Drop link woes

[hwyaden]

I've had my rear drop links replaced this morning but on the drive home the bloody knocking is still there.
Mechanic had the devils own job removing the bolts on the links. When he tried removing the brackets for the bushes the first bolt sheared off. He said the bushes weren't too worn so he welded the bracket back on. He said it's going to be a longer job to replace the bushes.
I'm broke now so any more repairs will have to wait. I'm gutted that it's still knocking

[dave_aber]

He welded a bracket on round a rubber bush?

If he's not knackered the bush by melting it I'll be surprised - that may well be where the knocking is coming from.

No "mechanic" should struggle to remove these drop link bolts. Any good mechanic with reasonable experience would know that they rarely want to undo, so you need to slice the nuts off with a grinder. takes 10 mins a side. No point messing around trying to undo a nut from a bolt that are both going straight in the bin.

As to the continued knocking, if it's not from the melted bush he welded the bracket round, then it could be from cheap drop links which have a pin diameter (the 'bolt' bit) too small for the hole in the ends of the anti-roll bar and the bracket on the strut. If this is the case, you may get away with really tightening them up, but more likely you'll need decent links with the correct pin size.

Even with the correct pin diameter, if they are not sufficiently tight, they knock like a work link does.

If it's not that, and it's not the bush, then look at the bottom ball joints. If you are already skint though, make sure you are sitting down when you look at the price of lower arms. Ball joints can be replaced on their own for about 1/4 of the price, but may not last as long as replacement arms.

And get a new mechanic.....

[hwyaden]

i got the drop links from this site so i'm guessing they're the right size.

[Simon Jones]

Dave, from your description of 'pins', 'strut' and 'lower arms' it sounds like you are referring to the front suspension rather than the rear as the rear has neither of those items. The rear is a lot simpler so should be easy / cheap to fix if that is even the issue. I personally would be looking for other causes of knocking from the rear such as exhaust hitting the chassis.

[dave_aber]

Well spotted!

I completely missed the point there, and assumed front suspension.

SO, Rears - they are bolted on using bolts which you do re-use, so only cut them off if really necessary. The ones from the club shop will be decent quality links, and will have the correct dimensions.

I stand by the comments re-welding a bracket on around a rubber bush - this may still be the cause of the knocking.

Other causes are as Simon says still up for diagnosis : Exhaust clonking into the chassis, suspension bottoming out (although this is more of a huge thump than a 'knock'). Could also be the dampers past their best.

Knocking is more usually associated to the front suspension, hence my heading off down the wrong path. Make 100% sure that the knocking you are hearing is the rear, not the front.

FWIW, when I last did my rear ARB bushes, I also sheared off one bolt. Of the 2 on each bracket, the upper one is near impossible to replace, the lower is more simple, due to the relationship between the bracket and the axle tube. I was lucky, and managed to drill out the sheared stud and fit a bolt.

[Simon Jones]

My other suggestion is rear anti-roll bar bushes (which you have touched on). The bolts holding the bracket to the chassis do tend to snap when being undone & it's not uncommon to weld a new nut on or grind the existing one off & replace with nut & bolt. Perhaps that's what the mechanic was referring to?

[hwyaden]

that sounds like what he was saying. i'm fed up with all the knocks and bumps - i think i'll just learn to live with the noises

[dave_aber]

Fit a nice stereo, and some 6x9's, and you'll never hear the knocking

[hwyaden]

[rita]

Fit a nice stereo, and some 6x9's, and you'll never hear the knocking

Brilliant Idea, just don't play....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdRVRuLbp2w

[hwyaden]

[Bluespanner]

Knocking sound/clunking sound unless you're sure its coming from the back does sound like the front arb droplinks as simon describes. I've replaced my 3 times and the quality does vary quite a bit. there is also some excellent posts on the forum about this. I'm not quite sure what your mechanic has welded on the back. If he has welded the bracket which goes over the bush, how on earth can the bracket be replaced if it fractures in the future?. It would need to be grinded off. Apart from probably turning the rubber bush to a blob, presumably he had the brains to remove it first. I had a bolt shear off when changing a rear bush and bracket. I managed to source a suitable nut and bolt easy enough. I think I had to drill out the hole but not a huge deal.

[rita]

I can hear a lot of KNOCKING, and it is mainly Mechanic Knocking, I cant get my head round this.

[hwyaden]

the bush is still in there but i can't see if it's melted or not. i'm going to have to save some money then take it back to target mini in waunarlwydd as they were really good before. the only reason i didn't go back there is the distance and logistics involved but i reckon it's going to be worth the extra hassle.