im getting a knocking from the front passenger side suspention (well i think its passenger anyway). basicly when i go over any bumps, there is a knock. I used to have a similar sound on my cinq over heavy bumps and I was told that it was probably a worn bearing in the strut tops.

its not quite the same noise though as its there over small bumps too. basicly it kinda knocks and rattles (on crap tarmac) as if somethings loose. so im guessing it might be the bushes in one oof the arms somewhere? any ideas?

if it is the bushes, what sorta price would i be looking at to replace them and would i need to do the whole arm (or arms) or just the bushes?

maybe i should actually check that the shock bolts are tight first

Could be wishbone bushes - see 'My wishbone nightmare from hell' post in this section. If your bolts come undone, you have nothing to worry about, honest!

how hard would you say it was to replace the bushes and where can i get a set? is there anyway I can check if it is them? ive tried giving the strut a good shake but theres no movement in it atall (as you would expect) and the lower arms dont seem to have much play either.

If its the Wishbone then you have to replace the whole wishbone, I had the same problem.

Could also be a worn Strut Mount.

Cost of wishbone from around £40 - £90 depending on brand and supplier.
Cost of Strut from Fiat Approx £30


Testing them you would have to make the wheel airborne use a long metal Bar and place it in between the wishbone triangular space and press down. if the ball comes up or moves then thats your problem. and for the strut you would have to again make the wheel airborne and giggle the shock absorber up and down see if there is any movement.

I've got exactly the same symptoms on mine. It's in for the work on Weds, so I'll post up here afterwards.

The Uno had new front wishbones, £180.00 for the pair, fitted, inc VAT.

There is another possible source of the noise which I have encountered on my Alfa 155 and my friend's Tipo has at the moment because of the way the brakes are designed.
The front brake calipers have 2 bars/pins (with the 13mm bolts) that the calipers slide on to enable them to adjust as the brake pads get thinner. These pins are held into the caliper carrier which is bolted to the hub (behind the brake disk). Anyway these pins gradually make the hole they slide in slightly oval and hence introduce movement and an annoying rattle when moving.
Two ways to check if this is happening - with the car stationary, reach under the front bumper and grab the caliper, move up and down and see if there is movement of the caliper. The other way is as you are driving and hear the sound in a spot you know it will happen, just touch the brakes and see if the sound stops.
If this is the case all you need is a 'new' caliper carrier from a scrap yard, checking that this is no worse than the one you have. If you find one from the opposite side, no worries they are reversable, by turning upside down!

If its the brakes then you could use the opertunity to change to vented discs along with bravo/brava/marea calipers which have much larger pins, but use same diameter discs and are a direct swap (see here: https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=37144)

If its the lower arm bushes or hub-carrier bearing then I'm afraid its new lower arm time. You might not be able to move the lower arm but trust me.. When you take the arm off I bet you can move the bushes around without any force at all. Have replaced lower arms on 2x tipos and found all 4 arms - on what were thought to be quite tight cars - totally shot. Try www.shop4parts.co.uk for the lower arms.. cheap as chips.

You can replace the rubber bushes with poly ones from powerflex but they are expensive and you will still be left with your hub-carrier bearing in poor state.

What tools and skills are needed to replace the lower arms? Time taken?

You will need.

• Oil - in an oil can for soaking seized bolts.
• heat - for removing seized bolts.
• wire brush - for removing all that rust on the ends of the aforementioned seized rusty bolts!
• socket set - preferably 6 sided rather than 12 sided.
• large socket for removing hub nut - not sure if you will need to do this to change the lower arm however I removed them as I changed the shocks at the same time.
• spanners - try to use ring end whenever possible.
• cold chisel and large mallet to open the pinch bolt securing the lower arm to the hub carrier.

Time? Could be done easily within a day if you have everything you need at hand.

Took mine into the garage - and he could hear the noise, but not find the problem! Said it could be engine mounts, which are somewhat perished, but don't need replacing, yet.

No charge, though, but I've still got a car that rumble at the front over bumps

pinkpunto said:

Took mine into the garage - and he could hear the noise, but not find the problem! Said it could be engine mounts, which are somewhat perished, but don't need replacing, yet.

No charge, though, but I've still got a car that rumble at the front over bumps

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You're engine should be kind of "too heavy" to rattle over bumps.

Tis most likely the wishbones then maybe the strut mounts.

Wishbones wont show they have perished until you take them off... Then you'll think oh my god! I drove on them?!?!