Strange noise from car after repair, cause unknown...

SeduLOUs

Hi,

I had a driver side spring snap on me almost two months back, and on advice from the garage with age of car/condition of other side I had both front springs replaced and wheel balancing done at National.

Two weeks later, a strange knocking sound was coming from the front passenger side. I can only describe the noise as the kind of sound you'd get if you were shaking a small heavy object around in a small wooden box. The noise was quite loud, constant when driving, and particularly aggressive over bumps. Took it back to National, left the car with them as they were a bit busy, and later that day got a nice quiet car back with no charge and the explanation that "something was a bit loose, we've tightened it". I don't know what the "something" was, but as it was fixed I went home.

About 4 more weeks later the noise has returned. I took it to National today. They took it for a spin, heard the noise, and put the car on the ramp. 15 minutes later he tells me that there is no play in any of the parts, that they have done an MOT standard test on the parts, and that the car is mechanically safe but they cannot identify the source of the noise.

The most important thing to me is the safety of the car, and I only feel slightly reassured that they have checked it out and said it all looks OK. The noise is quite loud, distracting and irritating, but most importantly I can't shake the feeling that something is about to fly off my car.

What should I do?

Should I go back to National and insist they find the source of the noise? Should I take the car elsewhere to see if someone else can identify it? If so, if there is a charge, what are the chances of me being able to get National to pay (assuming that the noise is related to the springs or their fitting)?

Obviously a severely noisy knocking car is now not very attractive should I choose to resell it. It's not a Lambo or anything, but for info it is a 56 plate Citroen C2 which is otherwise fully serviced and looked after and has passed every MOT so far without any advisorys. I do understand though that cars do not last forever!

What would you do? Should I investigate further or just accept that this is now a part of my car's personality?

Thanks for any advice.

littlerock

get a second opinion. I find ATS generally quite helpful. If it is a fault National failed to identify my inclination would be to get it done at ATS. but you may want to go back to National for a refund if it turns out to be something they should reasonably have spotted.

SeduLOUs

I'm more than happy to pay ATS/someone else if they find the source and it is unrelated to the fitting of the new springs.

I don't want to end up paying though if the noise is due to a fault with the part (which is under warranty through National) or is down to bad fitting of the part.

Maybe I'll go to an ATS without telling the full story and see if they can identify the problem. If there is work to be done that is spring related I'll take it back to National for the (free) repair rather than get it fixed elsewhere and attempt to recoup money from National.

That would seem the route of least hassle, but then I would feel bad for wasting ATS time investigating and not then giving them the work.

Having a dilemma!

Strider590

I would say the spring was replaced without replacing the rubber boot that should be around the last coil, where it makes contact with the shock absorber or top mount. The spring naturally moves as it's compressed/etc, the rubber boot stops it catching/grinding/slipping and stops the final two coild sections making contact, sometimes it can be a rubber spring plate, but the purpose is the same.

If this is the case, then it won't cause a problem, just a bit of noise.

colino

You really need this checked out by a real garage. Could be a distorted rim, loose caliper, seized caliper, knackered cv or a hundred and one other things. What it isn't going to do is self-heal.

SeduLOUs

Well, I took it round dad's house and he did a bit of bouncing on the side and from outside the noise sounds more like a creak than a knocking. We've sprayed a fair bit of WD40 on the top of the joist above the coil (under the bonnet) and it seems to have quietened down completely for now...

That is starting to make me wonder if the rubber boot is missing as pointed out by Strider (my dad suggested the same).

Feel a little bit more confident for now that nothing will be flying off but will still get it checked out at another garage ASAP to make sure.

Re calipers etc, I don't know if it makes a difference but the drive of the car feels absolutely fine and the brakes feel as sharp as ever - there were no unusual noises before the springs replacement and the noise did stop the first time National tightened 'something', and then it suddenly came back which would be unusual if it was something completely unrelated.

Thanks all.

Casey_Ryback

That assembly need to be taken apart for sure. My guess is the top mount of the shock absorber after the Strider'S guess.
The new spring will sit really well in a new rubber not the old knackered one.
As you have sprayed the top and gone silent you have localized the originating area.

Strider590

SeduLOUs wrote: »

Well, I took it round dad's house and he did a bit of bouncing on the side and from outside the noise sounds more like a creak than a knocking. We've sprayed a fair bit of WD40 on the top of the joist above the coil (under the bonnet) and it seems to have quietened down completely for now...

http://lifehacker.com/5891936/when-should-i-not-use-wd-40

WD40 is a solvent, it was designed for degreasing and displacing water on missile parts. It's NOT a lubricant at all....... In fact (once dry) it'll have opposite effect, as it'll remove grease and oils.

Many a bicycle chain has been ruined with WD40, as it stripped out the grease from within the links.

It also causes rubber parts to swell, particularly seals...... Like the ones on the shock absorbers.

I'm going to recommend that if you've been spraying WD40 all over the place, then you need to get some oil and grease back into any affected parts.

SeduLOUs

Tiny bit harsh, but thanks for the info.

Perhaps if the garage had fitted the part properly or identified the problem on returning it back to them I wouldn't be in this predicament, but lessons learned every day.

Is the spring meant to be greased anyway? Id expected that when it dries the creaking would just return - I didn't expect a permanent fix and am still intending to take to a garage when I can.

Oh well.

Strider590

SeduLOUs wrote: »

Tiny bit harsh, but thanks for the info.

Perhaps if the garage had fitted the part properly or identified the problem on returning it back to them I wouldn't be in this predicament, but lessons learned every day.

Is the spring meant to be greased anyway? Id expected that when it dries the creaking would just return - I didn't expect a permanent fix and am still intending to take to a garage when I can.

Oh well.

No, it should be clean.
My concern was purely about other parts which may have been degreased by the WD40. The stuff has a habit of creeping and spreading a long way beyond the area it is applied to.

If applying it to the spring did stop the noises, then it's almost certainly because the rubber boots or spring plates are missing.
They don't usually come supplied with the new springs and the old one's are usually too badly worn to re-use.

SeduLOUs

Well it wasn't sprayed liberally around the car, but I get your point.