Yet more bother from my seriously painful escort.  Whilst out in it
this evening a rather sharp knocking sound has started coming from the
drivers side front wheel area, tends to happen only when going over
small bumps and ridges in the road.

It's had a fair bit replaced at the front so i'm not overly sure what
this oculd be, anti roll bushes and link rods were done a few months
back as there was a rattling sound whenever i hit any bit of uneven
road.  Wishbones were replaced just before the link rods as they bushes
ahd totally worn on those and the front passenger side spring was
replaced about 12 months ago as it cracked.

The car still drives normally, still goes in a straight line under
acceleration and braking and doesn't feel erratic.

Anyone got any suggestions on where to start?

Cheers

Kris

"tollermccallum"  wrote in message 
news:1118523346.054070.155230@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> Yet more bother from my seriously painful escort.  Whilst out in it
> this evening a rather sharp knocking sound has started coming from the
> drivers side front wheel area, tends to happen only when going over
> small bumps and ridges in the road.
>
> It's had a fair bit replaced at the front so i'm not overly sure what
> this oculd be, anti roll bushes and link rods were done a few months
> back as there was a rattling sound whenever i hit any bit of uneven
> road.  Wishbones were replaced just before the link rods as they bushes
> ahd totally worn on those and the front passenger side spring was
> replaced about 12 months ago as it cracked.
>
> The car still drives normally, still goes in a straight line under
> acceleration and braking and doesn't feel erratic.
>
> Anyone got any suggestions on where to start?


Assuming the wheel nuts are tight, along with every bolt that has been 
disturbed then probably the anti roll bar bushes are the fault, these are 
hard to change (read fiddly) so most places don't bother.  Either way a good 
check round will show the fault.


mrcheerful

I did think about anti roll bushes as they have caused a problem before
but i only managed to get the passenger side changed as it was a total
pain in the backside and i ran out of time.  Changing the one bush did
seem to solve the rattling problem though.

Would anti roll bush wear be heard when the car is being bounced up and
down at the roadside as the car makes a loud tapping sound if i do
this.

"tollermccallum"  wrote in message 
news:1118564381.311078.38810@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

>I did think about anti roll bushes as they have caused a problem before
> but i only managed to get the passenger side changed as it was a total
> pain in the backside and i ran out of time.  Changing the one bush did
> seem to solve the rattling problem though.
>
> Would anti roll bush wear be heard when the car is being bounced up and
> down at the roadside as the car makes a loud tapping sound if i do
> this.
>



I would say it is unlikely you would hear the antiroll bar bush by pushing 
the suspension up and down (although it will show by disconnecting one end 
of the a/r bar and pulling the bar about).  A seized bottom ball joint or 
something physically loose (wishbone bolts for instance) can be heard by 
rocking the car.

I would suspect the bush you didn't change though.  The trick is to remove 
the front bolt of the clamp and only loosen the rear one, the clamp can then 
be lifted enough to get the bush out.

mrcheerful

The biggest problem i had with the anti roll bushes was that the botls
holding the clamps down had seized and due to the limmited space i
couldn't get anything in to free them up.  It must have taken me 4
hours to do the passenger side and by the time i'd got everything back
together it was getting dark.

Just seems to be one thing after another with this car as it's also got
a radiator hose leak whihc i'm hoping to get sorted today, costing me a
bloody fortune.

Thanks for your quick replies though fella.

"tollermccallum"  wrote in message 
news:1118569513.860335.177080@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> The biggest problem i had with the anti roll bushes was that the botls
> holding the clamps down had seized and due to the limmited space i
> couldn't get anything in to free them up.  It must have taken me 4
> hours to do the passenger side and by the time i'd got everything back
> together it was getting dark.
>
> Just seems to be one thing after another with this car as it's also got
> a radiator hose leak whihc i'm hoping to get sorted today, costing me a
> bloody fortune.
>
> Thanks for your quick replies though fella.
>


The hoses are sometimes incorrectly fitted from new, but they become 
deformed and need replacing.

The antiroll bar bolts respond well to a whack sideways before trying to 
undo them, plenty of penetrating oil if they are still stiff and work the 
bolt in and out as if they snap it is seriously difficult to fix.

mrcheerful

The knocking turned out to be one of the nuts that was loose on the
link rod, must have been left like that by half arsed mechanic that
replaced the flexi hoses when it had it's MOT last week as it was a
locking nut and it's fairly hard to turn even with a fairly long
spanner.

The leaky radiator hose ended up being the one that was hardest to get
to, needed to take the power steering pump out and some other bits to
even start to be able to get near it.  Due to me having very little
patience and it being quite cold today i ended up pouring a bottle of
radweld in and it seems to have stopped the leak, i'll do it all
properly next weekend when i have a little more time.

In article <yYTqe.49177$G8.23824@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>, nbkm57
@hotmail.com says...

>  if they snap it is seriously difficult to fix.
> 
> 


Yep, I had a front ARB bush mount bolt go on the celica.
Not hard to get at, but would have taken me hours to drill out lying 
under the car on axle stands.

Took the coawards/thinking mans option. Took it to a bloke who does a 
lot of my bigger repairs. Up on the ramps, gas axe to get it glowing, to 
break the seal and burn off the crap.

mig with lots of current for good penetration to build up the end in to 
something he could get hold of. Big pair of mole grips and some delicate 
twisting. Out in about 1/2 hour and only cost me £20
-- 
"Sorry Sir, the meatballs are Orf"
The poster formerly known as Skodapilot.
http://www.bouncing-czechs.com