I've found out which shock currently fitted and it looks like it's just incompatible.

 

[ZaphodB]

When you do find the correct one, I do hope you're changing both sides .... whether it fixes the problem or not

I'm still waiting for a wide screen video