Ball joints, wishbones and drop links

[scarecrow]

Only if you can think up another imaginative use for them…you need 2 in total, 1 per side! I'm confused though - did you actually get the BJs from GSF as AEP only list the Lemforder type?

Thanks Mat. I was just reading a topic on BXP about having to replace a bottom balljoint - my mind immediately thought there must be a top one as well, otherwise why call it a bottom balljoint ?

I think I was looking at both sites, but decided on AEP as they did the drop links as well. Duh!

Okay - just wish I could have got the engine speed sensor before tomorrow, but it can wait until another time.

Cheers

[scarecrow]

Had the BJ's and d-links done tonight and the front underneath is still a rattling and a clonking. What else should I be checking, please???

[MULLEY]

Have you checked the subframe bolts, they can come loose over time, did you get the work done by a garage? did they give you any ideas of what it might be?

[scarecrow]

The work was done by a friend - but I was there and the job went fairly easily. There was a VERY big hammer involved at one stage which made me wince a bit

Would the subframe bolts make a noise like clinking a couple of spanners together? Though that may explain one of the clonks when I go around certain corners. Whereabouts are the subframe bolts? Are there back ones too?

Thanks
Steve

[MULLEY]

The front one's can be accessed by lifting up the carpet in the front footwells & you will have to remove the wheels to get at them. There's 2 bolts, one is self tapping if thats the right word, the other one in the inside footwell needs to be held in place to be tightened. I hope i've made sense. No idea where the rear subframe bolts are tbh.

If you try those 1st its an easy fix if they are loose & it'll cost nothing either. If that doesn't cure the problem can you desribe the type of noise you can hear & when it happens e.g. going over a large rut or bump etc...

[scarecrow]

The clinking spanners noise happens over rough surfaces (like cobbles) and the clonking seems to happen over potholes/speed bumps and the like.

I've just had a thought - check in the engine bay parcel shelf to see if a few spanners have been left in there The clinking noise is much louder outside the car than in - whereas the opposite is true for the clonking. I can't really feel anything loose whilst I'm driving...

[MULLEY]

Possibly noisey strut(s) regarding the clonking sound? no idea about the clinking sound. Try the subframe bolts 1st.

[scarecrow]

okay ta. I thought struts too - bloody hope not!

[sdelasal]

Steve - have a general look around the engine bay from below and above and give each pipe/hose/tube/cable a wiggle to see if it secured. For example, I've found one hose which was knocking on the air filter box - causing a tapping noise. Steve

[scarecrow]

Thanks Steve - just had a quick glance under the bonnet and there were a number of items loose, but I don't believe any of them could make the kind of noises I'm hearing and feeling.

[Brian]

Check that all your wheel bolts are tight !!!

[Linegeist]

Check your brake pads aren't rattling in the carriers.

[mountainmanUK]

Another thought on the clonking.
Could the balance weight on the clutch cable be coming into contact with anything? My BX did that when I first got her, and a badly-routed clutch cable was the cause.

Clinking.....rattly heat shield on exhaust manifold? Perhaps even a loose end on a Ligarex strap somewhere? (Driveshaft gaiters??)

I'm just guessing really, but using examples of things which have caused similar noises on my BX's.

[mat_fenwick]

Oooh, oooh, can I have a guess too? Is it a woodpecker stuck inside the airbox trying to get out?

[Defender110]

Is Oscar still in there trying to fix it????