Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller  ...have just noticed a hard noise on braking/accelerating hard. Suspect steering rack or anti-roll bar mounting bushes are gone. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller Small niggling noises coming up from the suspension. Will have them attended to this week... |
Strange are the ways of car mechanics!
That hard noise (a kind of 'khut') from somewhere below my feet had been there for the last couple of months, and it occurred on hard braking or hard acceleration. No noise over potholes or rough roads (which rules out rack/tie-rod end/anti-roll bar bushes). No noise on accelerating with full steering lock (rules out driveshaft noise). Could be struts - all tight there, no oil leaks, no damping loss. HMP told me to leave the car for a day (or two) to diagnose the noise. Couldn't do that for some time now due to a lot of other commitments. Took it to one of my regular mechanics last weekend. He told me he'd have to strip the whole suspension/steering setup to find out the source. Naah!
Took the car today to another of my regular mechanics. He was also convinced like me, that the suspension/steering need not be opened up straight away. We spent about 2 and a half hours diagnosing the noise.
Finally, all it took was straightening of the engine shield (the underbody sump protection plate, aka the bash plate) and tightening the engine mounts.
Voila! Noise gone...
Running smooth as ever now.