[setyourselfonfire]

hey everyone,

i've just bought a ford puma - it drives great! cosmetically fine (aside from the beginning of a few rust bubbles on the rear arches), but there's one thing that appears to be troubling me.

there's a knocking sound coming from the back of the car - it was like this when i bought it. the guy who sold it to me said he thought it was the exhaust knocking. i've taken it to a local exhaust/tyres place and they can't find anything loose or wrong with it at all, apart from noticing the nearside rear wheel bearing having some play.

now, my starting questions are:

1. is there a guide/"how to" for this problem? i can get as far as getting the wheel and the cover off, but only to find a spring-covered nut. from there i am puzzled.

2. could it be something else? the noise it is making isn't akin to what a duff wheel bearing sounds like; it's more of a metallic clunking sound. the car has full service history and has had rear axle bushes done this september (by the previous owner to the tune of £550!), front offside wishbone, cambelt and clutch at 68k. the sound sometimes seems like it comes from the front of the car also.

any help would be greatly appreciated! thank you

[billy]

When does it make the knocking sound? - only going over bumps (rough road-surfaces, potholes or speed ramps?), under acceleration or braking?

[setyourselfonfire]

i'd say its usually more noticeable on rougher roads, of which there are many in nottingham; it's akin to sarajevo in some areas. it isn't really caused by anything such as acceleration or braking (unless it happens to be a rough road which exacerbates the issue!).

if it's a decent, smooth road the knocking can't be heard. it's more noticeable at B-road/slowish speeds (25-35mph?) than at a Motorway type speed. the handling is still sharp, but then i would say that as my previous car as a 1litre corsa with no PAS.

i can't imagine that this is a one-off issue - i read a short review of someone with the same knocking sound but it gave no clue to what it was remedied with.

[pumapilot]

Having had suspension work done, then i suspect that the suspension has settled in, and the mounts need tightening up

[setyourselfonfire]

ahh right! well, i'll give that a try tomorrow. sadly i'm at work tomorrow until the mid-afternoon so if its a considerably long job it may have to be on hiatus. the knocking is getting pretty annoying though! will let you know how it goes. i've wanted a puma since i was 10/11 yrs old, so it's great to finally have one as i am now 22 .

[billy]

I agree - I reckon it could be something as simple as tightening up the beam bearing bolts and checking the lower strut and top-mounting bolts. Also, if you jack the rear of the car up (not on the rear beam) and remove the road wheel, you could see if there is any slack movement in any of the strut/beam elements by trying to move them up and down by hand. This might help pinpoint the source of the problem.
I had the same knocking last year and it was knackered rear beam bushes - went away when I replaced them. Recently, I had a minor, similar knock, and it turned out to be excessive movement of the suspension strut (i.e the shock absorber and spring) due to worn rubber top mounts - the knock must have been coming from the top of the strut where it passes through the wheel arch. Straightforward and inexpensive to replace the rear rubber top mounts.
It doesn't sound like a shock/spring issue - I would start with the easy stuff like loose fixing bolts and top mount and then look at the strut components.

This post has been edited by billy: 01 March 2009 - 10:33 AM

[pumapilot]

ahh right! well, i'll give that a try tomorrow. sadly i'm at work tomorrow until the mid-afternoon so if its a considerably long job it may have to be on hiatus.

Richard and Malcolm at Tremona took under 5 minutes, using a ring spanner and a ratchet mounted allen key.

[yippeekiay]

Hi and congrats on your new Pu'.

Hope you get the knocking sorted as I'm sure the answer is in the previous posts.

[setyourselfonfire]

hey, just a quick update:

i've yet to tighten up the bits and pieces as i've been away (without my puma, i know, sacrilege) but now i'm back at work i plan to have a go this upcoming weekend. will i need to remove the interior carpet trim to get proper access to the top mounting bolts? are the other points that need examining simply accessible via removing the rear wheel? pretty much convinced that it's only the nearside that is making the knocking but i'll check both anyway. other port of call will be to get a new wheel bearing pressed into the hub. what a ballache!


for the top mounts, any idea what size ring spanner and allen key i'd need? if only there was an easy reference guide!


your help has been class, otherwise i'd still be looking for a knocking exhaust. how embarrassing.

[happy-kat]

another common knocking can be the spare wheel ir loose and/or the jack is loose in the side storage area in the boot

[setyourselfonfire]

UPDATE:

the rear suspension top mounts were tightened; this only got rid of a small amount of the noise. thanks for the tip though!


the main cause of the noise? broken offside anti-roll bar link. i sorted this a few weeks back. ford wanted £36 for one, i paid £6. boo-yaa.

thanks for all the help! if it wasn't for your help i'd still be cursed with this awful clicking sound. .

[Sex Kitten]

fantastic news you got it sorted and at a good price!

[puma2]

nice1 well done

[yippeekiay]

Result!!

I only paid £3 each for mine though...lol

Don't need them but couldn't resist buying 2 for the sake of it...ehhe.