I have a knocking noise from both sides at the front of my 2002 Mondeo and it happens sometimes when I hit a small bump in the road, other times not and also when I hit a big bump, then sometimes not. I have been advised that the noise can be caused by the anti roll bar bushes wearing out. (167k miles) On a smooth road the car runs silent. I have 2 new bushes to go on the car. The bolts for the attachment clamps for the bushes do not look like they are easy to get to. One bolt is underneath the steering rack gaiter and the rear bolt looks like it is accessible from underneath. The whole lot is hidden behind the wheel arch liner. Has anyone here done this job and if so, found an easy way to do it?
Mondeo Mk3 Front anti roll bar bushes.
- Thread starter aryan57
- Start date
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Before you start are you sure it's the bushes. It's more common for the ball joints in the links to wear.
They can be checked by pulling/pushing on the ends of the anti-roll bar and/or the links themselves - there should be NO play. Try it with the car jacked up too as frequently you'll get play with the weight off.
HTH
They can be checked by pulling/pushing on the ends of the anti-roll bar and/or the links themselves - there should be NO play. Try it with the car jacked up too as frequently you'll get play with the weight off.
HTH
As above. Usually the anti-roll bar link arms.
After much trawling of internet forums and much investigation, I am pretty sure that my problem knocking noise is being caused by front strut bearings. Drop links were changed for the MoT. Had a word with the man I bought the car from and he tells me his mum last had the bearings changed around 5 years ago. He has offered to give me a hand with the job. He has two sets of spring compressors so I only need to buy the bearings. Seems Mondeos are very prone to suspension noise, I wish I had known that before buying one. Will let you know how it goes and if I get a good result.
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Easy job to do. Little tip when removing the struts. When you try to lever the wishbone down to get the strut out of the hub, you'll find there just isn't enough movement to release the strut. Loosen almost completely, but don't remove, the two front crossmember bolts on that side and you'll find you have bags of room.
All set to get this job done on this coming Friday, the previous owner reckons he has all the tools needed and is willing to assist. Hope this cures my clonking problem but who knows? I will post the results when the job is done after a test drive
I am glad to report complete success with my Mondeo. I found out today that to change the top strut bearings, it is not necessary to take the strut right off the car. With the spring compressors on and some military grade zip ties around the spring for safety reasons, there is just enough room to remove the strut bearings. ( Don;t try this at home, you can loose your fingers) What came out was not too bad at all, no rubber breakdown, although there was some wear and sloppiness present in the bearing. We decided that the true reason for the creaking was the mating joint between the spring mount and the bearing retainer, which is a plastic. So this was greased and the new bearings fitted.
On the other side, we decided not to change the bearings, since we had evidence from the bearing removed. Instead, we collapsed the spring again and sprayed grease between the spring mount and bearing retainer. With this done, we looked for the reason for the clonking noise which pointed us toward the the ARB links. It turned out that it was possible to get an extra half turn on the ARB/drop link nut on each side. This was the reason for the clonking noise.
The car now drives with no suspension noise and the steering does not creak. I found a very bumpy piece of road to try things out and there was no suspension noise knocking or creaking. I call this a good result and I am a happy bunny again.
On the other side, we decided not to change the bearings, since we had evidence from the bearing removed. Instead, we collapsed the spring again and sprayed grease between the spring mount and bearing retainer. With this done, we looked for the reason for the clonking noise which pointed us toward the the ARB links. It turned out that it was possible to get an extra half turn on the ARB/drop link nut on each side. This was the reason for the clonking noise.
The car now drives with no suspension noise and the steering does not creak. I found a very bumpy piece of road to try things out and there was no suspension noise knocking or creaking. I call this a good result and I am a happy bunny again.
Further to my last post, I took the old bearing apart for examination. Inside was a circular row of ball bearings, with plenty of grease. The spacer had room for 26 balls. I counted them and I only had 20, and none were lost or dropped on the floor. So either the bearing only had 20 balls or 6 made a break for freedom.
Seems that the drop link nuts on a Mondeo not only need to be tight, they need be VERY tight. So tight in fact that they will one day need to be cut off!
Seems that the drop link nuts on a Mondeo not only need to be tight, they need be VERY tight. So tight in fact that they will one day need to be cut off!
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