Strange "clonk" on front near-side wheel

Post by **Nimrod** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:57 pm

Sounds like two ptices of 4x2 being knocked together - doesn't happen all the time, but seems to happen on potholes and sudden bumps in the road. had the wheel off, and I can't find any play in aything at all. Greased the trunnion and steering rod end, no change. Can anyone suggest where I look next?

ta!

Post by **Packedup** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:12 pm

Failing bush somewhere?

Without wanting to scare yo, I had a similar noise in a Mini. Turned out the bulkhead has split, and the nosie was the two sides rubbing against each other! I imagine a similar effect could be had from a split chassis rail...

Post by **Nimrod** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:52 pm

Update - following a previous thread I checked the level of oil in the damper and it needed a fair bit of topping up. That didn't cure it completely though, and I've discovered that the damper arm has a lttle bit of play between it and the damper body. Not having a Haynes at the moment, is it OK to tighten up the crown nut by one or two notches?

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:33 pm

Suspension clonks are also likely to be suspension bushes - the current/typical parts supplied for the eyebolt bushes are pretty useless and when these are worn through (often less than a year on a daily driver car) the pin will clonk thge eyebolt when under high load (like a pothole)

Post by **Nimrod** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:25 pm

Ah thanks - as I don't yet have a Haynes, which bit is the eyebolt?

Post by **bigginger** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:28 pm

The 'bolt' behind the wheel, going through the chassis leg. They hold on the torsion bar and all the rest of the suspension.

Post by **tickman** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:36 pm

is the noise the suspension bottoming out! on one side of mine i do not have any rubber which would at least stop the noise? would be a bad bump though, but of course the council make those for free!!

Post by **Nimrod** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:29 am

bigginger wrote:The 'bolt' behind the wheel, going through the chassis leg. They hold on the torsion bar and all the rest of the suspension.

is this a danger if driven?

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:09 am

Anything 'clonking' is a danger! Check the damper mounting bolts - 4 of them - need to be tight. Never been able to move damper arm on damper rod - seems highly unlikely. The damper will have air in it - so it will have some 'free-play' - just keep topping it up till all the air has been expelled. The bump stops MUST be present - or serious damage is done to the inner wings - and by over-flexing the torsion bars. make VERY sure it's not the bottom trunnion - which if worn can suddenly pull out leaving the car sliding along on the chassis with the wheel buckled up inside the wing!!

Post by **Nimrod** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:23 pm

This is the thing - I can't see ANY play anywhere other than the damper arm moving slightly on the damper body. There's no "feel" in the steering wheel when this clonk occurs, and having done only about 500 miles since the MOT in April (125 miles of which were driving it from the previous owner's house to here) I'm pretty sure that the trunnions are OK as the nipples still had grease on them from the last application when I had the wheel off yesterday....presumably the trunnions should wear evenly on both sides......

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:10 pm

Depends if they are the same age! My car passed MOT last year no probs - two weeks later, removed backplate from front brakes - and the bottom trunnion was so loose it almost fell off - in fact when unscrewed about 3 turns it did fall off. So MOT means nothing.

Post by **Nimrod** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:22 pm

Cured it! I shut the window in the passenger door.........!!!!!!

Seriously, I'm having it checked out tomorrow. I'll report back what the findings are.

Post by **Nimrod** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:49 pm

Update - seems it's NOT the front wheel at all - seems it's probably the rear spring bushes (or lack of!). relief all round, and an awful lot cheaper than renewing swivel pins etc etc!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 9:51 am

Or rear damper connecting arm bushes ?

Post by **Nimrod** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:42 pm

bmcecosse wrote:Or rear damper connecting arm bushes ?

yeah - they're shot as well........

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:41 pm

Errr - where exactly did you get that MOT ? Any of these should earn a big fat fail!!