406oc.co.uk

Hay, i have a 51 1.8 LX that has had a few problems and my new concern is a knocking!

Its coming from the rear offside and it started quiet at first - generally noticeable when taking off (first applying power) and breaking to a stop from a crawl. The car then had its MOT and nothing was found. So it got worse and worse and i booked it back into be looked at (presumed it was a worn bush or something) and it comes back 'we couldn't find anything wrong'

So, i take it back and its just got worse and worse, that was 2 weeks back and im at my whits end. Is a serious noise now and happens at any speed from 30 down (disappears or is inaudible above 30) and i dont know what i can do if the garage say they can't find anything wrong

obvious culprits would be rear arb, drop links, shock absorber bushes & mounts (including top mounts) loose or worn, best thing would be get the car on a ramp or over a pit, apply the handbrake firmly and rock the car by letting the clutch bite and then disengaging it, biting again etc simulating the pulling away action, and see if a friend can identify where the noise is coming from. May need a bit of throttle when letting the clutch bite to load up the suspension but it should show up if someone is underneath watching.

Well i took it to the garage - showed them the clunk and they put it up on the rams.

The guy then took us out in it and tried to get it to clunk (and tied to blame the stuff in my boot) and then put it back on the rams and gave it a good going over for 10 mins.

Conclusion - they can find absolutely nothing wrong and recommend just driving it until something falls off :\

lol!

Pity it isnt an alfa, it would soon drop off and you'd know what it was. Ah well, try emptying the boot and get a friend to sit in the back seat and pinpoint the exact area maybe?
Its a pain when theres a knock and you dont know where its coming from but if somethings moving it should be possible to spot it youd think eh?

what about the exhaust hitting something?

Well I took the wheel off today and couldn't see anything obvious. I was with my dad and my uncle who used to be a car mechanic, we got it to knock but can't pin point where it is - even laying under it and useing the old metal pole to the ear.

Its definatly the suspension system though and the rear offside. We origionally thought it was the shocker but that dosnt seem to be it and there are a million bushes it could be but none are worn, even the garrage said that.

Its getting really bad when driving now and the only thing I can think to do is get quick fit to have a look at the shocker - but any little knock and they are going to try and flog me new shockers