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Help me find a front end occasional knock

EB255GTX

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Putting this in the "general" area of the forums because I welcome ideas or experiences from any model..

2007 VE V8 Calais - has developed a noise from what sounds like the front drivers side.
I can't pin it down to acceleration or braking, turning, or bumps but it most often happens on bumps at low speed. Sometimes I can get 20km without it happenning other times it seems like every bump or the occasional turn, or turning while hitting a bump, and sometimes just hard acceleration will do it....driving me a bit batty to be honest!

I have had it at a friendly mechanic's shop on the hoist and helped him go over every fastener in the front end, suspension, steering rack etc, no joy. The car only has 70,000km and everything seems good and tight. While it was up in the air we checked all the heatshields, exhaust mounts and position, anything else we could get at.

He said maybe the shock absorber internals, but also that should be more repeatable if so.

When the clunk happens it is not huge, but can be (just) felt thru the steering wheel or if your foot is on the footrest (auto trans) you juust feel it, so somethign is shifting or hitting some part of the body or frame, or transmitting the thunk through it.

My mind gives me images af something like a loose battery - something heavy moving, but the battery is in the boot and is well secured.

This weekend i'm going to have a damn good look in the engine bay and up in the guards for anything....but does anyone have any hints on what else i could look at?

If it can't be found, and dosesn't seem to be causing any trouble, i guess i have to wait till it gets worse or something falls off!

P.S. what would have been great, althogh embarrasing, would have been to find a socket dropped into the subframe or something but no....
 

mpower

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instead of a mechanic take it to a suspension specialist - i had a mechanic do suspension on my cars and it was a disaster area, things just weren't 100% and there were a lot of little things they just cocked up which lead to scrubbed tyres things like that. took it to Fulcrum and they got everything sorted.
 

dgp

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There is a thread on here that solved a similar problem that many of us had with our VE's.
The braces in the engine bay that go from the firewall to the chassis on both sides of the engine, low in the engine bay, have bolts that need to be tightened.
 

EB255GTX

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instead of a mechanic take it to a suspension specialist.....
Yeah...good point. Next payday!

Still hoping for ideas i can look at on the weekend in the offchance i find the bloody radiator is loose on it's mounts or something :)
 
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EB255GTX

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There is a thread on here that solved a similar problem that many of us had with our VE's.
The braces in the engine bay that go from the firewall to the chassis on both sides of the engine, low in the engine bay, have bolts that need to be tightened.

MATE! that's the sort of thing i am looking for! Will definitely check those braces. Thanks!
 

EB255GTX

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i spoke too soon....that’s not a VE thread and here at home in the garage i can not find any brackets on the firewall on either side that could be the noise source....help???
 

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dgp

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Sorry EB, I am sure I did read a solution somewhere but I was already in a VF and had sold my VE's.
 

EB255GTX

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Sorry EB, I am sure I did read a solution somewhere but I was already in a VF and had sold my VE's.

Thanks for the lead anyway, when i read the forum i link to above it so perfectly described what i am hearing that i thought it was the fix for sure!
Spent 90 mins just now looking over under around and in between everything on the firewall or close to it...no luck.

Will maybe go with mpower's suggestion of a suspension place...mind you reading other threads about all sorts of bits being replaced and noises still remaining i will be pretty wary...
 

EB255GTX

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OK..the mysterious knock has come and gone and come back again, really can't find a pattern. it can be quiet for a week then do it every day!

One thing, i looked at the top of the strut towers - should there be a gap there? See pics.... I'd hate to think everyone i have taken it to has missed this gap if it is in fact important!
 

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