[Toakenspy]

Hi folks. There are a few posts on here regarding this but I'm posting a new one to reflect exactly what problems I am having. First of all the car drives great. Steering is fine, ride quality is fine, except for going over heavy bumps in the road. Here in the UK we don't believe in smooth roads. We repair roads with boulders and don't even the edges when repairing potholes, so a crater becomes a small mountain. Anyway, on the motorway the car cruises like it should, it even handles small bumps fine, but as soon as I go over larger bumps there is a knock which seems like it is definitely coming from the front driver's side wheel. I have already changes the front strut mount and torqued all the bolts on there properly. I changed the sway bar link (drop link) and checked it has been installed properly, which it has, no movement from that whatsoever. When checking for free play in the front tyre when raised off the ground, there is no excess movement either, which would suggest to me that all ball joints are all in good order. Pressing down on the front fender, I cannot seem to re-create the knocking either. Has anyone got any suggestions as to where I should be looking? Thanks in advance.

[juld0zer]

Check the tension strut bushing, if it's leaking black fluid then it's gone. It's the biggest one of the two.
Also check the wishbone bushing on the subframe end, which might be torn or flogged out. Make sure all fasteners are tight too

[Toakenspy]

Thanks juld0zer. I'll have these properly checked out.

[Toakenspy]

Hi folks. The car has been into the garage to have over £1500 worth of work done. Here is what was found. The front sub frame bolts were tight, however they were cross threaded so when the steering is turned the sub fame is moving slightly giving a knocking noise through the front frame. The front suspension strut was also bad, although it wasn't leaking it looked like the original strut, as it was rusted pretty badly. With the shocks replaced and sub frame bolts properly fitted there is no more noises from the front end, in fact the car feels totally transformed and drives like it has just came off the forecourt. I hope this helps others who may be experiencing the same issue.

[juld0zer]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! Good on you for following through to the end and great job on the workshop for correct diagnosis!

Has the subframe been off for a sump leak repair before or something?

[Toakenspy]

Originally Posted by juld0zer

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! Good on you for following through to the end and great job on the workshop for correct diagnosis!

Has the subframe been off for a sump leak repair before or something?

Thanks juld0zer. I think it must have been off previously as the sump had been overtightened at one corner and the aluminium had cracked at the corner, so I'm guessing leaking gasket caused them to remove the sump. (?)