Knocking rear shocks??

[Andyelsey]

I have a strange knocking noise that sems to come from the near side rear suspension of my Chimaera. I have checked all the pivot bolts and looked for anything that might be loose but it all looks to be OK. I have what look like bilstein shocks, yellow with yellow springs.

Anybody had the same problem, i read one of the other contributors, herbie hammer, was "going to get the knocking shocks sorted". Is this a well known problem?

[greenv8s]

If it happens over bumps it might be worth checking the anti-roll bar (if you have one) and exhaust. If it happens when you accelerate/decellerate it would be worth checking the diff mounts and wishbone bushes.

[Andyelsey]

I have checked all the bushes inc anti roll bar with a lever to locate any play either up and down or side to side and all are tight.

I did move the exhaust mounts aroung a bit because it was very near one of the chassis tubes but it didnt cure it.

Its not a loud noise, i can live with it but it doesnt happen when the offside rear whell hits a bump so i know there must be something wrong.

[plunkett]

mine do this a bit when cold it can be the piston in the damper starting to wear so ive been told.

[wolosp]

Mine 'clonked' on occasions when going round left or right bends (at 'average' speed), over bumps, going up my drive etc,. all attempts at recreating the noise by rocking the car proved fruitless, and despite having bushes replaced it still happened, until following having some work done, the clonking stopped...I noticed that the rear anti-roll bar support brackets now had shiny new nuts on them (it had been removed to drop the exhaust apparently). I can't say whether the bracket was loose or the anti-roll bar was knocking on something, all I know is the noise has stopped (touch wood)! Might be worth a try.

[dannyboyo]

Mine does this (on the same side), I've got leda dampers and yellow springs.

when i've got some time i'm going to raise the back end up 1cm and stiffen the dampers a bit to see if it helps.

[Andyelsey]

I am going to try swopping the rear shocks around as soon as i get a chance, see if the knocking moves to the other side.

[wintrading]

i think i know what it is!!!!! But if my english is not correct sorry, that is because i come from amsterdam the netherlands. I think it is because of the silentblocks. The connection of the shocks with the chassis. Hope you know what i mean. They wear out very fast. Better to replace them with rose joints. But if you do not want to do that buy new silent blocks push them in the shocks and i think problem will be solved. But after a while they start to wear out again. Very cheap to do it yourself. You will notice that handling will be better too. I threw away the Bilstein shocks and bought Intrax shocks with rose joints. Problem solved.

[Andyelsey]

Thanks i will check them when i remove the shocks.

[5ltr-chim]

I had this - knocking over pot holes and bumps.

Got fed up sitting behind someone - gave it a little wellie and .....


What had happened was the shock had actually broken where it goes through the top retainer for the spring (common problem) - mounting was still nice and firm so nothing obvious and a quick look showed nothing wrong.

What I caused was the spring to twist and subsequently the tyre now rubbed on the inside of the arch!..

I was lucky - this I've been told is not uncommon and some have had some real horrors as a result.

Check it carefully - hope it's something minor..

[heliox]

Andyelsey said:

I have a strange knocking noise that sems to come from the near side rear suspension of my Chimaera. I have checked all the pivot bolts and looked for anything that might be loose but it all looks to be OK. I have what look like bilstein shocks, yellow with yellow springs. Anybody had the same problem, i read one of the other contributors, herbie hammer, was "going to get the knocking shocks sorted". Is this a well known problem?

check its not the boot and or catches first before you remove anything.

h

[andyelsey]

Heliox, thanks but i checked and adjusted the boot lid and made sure the petrol tank and spare wheel were tight and that there wasnt anything else in the boot that could rattle.

[andyelsey]

Hi all,

Removed rear shocks and checked them for obvous breakage etc. but they looked ok so i put them back on opposite sides. the knocking noise is still there and still seems to be from the near side. going to check the diff mountings next. thanks for all your help, i'll keep you posted.

[ntel]

Andy, While your checking the diff bushes also check that all four of the socket head machine screws that fix the rear of the diff to the chasis are tight. All mine at one point, were hanging out. Its an easy job to do although a bit tight. You will need an 8mm allen key in a 3/8" drive rachet. If you find they are loose then remove them one by one and put them back using some locktight thread lock or something of that ilk.

Best of luck

[andyelsey]

Thanks, i'll check them at the weekend if i get time

[andyelsey]

Getting very frustrated now. Spent a couple of hours crawling about underneath the back suspension with a handful of spanners and couldnt find anything loose. Even tried tapping varius parts of the suspension and diff assembly with a rubber mallet and looked for movement in all the bushes using a pry bar.
I dont know where to look next, the knocking noise must be something under/behind the fuel tank although i have looked behind the panel above the tank where the sender is.

Thanks for all the suggestions, i have tried them all.

I'll keep you posted

[wilko001]

in my limited knowledge of these cars, do they have roll bar drop links anywhere? everytime I've had the same sort of noise in previous cars it's been them.

Just a thought, i am probably way off.

[Andyelsey]

Yes they do have drop links but they seem tight. maybe i'll disconnect them and remove the anti roll bar just to see if that is the problem

[joospeed]

isn't this just the valving in the dampers? well documented on here ..

does it go slightly quieter after you've driven a few miles and got the damper oil warm?

if so nothing to worry about ..

[Andyelsey]

Yeah i suppose it could be, i test it, each time i have tried something new, by driving about a mile along a back road just near where i live. i'll take it for a longer distance tonight and see if it gets quieter