Knock, Knock!

[B685 OLP]

Hi everyone!

B685 has been going strong and is well and truly the best car i've owned! However in the last week a strange problem has occurred: A loud knocking or banging noise occurs towards the underside rear of the car when i travel over potholes in the road. I have read some of the threads regarding 'knocking' - could it be the exhaust banging against the roll bar?

Any ideas would be really appreciated, many thanks

[E_T_V]

Three or four things spring to mind that could be causing it.

As you say check that the downpipe isn't fouling the antiroll bar where it crosses over it.
Also check that the ends of the antiroll bar where they mount to the suspension haven't sheared off and that the brackets that fix the antiroll bar to the car also haven't sheared off. This causes the antiroll bar to slap against the underside/suspension making a noise whenever you hit a big bump.

Also check that the rear of the exhaust where it goes over the rear axle isn't fouling, (this is usually found to be worse when the car is loaded with people in the back).

The last thing to check is that the top front strut mounts haven't come loose. The nuts on these have been known to come loose on some cars but it isn't a common occurance.

[SimonR]

Yeah and check that the tailpipe isn't banging on the rear bumer and that the bumper isn't loose...

Oh, also check that the tailgate catch is firmly attached to the tailgate.

[MaestroMatt]

Spare wheel bouncing around? It should have a bolt holding it down. Could also be the jack / wheel nut wrench if they haven't still got the polystyrene insert.

Worst case scenario is that the cup affair at the top of the shock absorber has finally rusted all the way through. This happened on my first Maestro back when I was a fresh faced young motorist and inexperienced with the spanners: it was a £260 repair! The funny thing was that the car cornered better with the knackered suspension (in that it was really easy to get the back to slide out on every bend even at low speeds!).

[B685 OLP]

Thanks so far. I will check all these thing on the weekend. I don't think its the spare wheel though (i checked this immediately and it is still bolted down with the polystyrene as well). I would also be surprised if something had rusted away considering the car has been garaged and has just 21,000 miles on the clock. I really hope its not too expensive to fix, whatever it may be!!!

[E_T_V]

Check the rear shock top mounts as these also sometimes come loose.

[B18 GPC]

[QUOTE=B685 OLP] I would also be surprised if something had rusted away /QUOTE]


mine looked resonably solid except the rear top mount when i got it.. i found my self on the phone to my maestro supplies needing a new top mount.. :( never say .. never?

[B685 OLP]

Think i've found the problem thanks to your help. The nut/bolt of the front left anti-roll bar bush has sheered. The bush is hanging down and every time i run over a bump in the road, it bangs against the underside of the car. Now, how to fix it!? Presumably i drive the car up some ramps to depress the suspension and fit the bush that way. Where can I find a new bush? How much are they?

Thanks for your help so far...

[Simon]

£10.75 from dealers!

[darrenandsarah]

Recently replaced both of mine due to same fault, a good tip is to use fairy liquid to get the new ones on, and a two or three legged puller is handy to get the old one off.

[B685 OLP]

Great tip, thanks. This may sound stupidly naive, but what the hell is a two/three legged puller?!?!!?! :D

[darrenandsarah]

Not at all, I asked the same question when I read the Haynes manual... luckily my father had one it has a couple or three legs that grip the rear of the bush and a threaded bar that runs through the middle, this sits against the end of the anti roll bar when you tighten the threaded bar (it has a hex head) the legs are forced towards you pulling off the bush, Draper do one for about £9 forget using a lump hammer you'll lose the skin off all your knuckles and probably a finger tip.

Bet someone on here has a pic they can post

[E_T_V]

Or you simply get out the angle grinder and slit the thing then pull it off.

When replacing the bush just make sure both susupension on both wheels is in the same state (i.e. compressed the same amount) then you can simply push the bolt throughthe wishbone then do up the nut.

[B18 GPC]

could it be the exhaust banging against the roll bar?


Youve never driven KKW ... One of its exhausts run over the top of the axel you can hear it rattle on idle.. :censored: :banghead:

[B685 OLP]

Well everyone, what a job! Removing the bar-steward from the anti-roll bar was one hell of a job an finally managed it by using the heat of a blow torch. Using a bit of fairy liquid as advised really helped sliding the new one on although actually lining the new bolt up with the hole was quite difficult without the help of a mate. Added a lock-nut it feels like new. Thank you very much to everyone for their advice. My first real job done on the Maestro which surely saved me over a hundred quid!

Cheers