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front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:14 am
by FREDA MIND
hi guys ive noticed a clonking sound coming from front suspention when ever i drive over a rough piece of road(quite often these days!)
is this nomal or is it possibly worn drop links or lower suspention arm joints
any ideas
:? cheers rick :) :)

Re: front suspention clonking sond

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:27 am
by helen&tony
Hi Rick
Droplinks/ front rollbar bushes and brackets most usually, but can be lower wishbone bushes and ball-joint.
Cheers
Helen

Re: front suspention clonking sond

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:45 pm
by mikeonb4c
helen&tony wrote:Hi Rick
Droplinks/ front rollbar bushes and brackets most usually, but can be lower wishbone bushes and ball-joint.
Cheers
Helen
Yup, most likely. If you search on here you shuld find loads of advice 8)

Re: front suspention clonking sound

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:10 pm
by FREDA MIND
cheers guys, on closer inspection i found oil residue at bottom of shock, think its possible near side shock what do you guys think :wink: :|
ricky

Re: front suspention clonking sound

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:36 pm
by mikeonb4c
FREDA MIND wrote:cheers guys, on closer inspection i found oil residue at bottom of shock, think its possible near side shock what do you guys think :wink: :|
ricky
Hmmmm - is yours 4 wheel drive? need to eliminate that one along the way

Re: front suspention clonking sound

Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:03 am
by FREDA MIND
no its 2 wheel drive bud :)

Re: front suspention clonking sound

Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:09 pm
by mikeonb4c
FREDA MIND wrote:no its 2 wheel drive bud :)
Hmmm - so that rules out the oily things that can happen when 4WD components go AWOL.

I can't recall a failed shocker incident on here before - you'd think there would be some obvious rebounding and lack of damping symptoms if a shocker had let go enough to clonk wouldn't you?

There have been some failures of wishbone bearings etc. (see Helens post above) on here before, though that would leave the oil still to be explained.

It's quite possible the oil is not connected with the clonking, and its still possible the clonkng is down to the most common cause i.e. droplinks and/or antiroll bar bushes, so I'd have a good look at those to establish how old/worn they might be. If rubber bushes look perished then they are due for replacement anyway and its fairly cheap to do that.

Re: front suspention clonking sound

Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:14 am
by FREDA MIND
ok mikeonb4c ,i agree,
iam going to replace the shock absorber 1st, its leaking oil so is deff shot,the sus on that side front does feel quite soft,should i replace both front shocks though, the other side seems ok?i will inspect all other components aswell. :)
rick

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:02 pm
by missfixit70
Personally I'd replace both, chances are if one's shot, the other isn't far behind & probably won't be doing it's job properly. Keeps it balanced then & you know it's done.

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:15 pm
by mikeonb4c
missfixit70 wrote:Personally I'd replace both, chances are if one's shot, the other isn't far behind & probably won't be doing it's job properly. Keeps it balanced then & you know it's done.

I agree. Painful though the extra cost is, its got to make sense to have a balanced pair, giving balanced handling, on one axle. have a search on here as one or two people have done OK on replacement cost using brands ('Protech' springs to mind but have a search as I can't recall)

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:03 pm
by FREDA MIND
HEY GUYS , SHOPPED AROUND AND SOURCED A PAIR OF FRONT SHOCKS FROM MOTORMANIA FOR £48.0 EACH .....COOL BEANS ..... JUST GOT TO GET EM FITTED BEEN QUOTED £100.
NOT TOO SAD AFTER ALL! :) :) :)
RICK

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 5:03 pm
by mikeonb4c
FREDA MIND wrote:HEY GUYS , SHOPPED AROUND AND SOURCED A PAIR OF FRONT SHOCKS FROM MOTORMANIA FOR £48.0 EACH .....COOL BEANS ..... JUST GOT TO GET EM FITTED BEEN QUOTED £100.
NOT TOO SAD AFTER ALL! :) :) :)
RICK
That sounds like a mega-good result - keep us posted on how it goes =D>

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 4:22 pm
by FREDA MIND
finally having my new shocks fitted today,,, :) :)
hopefully sorting the suspention issues ive had :D
ill let you guys know monday how she handles
cheers ricky :D :D

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:01 pm
by mikeonb4c
FREDA MIND wrote:finally having my new shocks fitted today,,, :) :)
hopefully sorting the suspention issues ive had :D
ill let you guys know monday how she handles
cheers ricky :D :D
I'll be very interested to hear. Mine are (I guess) fine but I wonder if your Bongo will handle potholes with less 'thumping' once new shocks are fitted as the slightly crude suspension on my Bongo (all Bongos?) is probably my biggest single criticism. On half decent roads it's a very nice car, but on broken up surfaces at tramps and rumbles somewhat (not bad, but not up there with most saloon cars - maybe thats just not possible)
:roll:

Re: front suspension clonking sound

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:26 pm
by gmaczbongo
Being a newbie with a new MOT just before I picked it up and the anti-roll bar repairs, I was wondering what the current noises were.
They are not too bad and the previous posting has explained that it is par for the course.
Good smooth roads are great (Shetland would be good) and poor roads leave it noisy (Stay away from Mull).
Suspension is crude is a true statement.
Wonder what the roads are like in the Bongos homeland.