those $%^$$ drop links!

[garethjr]

Hi,
Our fairly recently acquired Bongo (4 months) has developed a bit of a crunching noise which appears to come from the front suspension when we go over speed bumps (our house is surrounded by them, so they are unavoidable), does this sound like the drop links? It is fine in almost any normal driving, just noticeable over speed bumps. I actually went out to check whether we have mud flaps last night, as I thought it could be those, but we don't have any!

Thanks,
Gareth

[Simon Jones]

Droplinks normally clonk with a metal on metal sound. Creaking or crunching could be perished rubber bushes or possibly worn or damaged shock absorber. It could also be the plastic engine undertray hitting the deck if you have exceptionally high speed humps or low suspension.

[garethjr]

Thanks Simon,
Some of the speed bumps around here are rather high. I had a look underneath to see the bushes and one of them does look a bit more squashed out than the other. More worryingly I also noticed a little drip of what I think is coolant falling on the floor. Not much at all, as it had been sitting still for over 24 hours and made only a tiny damp patch. When I checked the expansion tank it was down to the low mark. I last topped it up about 2 or 3 weeks ago. We've done quite a few long journeys over the last few months and that was the first time it needed any topping up since we had it. I'm hoping its just a perished or badly fitted hose. I think I'll drop it down to the garage down the road tomorrow evening, they can check out the bushes at the same time.