shock prob & funny noise

[marastu]

hi all.
i have a 97 450 chim, and the left rear shock absorber has gone. Though, recently i have noticed a noise coming from the left rear. It sounds like the brake pad is rubbing, as it gets faster with more speed.
Is it advisable to drive the car much with the shock gone, it's due to be changed soon, and could the sound be something more sinister?

Thanks, Mat

[RCA]

Bit of a vague discrption!!!!, The shocker going should not cause the pads to rub any more or less!, are you sure that it is not the tyre catching on the inside of the arch??
Have a good look around to make sure that nothing is catching and if you can, jack the corner up and spin the wheel to see if the brakes are making noise. If you try and shake the wheel as well you might see if the wheel bearing has gone as this would make a noise that would increase with speed.
As for the shocker how gone is it??, providing that nothing is catching driving slowly should not be a problem, although probably not advisable.
hope this helps
cheers
Rich

[marastu]

it's more of a scraping noise, but quite subtle. the shock has leaked its hydraulic fluid, but the wheel is not scraping the arch. it does feel pretty skittish going around corners, especially with uneven road surfaces. My dilemma is will i do any damage getting it to london from wales? thanks for the advice.

[GreenV8S]

marastu said:

it's more of a scraping noise, but quite subtle. the shock has leaked its hydraulic fluid, but the wheel is not scraping the arch. it does feel pretty skittish going around corners, especially with uneven road surfaces. My dilemma is will i do any damage getting it to london from wales? thanks for the advice.

You often get a slight scraping noise from the brakes. Try pulling the handbrake on gently while you're moving. If this changes the noise, that's probably all it is and it can be ignored. Driving with a duff shock isn't a particularly good idea but is OK with care if you don't have any other options. It won't damage the car (unless you go smashing over speed humps or something like that) but will upset the car's handling and stopping ability. So drive carefully and you should be OK.