gaz4x4cos

last year before i took car off road for winter , i had a new tca and a pair of spax front shockers put on by a garage because of an annoying knock comming from front pass side over bumps it sounded like ball joint , anyway job sorted i thought , no knocking , done about 1000 miles and its back

couple of things have sprung to mind which may be linked to the knock possibly are :

had new steering column bulkhead bush done last year and have had constant problems with it coming out ? (could there be a steering rack bush worn causing this and the knock )

also has full powerflex front end kit ? (please don't say its normal with poly bushes )

also the thread for the strut top on that side is longer than the other side is this normal ? car sits level and everything just something i thought may be significant , i don't think so because the sound is coming from low down and iam guessing the different thread lenghts is due to possible top mounts on wrong way on one side (done by garage again).


don't want to use the garage (various reasons one being losing faith in them),
want to fix myself now so i know it done properly and have time on my hands due to being out of a job at moment .

help please

gaz .

TurboShed

This reminds me of the knock I had on my drivers side, new TCA seemed to fix it, for a while.

Turned out the hole in the hub carrier that the balljoint pin goes into, had worn oval.

rog

iTrader: (2)

CV joint maybe?

gaz4x4cos

this sounds like a possible answer , need to sort its starting to get on my nerves . is this a case of replacing it and hoping or can i check , also did you need a new tca again once fixed ??

cheers gaz .

gaz4x4cos

the garage also did a cv boot outer on the same side cos it had split , i specificly said to check the cv and i would get that done if needed, didn't need it they said , how's best to check ?

cheers gaz

rog

iTrader: (2)

Well i was always told if you turn the steering wheel lock to lock, if it makes a cracking type noise, when the car is stationary, that means it's buggered. Had this with a few cars, always did this when i tried to turn lock to lock, i hope it's this chap, nothing worse than having a niggle you can't get to the bottom of!
Having the same trouble with my saph jusstnow, about to replace the cv also!

TurboShed

Well, a quick and easy way to get an indicator, pull the Torx bolt out, that's supposed to hold the balljoint pin in place in the hub - if the bolt is bent or has a bad wear patch on it, it's likely the hub is knackered.

Char1ie

iTrader: (6)

Get down there and check that everything is done up properly. Pull at everything, jack it up and turn the wheels, yank and pull and you should find the culprit.

Charlie

gaz4x4cos

it had new bolt at same time because old one had these marks on so this should tell me , cheers mate will have a look when rain stops . oh did you have to replace tca again ? could do with not doing cos of poly bushes .

is the bulkhead bush always such a pain for popping out , its more when i've been down the back lanes on a 'spirited drive ' within said speed limits . lol .

is the strut thread being longer on pass side normal cos if its the hub carrier i will need to practicly take of the strut so will put right if not .

rog - know what you mean about niggles , another one of mine is the mongoose system knocking on rear bumber and occasionally elsewhere , all part cossie ownership it seems . lol

charlie - will do


anyone used powerflex exhaust mounts ?

cheers for all replies chaps .

gaz .

graham c

iTrader: (5)

it could of been a cheap bottom arm as well ?

TurboShed

Take the new bolt out, see if it's damaged again. My money says it will be. The TCA should be okay unless it's been run like that for ages. The stainless pin of the balljoint seems very resilient. It'll tend to wear but very very slowly.

gaz4x4cos

the bottom arm is the same make as the other side they did 12 months earlier and had no problem with it .

just been out again and it seems to knock alot more when lower bulk head bush for column has worked its way out thats why i was wondering about any bushes on the rack which may need renewing ?

Will be getting access to a garage over week e nd so will get front up on axle stands and see if owt is loose on that side compared to other and also check the torx bolt .

cheers
gaz

gaz4x4cos

right , been under the car today , its the hub carrier there is alot of movment from the point were the ball joint goes into the carrier . next question how big a job is this to change are there any special tools requried looks pretty straight forward . any pointers would be good too if an one has had problems replacing .


cheers
gaz .

TurboShed

I told you so

But seriously, glad to be of help. It took me ages to get to the bottom of it myself

gaz4x4cos

yeh spot on , just got to get it sorted now , didnt bother taking the bolt out there is so much movement on the hub there is no way a ball joint could be that knackered after 1000 miles , did you do yourself if so how difficult was it to remove and replace mate , want to do this myself , credit crunch an all that ?

cheers
gaz .

gaz4x4cos

job done , replaced discs while i was there the drilled & grooved ones were well shot . its amazing how much better steering feels now even without the tracking being done actually enjoy driving it again .

thanks for pointer turboshed .