Knocking noise from rear wheel

Mistral001

I have a 14 year old Citroen Xsara which over the last 6 months has developed a knocking noise which appears to come from the rear hub or bearing.

I know that the model can have problems with the rear suspension bearing where the trailing arm fits into the rear beam that goes from one rear wheel to the other. However, I am fairly sure that it is not that. It recently passed its MOT by the way.

When the car is jacked up at the offending wheel, there is a slight drag on the wheel when it is turned, unlike the other rear wheel which spins freely. My thoughts are that it might be a bearing problem, but it does not sound like the grinding noise you usually get with failed bearings (I know what they sound like as I have had replace a bearing in a Ford Escort I once had).


Has anybody got any thoughts on this?

scooby088

Could it be the suspention spring that has broken, that could be the cause of the rattle.

Mistral001

scooby088 wrote: »

Could it be the suspention spring that has broken, that could be the cause of the rattle.

The rear suspension has not got traditional helical springs but torsion bars. However, the torsion bars could have a problem. They are quite different from a normal spring - just a 4 foot long bar which twists.

EdGasket

Does it have drop links connecting to the anti-roll bar? They knock when going along a bumpy road at around 30mph when worn.

AdrianC

I'd be looking at damper bushes first.

Norman_Castle

Regular or irregular knocking?. Any movement at the wheel when jacked up?. Irregular knocking could be a mount between the torsion bar and body. Also check the spare tyre is secure.

Mistral001

EdGasket wrote: »

Does it have drop links connecting to the anti-roll bar? They knock when going along a bumpy road at around 30mph when worn.

I do not think there are drop links. I will have a better look tomorrow when I take off the wheel.

Mistral001

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Regular or irregular knocking?. Any movement at the wheel when jacked up?. Irregular knocking could be a mount between the torsion bar and body. Also check the spare tyre is secure.

The mounts at the torsion bars could be the source of the problem. They are a bit hard to inspect as the are in tight to the trailing arms. I will have a better look tomorrow.


the spare wheel was the first place I looked, but thanks for the suggestion I will have another look to be sure.

Mistral001

AdrianC wrote: »

I'd be looking at damper bushes first.

To be honest I am putting off taking off the damper and having a good look at the bushes as it involves a lot of crawling about under the car as the rear exhaust section has to be removed as far as I know. The damper bushes look OK and the car passed its MOT, but it might come down to those being the problem in the end.

arcon5

Never had a rear end clunk that was a damper bush tbh. Usually drop links