Noisy front suspension

[castorlex]

Hello,
My 1988 R4 has a noise in the right hand side of front suspension. I have checked all of suspension parts, ball joints, rubbers, arms, dampers, bars, etc. All pieces in a bad condition were replaced with new spares, but noise continues. That noise is almost constant even in roads with little or no holes or bumps, is similar to a metal-metal snare. Any suggestions?
It´s really annoying..

 

[bantamallan]

How about sticking brake pads??

 

[malcolm]

Does it sound like the noise is generated by suspension movement or by wheel rotation? You might be able to find the noise by bouncing the suspension or rotating the wheel

 

[Andy McGhee]

Just a thought - is your R4 fitted with metal dust shields behind the discs? If so, the shield could be rubbing against the wheel rim. I had this problem with my first Renault - a 72 R5.

Andy

 

[castorlex]

Thanks

Hello, thanks for your comments. That sound comes not from rotating wheels, besides if I Bounce the front of the car up and down There is no noise at all !!
So I can't find it...maybe I suspect about torsion bars, but their rubber pads are Ok.
I have checked front dampers in a specialist garage with test bench, with no troubles. Is it possible that those dampers to have some sort of movement out of their axes with no effect in shock absorber action?

 

[F6frogie]

My car too has a knocking noise coming from the front RH side normally under braking (not neccesarily hard) and is a little worse on rough surfaces.

As you, I have changed the dampers, track rod ends, driveshafts, the top/bottom ball joints at both sides, ARB bushes, arm bushes and wheel bearings (not because of this noise, but because they were due for replacement anyway) - It had a variety of noises before but this one noise is still there.

I have also checked the front torsion bar components/engine mounts etc - I think mine is due to a little play in the steering rack on that side as this can be felt when the wheel is grabbed and shook - I have yet to locate a spare to test.

Matt

 

[angel]

The steering rack on the R4 can be a source of knocking noises, even if it has a slight play. This is because it is mounted diredtly on the chassis without rubber mountings.
The most often cause is the plastic guide bush located at the passenger's end of the rack (right for us, left for you! :-) :-) ). It should have no play when you grab the rack from its end and try to move it up and down.
Unfortunately these bushes are getting relatively hard to find here, and I have not found a way yet to fabricate it.

 

[F6frogie]

The steering rack on the R4 can be a source of knocking noises, even if it has a slight play. This is because it is mounted diredtly on the chassis without rubber mountings.
The most often cause is the plastic guide bush located at the passenger's end of the rack (right for us, left for you! :-) :-) ). It should have no play when you grab the rack from its end and try to move it up and down.
Unfortunately these bushes are getting relatively hard to find here, and I have not found a way yet to fabricate it.

Hi angel - So this bush is located on the RH side on a LH drive R4 as this is exactly were I have the play - if I grab the Track arm just before the track rod end (or the actual wheel itself) and shake, a knocking noise can be heard just like the one I can here when driving - the drivers side does not have any play.

Is the bush behing the rubber boot/gaitor ? Is there any other options I have if the bush cannot be purhased other than changing the rack?

Kind regards, Matt

 

[angel]

The bush is located at the end of the rack outer housing.
You must remove the steering rack, remove both gaiters, the driver's side track rod and the pinion. Then the rack can be removed from the housing. At the passenger end you will see a circlip, remove this, it retains the bush. Take a suitably fitting socket and two long extensions and pass them from the driver's side to knock the bush out. It is not tight.
The problem with this bush is that it is either plastic specially shaped or hard rubber (to absorb shocks). None of them can be fabricated for all practical purposes, if you remove it you will understand what I mean.
There is still the solution to make a plain bush from Ertalon or similar plastic, I have not tried it but I guess road noise will be transmitted more directly than the original bush.

 

[F6frogie]

Thanks for that Angel - when I am bored one day I may take a look at that but the noise does not really bother me (its just that left to do and the lean to one side at the rear then she's done ).

Matt