rattling coming from front end

[jashdown91]

Okay, I'm wondering if anyone can provide any help in this area. I've recently installed the Whiteline 30mm sway bar and heavy duty link kit on my VS, along with superlow Kingsprings and KYB shortened shocks. Anyway, when I'm driving, and I drive over a speed bump with only the one side of my car, there is a lot of rattling and clunking. But when I drive over it with all wheels, theres not a sound. This is also the case when i hit a pothole or the road camber changes.

I've looked at all the bushes and bolts and connections, and it all seems to be fine, so I can't see what the rattling is coming from. Is anyone able to help, seeing as it's making me nervous, feeling like my car is about to fall apart. Thanks for any help in advance.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Have you tightened the wheels up properly?

It could also be the washers in the strut tops are upside down.

[jashdown91]

Yeah the wheels are tightened properly, made the mistake once before, will never do it again. Haha

The strut was reassembled exactly how it was pulled apart. The struts have never been taken out of the car before this. Any other suggestions?

It's quite frustrating, nothing appears to be loose or damaged, all parts are brand new, so I'm lost for ideas.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

What sort of noise is it? Is it a high pitched rattle/clink or a lower knock type noise?

[jashdown91]

It's more of a knocking sound, but it only happens when one of the front wheels goes over a significant bump. It does it really badly when I drive over a speed bump at about 10km/h with only one wheel. I thought it could be the sway bar links were loose, but I looked and there was no movement in them.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

There are two nuts on the strut, one that holds the spring seat and the other that holds the mounting bush. I reckon the bottom one has come loose, they usually do when tightening the top one.

With the car on the ground, undo the top nut and take it off, don't worry, it can't fall out or damage anything. Remove the mounting plate, the round one with the rubber around it, and then tighten the bottom nut. You will have to hold the strut shaft as you do it. Then replace the mounting plate and the top nut, tightening it while holding the shaft again.

If it is the LHS making the noise, it will be that side that is loose.

[jashdown91]

Ok I've just undone them and took the two top plates off each. Now I've discovered that the washers below the second nuts face opposite directions on the struts, one strut, the washer faces concave down, and the other sits facing concave up, which way do are the supposed to face, do you know? Because when I undid the left strut, the second nut came undone with the first one.

[jashdown91]

Ok, well I tightened them back, you were right, the second nut was a bit loose. However, it hasn't been the source of the problem, took it for a test drive hoping for the best, then hit a bump and BAM, the sound was back

I'm leaning towards the sway bar and links being the culprits. The bush on the the very bottom of the link, below the sway bar is completely squashed (the Z shaped link was meant to eliminate this) and it looks like there could be movement in the link. But I don't see any way of preventing this. I'll be damned if I'm bringing it to a mechanic for them to just have a look and charge 100 bucks.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The washer goes concave up, so the nut sits down into the washer. With the link pins, the washers go concave away from the bush eg ) [] ( .

[danja]

Sway bar links get noisy when the bushes go, check none of them have thrown a bush. Used to happen to me frequently when I had a aftermarket swaybar.

[jashdown91]

Yeah that's how i have them set up. They haven't thrown a bush yet, but the bottom ones on each link are crushed.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The ones we put in the missus VN didn't do up enough to crush the bush. They were the Nolathane Z type ones, and they ran out of thread before the bushes crushed up.

Still reckon it is a strut top issue. They are a mongrel to get tight without the bottom nut coming loose as you tighten the top one.

[jashdown91]

Yeah. Ok well this morning I checked my bushes and everything before I went to my exam, and they were all there. I just looked then because I heard more rattling, and the very bottom bush on the left hand sway bay link has falling up.

These are the heavy duty Z shaped links and i put them on a week ago with brand new bushes!

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Did you use the grease supplied when you fitted them?

[jashdown91]

No grease came with the link kit. Only grease came with the sway bar, and I put grease on there.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Polyurethane bushes act like a bearing and should be coated in grease where they contact steel. Otherwise they chew out.

[jashdown91]

Yeah, but the instructions said nothing about grease, and none was supplied with the pack. :S

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

For future reference, where polyurethane contacts steel, use grease.

The kit we used had grease.

[jashdown91]

I will keep that in mind. Which brand was yours, and how much was it?
Because mine was the 'Wasp' one and only about 30 bucks.

Anyway, thanks for all the help, I'll grease up the new bushes when i get some. After I pull out everything to do with the suspension, so I can find the damn rattling.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Ours was the Nolathane kit, about $40.

[danja]

Grease is good, but lack of causes more of a squeak than a rattle. Rattle means there is play in something and it's bouncing about.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

But the bush has chopped out he said, that could cause the rattle.

[jashdown91]

Yeah but the bush only broke off today. It's been rattling for about a week.

While we are on the topic of fixing things. My ignition barrel s**t itself the other day, so I've got a new barrel, and currently the new barrel is half way in, and I can not move it any further, nothing is blocking the hole at the end. On top of this, I can't pull it out because its jammed. Holden are real dick heads when it comes to designing things to come apart fairly easily. If I bring it to holden they will charge me 200 bucks just to get the barrel out, let alone install it. Any ideas how I can get the damn thing to go in?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

You have to make sure the shaft lines up with the slot on the switch at the end of the barrel when you push it in.

To get it out again, it has to be in the "on" position and push a pin in the hole on the side, it should come out again.

You do have to push fairly hard to get them in though.

[jashdown91]

Yeah, it was a bloody wrestle to get the damn thing in. Stupid immobiliser won't let me start the car now, unless i use remote to unlock the car. There's no code strips around the edge of the new barrel.