strange noises

norsened · Post by **norsened** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:55 pm

Right. I have a BX14 TGE which has only done 60,000 miles and is in a very fetching shade of blue. I have recently switched from the safe haven of 2cv ownership and am suffering a little from BX fear.
My car has developed over the last 6 months a series of strange knocks and rattles and I am not sure whether this is normal behaviour.
The first noise is a rattle from the exhaust/engine that is not unlike a baffle rattle but when I knocked the exhaust baffle area there were no replies of rattles from inside the pipe, so this has me stumped and worried.
The second and more alarming noise seems to be coming from the nearside rear suspension. Every time I hit a bump in the road there is a nasty knock/clank from the rear suspension. I have new spheres and apart from a creaky front strut the car rises and falls smoothly and without much effort so I am stumped on this one and a little worried that it is an expensive fault.
The car is otherwise in good working order and apart from the lack of power steering I am very happy. Phew.

Any advice? It would be lovely to hear of a simple cure.

Ben.

Barnsley BXer · Post by **Barnsley BXer** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:58 pm

Second noise seems like arm bearings.Does the wheel lean in at the top?

norsened · Post by **norsened** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:17 pm

Yes having just looked it appears that both rear wheels lean in at the top though confusingly the offside one leans in more than the left.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:27 pm

Could the first problem be an exhaust rubber mounting come loose or missing? When it`s cold (or using good gloves if hot) give the tail pipe a good swing from side to side and listen out for any clonking around.

norsened · Post by **norsened** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:15 pm

Thanks, I'lll try giving the exhaust a shake but I know that the rear mount has just been re-welded so it shouldn't be that one.

If both my rear arm bearings have gone is this an expensive fault?
You must consider that I am not hugely mechanically minded and just about got my head around a 2cv so any work that needs doing will probably be Garage based.
Should I give the car up and opt for a TZD, or am I better off where I am?

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:26 pm

norsened wrote: Should I give the car up and opt for a TZD, or am I better off where I am?

1) A TZD will need to have it's arm bearings operated on also at some point.

2} Taxwise you are better off where you are with the 14

Terry Brooks · Post by **Terry Brooks** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:45 pm

Way2go wrote:
norsened wrote: Should I give the car up and opt for a TZD, or am I better off where I am?
1) A TZD will need to have it's arm bearings operated on also at some point.

2} Taxwise you are better off where you are with the 14

A TZD will give you better economy [more mpg] than your 2CV did.
Just had one rear bearing done on my TZD ....£100 .......at a local independant specialists ........my advice is ,if they both need doing .....do 'em.
HTH
Terry
'88 2CV6 [33years a 2CV driver]
'92 BXTZD [2.5years a BX Driver]
.........and I love 'em both to bits

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:16 pm

The exhaust noise could be that the exhaust pipe / maniflod joint is stressing the system - also worth looking for any heat shields etc or even gear linkage that could be touching - engine mounts as well.

Is the rear subframe mounted securely?

DLM · Post by **DLM** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 1:23 pm

IF it's the rear arm bearings I'd probably expect some of the following:

(1) Vagueness in directional stability on motorways and other long straight roads (fishtailing - due to unintentional rear-wheel steer).

(2) Quite possibly a clunk or sharp cracking noise when getting into the car.

(3) A lot of bump-steer if you hit a significant bump during a corner. My way into work on a former job used to have a beautiful example....

(4) In bad cases, some squeaking/scraping noises from rear suspension under normal travel.

On the other hand, rear arms bearings/roller cages can disintegrate internally due to corrosion and not give many clues. Best way to provoke them is to load the rear of the car heavily and drive around with the load for several days. You may not wish to do this though...

Identify the problem fist, then take remedial action. Incidentally, a TZD with ABS may prove more difficult to fix the rear arms on if you want to obtain and prepare a new rear arm first to minimise down-time - the ABS rear arms are rarer.

Mr B · Post by **Mr B** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:26 pm

The rear clonk could be the anti roll bar, the clamps can come loose.

norsened · Post by **norsened** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:04 am

My thanks for all the advice.

I have booked the car in to be given a quick check up. I suspect the rear suspension needs doing but as for the exhaust rattle I am beggining to fear it may be coming from inside the engine itself.

One more thing; my car is extremely heavy to steer, is this a common feature of BX 14's or am I noticing a symptom of the broken arm bearings?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:36 am

Rear arm bearing wear may make the car wander all over the place but won't make it heavy to steer.

1st thing to look at is the front tyres - are they at the correct pressure - Citroen tend to recommend high pressures (when compared to similar cars) so I won't suggest blowing them up a couple of pounds more.

Secondly - are the fronts worn? Worn tyres make the steering considerably heavier than new.

If all this is OK - jack the thing up with both front wheels clear of the road and see how tight the steering is. If its stiff it may be that one or more of the sealed joints (ball joints, bottom swivel joints) has dried out. You can get a hollow needle with a grease nipple on it from Draper (look at their website - no-one carries it) and push that through the rubber boots and give the joints a shot of grease which may free them up.

The rack itself may be stiff - or the column bearings seized or come out of place.

That should keep you busy for a couple of hours!