Most Likely Causes Of Clunking From NS Front Hub Suspension?

Thanks for everyone's advice. Gradually getting the parts and tools I need as I'm going to do the CV boot, strut mount bearing, AR bar links, bottom ball joint rubber cover and a patch of sub frame surface rust treatment near wishbone mounts all at the same time. All on the same nearside wheel, so will have my head in that arch for quite a while. Got the CV cone, 36mm hub socket and a .75 metre breaker bar on order as well as all the parts needed. How did I manage car maintenance all these decades without a gurt, long breaker?? :unsure: :cool:(y)
 
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A long breaker bar is an essential tool.

Personally I'd advise you to remove the strut and take it to local garage to swap the top mount.

I'd never advise the DIY type spring compressors especially on big springs. And for the amount you will use them its worth just paying the garage to do that part of the job.
 
Repairs going ok, so far. Only a couple of hitches. The tie rod BJ is really in there. Tried tapping on the threaded part with the nut near end of thread to protect it. Then tried banging the side of the casting where the BJ sits in to shock it out, but no joy, don't want to use more farce otherwise I'll be shopping for a new track rod end. Off to Machine Mart tomorrow to get a decent BJ seperator.

The lower BJ nut on it's pinch bolt was slightly chewed, so the 16mm socket wouldn't bite. Managed to get a 5/8 socket to grip it and undo - it was tight. Poss been wanged up with air wrenches before, doing the nut's flats no good. The Fiat nut seems unobtainium, so will put it back on for now and source a proper high tensile nut and bolt to replace.

My discoveries -

Scudo driveshafts obviously have no clips or means of retention in the diff, as they slide out really easily. Typical - something you don't want to come out comes out when you don't want it to. Made the mistake of leaving the hub nut loose and on the end of it's thread when I popped the lower BJ out. This tugged on the driveshaft slightly and resulted in a bit of an oily mess on the floor. :oops: That's another trip to get some gearbox oil. Unfortunately no level hole on these, so will have to drain and refill because what came out wasn't measured.

A lower BJ can be in too far. I just assumed when you pop the BJ back in the pinch hole in bottom of hub it would go in far enough and stop. Then wondered why the pinch bolt wouldn't go in. Finally realised I needed to lever wishbone down a few mms and the bolt slipped in nicely.

Trouble is, although I've done work on the strut (other side) before, all the other jobs are first timers. Never worked on wishbones, driveshafts (more of a RW drive person), cv boots, AR bars - so it's all a voyage of discovery. Just the cv boot and top strut bearing to do now. Hopefully I won't be creating any new jobs for myself along the way.
 
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ReganAndCarter said:
Repairs going ok, so far. Only a couple of hitches. The tie rod BJ is really in there. Tried tapping on the threaded part with the nut near end of thread to protect it. Then tried banging the side of the casting where the BJ sits in to shock it out, but no joy, don't want to use more farce otherwise I'll be shopping for a new track rod end. Off to Machine Mart tomorrow to get a decent BJ seperator.
Click to expand...
I've never ever used a BJ separator in nearly 50 years of fixing cars. You'll be very lucky to tap it out by banging down on the thread as there will be too much flex in the arm which absorbs the shock. A good shock with a steel hammer (not copper) in THE RIGHT DIRECTION has always sorted it for me. Must be in the right direction along the length of the track control arm otherwise it flexes and the shock impact loses its effect. I could guarantee you that I could get that rod end out in no more than three whacks. Hit it like this and it will just drop out:

IMG_5536.jpeg
 
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It's only ever been one hammer for me.
I've never used a separator.
I've actually had a track rod end come away in my hand, the ball came out of the socket when I was checking for wear.
 
Thanks again to everyone for their invaluable knowledge. Will give it another go with hammers to save the boot. Was worried I might break the casting if I went too mental.

When I replaced the broken spring on other side about 4 years ago, the ball joint came out with one or two feeble taps. This ball joint doesn't want to, er, play ball. :(
 
Burnerman said:
Is the drive shaft nut tight?
John :)
Click to expand...

Probably not. Looking like it should be torqued to 300nm (though I have seen 360nm mentioned elsewhere). I was expecting to put my back into it, but it came undone surprisingly easy. Maybe this might explain why the MOT garage struggled to give a firm diagnosis, even with the latest equipment and their experience. Only a most likely of upper strut mount. I'm guessing a hub nut that's nowhere near it's torque could give a rattle over uneven surfaces. When I shook the top of tyre and did the same thing by grabbing the bottom spring coil, the movement and rattle I got did sound/feel like it could be from hub area. If it was loose, would this cause damage?

Anyway, I've finished a few of the other jobs, but not started the cv boot and strut mount yet. May put the wheels on and torque up the hub nut and take it for a spin and listen.
 
For the front drive shaft nut - after removing any pins or clips etc - I stand on my breaker bar with the wheel on the ground.......my windy gun or electric gun aren't powerful enough to shift these.
Same goes for reassembly, and they will need to be very tight.
I've had a couple of occasions where the drive shaft splines have stripped in the hub, losing all drive naturally enough with the accompanying nasty noises and loads of filings.
What I didn't understand though, was that the drive shaft nuts were still tight :unsure: so it's still a mystery!
Both cars were Peugeot 306's - not that it should matter.
John :)
 
Burnerman said:
For the front drive shaft nut - after removing any pins or clips etc - I stand on my breaker bar with the wheel on the ground.......my windy gun or electric gun aren't powerful enough to shift these.
Same goes for reassembly, and they will need to be very tight.
I've had a couple of occasions where the drive shaft splines have stripped in the hub, losing all drive naturally enough with the accompanying nasty noises and loads of filings.
What I didn't understand though, was that the drive shaft nuts were still tight :unsure: so it's still a mystery!
Both cars were Peugeot 306's - not that it should matter.
John :)
Click to expand...

Well, even with my very average upper body stregth, there was no need of anything like standing on things or breaking out a can of spinach. No effort at all with the breaker.

Will see what happens after a drive.
 
Well, I'm not sure. Got the strut apart and the top mount bearing seems ok. All in one piece and spinning it, the bearings seem ok. If it was the cause of my clunking, I would have expected it to be in pieces or at least the two halves would be sloppy/loose. The rubber ring that goes between top of spring and bearing looks quite flat on one side and not properly seating in the bearing. I'll throw a new one of these on as I've got this far, but I'm expecting the noise still to be there when it's all back together.

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I've just had a quick look at the shock. It looks ok and not leaking. With the shock lying on the ground, if i grab the end of the shaft and move it, there is slight movement and knocking where the shaft enters the body of the shock. This would tally with the movement and knocking I got when I grabbed the top of the tyre or the bottom of the coil spring and pulled outwards towards me or pushed inwards towards engine before I pulled it all apart.

Should there be slight movement of the shaft where it goes into the main body of shock? Could this cause the knocking as I'm driving along?
 
Of course, if the shock is a gas filled one, there is very little oil involved so therefore no real leaks!
You should be able to compress the shock easily, but find it very difficult to extend by hand.
Are the bottom shock rubber bushes ok?
The noise could come from the shock of course but it’s impossible to say for certain.
John
 
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