Knock on cornering

[TomLS]

Hi all,
When I have the wheel turned to the right and enter a cobbled street / hit a bump (as I do on a daily basis on my commute), I can feel a definite 'clonk' through the steering wheel. I performed and re-performed the 'grab-the-top-of-the-front-wheel-and-yank-'till-you're-blue-in-the-face' test for trunion play before and after buying the vehicle and I can'f feel any play at all. The trunions are well greased. The barings don't sound worn and the steering never has an issue except under these circumstances. Is it something I need to investigate further?

[Dryad]

Could be the damper. I had a similar problem last year and found the damper bearings to be worn, despite still working fine. The only way to tell is to jack up one side, open the bonnet and pull and push the damper arm, if there's movement then the bearings are worn and probably the cause of the noise. If not, then it could be either end of the tie bar; especially the end joining the suspension arm, as the bolt securing the tie rod can get worn and allow the rod to move from side to side.

[bmcecosse]

Or could just be no oil in the damper - and/or missing bump stop so the kingpin is walloping the inner wing with a thump! Could also be damper mounting bolts loose.....

[pegasus]

I had this appear just before i took the car off the road. It turned out to be the pin /bushes in the bottom trunnion. Grab the wheel while its on the ground and try to roll it back and forth, this was the only way mine showed up but it made one hell of a bang through the steering.
Mark

[TomLS]

Hmmm ok, it looks like I have some checks to perform!

I know that all 4 bump stops are present and correct though. To check the oil level in the dampers I assume I just take out the nut on the top in the centre right? (From memory of what it looks like it's somewhere around 5/8"?)
I checked the sideways play of the trunions, but didn't check them front-to-back! However I never get the noise under acceleration or braking which I would expect if it was back-and-forth play, no?
Went for a 2 hour drive this evening and it didn't do it at all, and I was driving twisty bumpy country roads and A-roads, it only seems to manifest when turning sharply at low speed onto a rough/bumpy surface.

[bmcecosse]

Yes - remove the screw on top of the damper. Would be worthwhile draining off the horrible old oil - and refilling with fresh SAE 30 or 40 oil.....

[pegasus]

I never had the noise on acceleration or braking either, but it was bad on a rough surface.
Mark