Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 10, 2003 Report Posted May 10, 2003 Finally tracked down a diesel Ghia fter 4 months of looking; got a Jan 2001 (2000MY) in silver. Great but for one thing: at slowish speeds (up to about 20mph) over some bumps there is a thumping noise from what appears to be the front. Have looked under the car and nothing seems loose; under the bonnet everything looks OK now (n/s hadlamp was slightly loose but I tightened the fixings and it's now OK but this didn't stop the noise). Any suggestions? TIA Quote
HJT Posted May 10, 2003 Report Posted May 10, 2003 Had the same thing on my Jan 2002 Diesel Ghia (also silver, maybe it's something to do with the colour ) Spotted this on the test drive and insisted the dealer fixed it before I collected the car, which they did. Unfortunately I don't know what was causing it but, there does seem to be an issue here, so it might be worth taking it back to the dealer. The car should still be under warranty as they came with a 3 year warranty (if the servicing is up to date and on time), so it may be covered by that. The mileage on mine was 18000 Howard Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 12, 2003 Author Report Posted May 12, 2003 Mine's done just over 17,000 miles and is 2000 model year although first reg at end of Jan 2001. Supplying dealer is an independent, not a Ford garage and they are unaware of any "routine" noisy suspension things that may need adjusting. Anyone else had these "rattles" or know what it could be? I've tried pulling/moving all the accessible suspension bits but nothing seems loose, and the noise doesn't appear at speed eg on motorway or dual carriageway. Quote
Guest FWH Posted May 13, 2003 Report Posted May 13, 2003 [FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][COLOR=blue] My Galaxy Diesel is 2000MY and had an annoying rattle when going over bumps. I tracked it down to the shield under the engine. Where it locates at the front it rests on a metal flange with rubber bump stops between, which is ok, but there is a large self tapping screw pointing downwards the point of which contacts the plastic shield under vibration. I removed the shield( 2 bolts either side and 2 nuts at the rear) and I could see an indent where the screw had contacted. Using this indent as a centre I drilled an 8mm hole through the shield to clear the screw point. The result was an instant success. :D Hope this will help Quote
Guest SA Intruder Posted May 13, 2003 Report Posted May 13, 2003 FWH means in this area here, I believe. If you push the centre area of the panel. it knocks. Not particularly well put together this area. Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 14, 2003 Author Report Posted May 14, 2003 (gulp) what's the rectangular patch - looks like a hole someone's cut with a hacksaw! I'll have to wait until the week-end before I start poking around underneath my Gal again. Quote
Guest SA Intruder Posted May 14, 2003 Report Posted May 14, 2003 This is how they are now...the panel is GRP. It looks worse because of flash on camera....! This is a 6 week old vehicle...! Quote
Guest FWH Posted May 15, 2003 Report Posted May 15, 2003 The area shown in the photograph is basically correct. If my memory serves me correctly there are two cutouts along the front edge (unable to go and look at present to confirm) which clear fixings on adjacent panel, however there is a third screw fixing which is the one where the point contacts the engine shield and causes the rattle/knock and can be rectified with the drilled hole as described earlier. I did initially tuck a piece of foam sponge between the shield and the adjacent flange, which did quieten it down, but eventually the screw pierces it over time, better to drill the hole. Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 15, 2003 Author Report Posted May 15, 2003 Got home from work early today and had a look underneath; places wadding under front of undershiedl. It's not this that's making the noise! It's quite a "thump" over some bumps and it seems to be getting worse. Grovelled under the sides of the car too but cannot find anything loose. Looks like I'll have to take it to a dealer - well, service is due now anyway. Quote
Mussey1 Posted May 16, 2003 Report Posted May 16, 2003 Similar noise described in a previous thread 'Knocking Noise'. Apparently caused by a loose radiator. Mussey1 Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 16, 2003 Author Report Posted May 16, 2003 Yes, saw that one but my rad seems securely fixed. I'll keep you posted; car booked into local Frauds on 27th May for service and investigation. Quote
Guest samson10 Posted May 17, 2003 Report Posted May 17, 2003 hi i have a 96 galaxy and had the same problem going over bumps had it checked out loads of times but never solved the problem until our local mechanic spotted the problem it was a worn tracking rod on passenger side had it changed noise gone could this solve your problem!! Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 17, 2003 Author Report Posted May 17, 2003 Interesting...I'll mention it to the garage. Got a nice letter from the first owner this morning confirming that the car has never been accident damaged and that he'd never had a problem with it, warranty or otherwise. His wife still misses it! Wonder what they changed it for??? Quote
Guest eddie mason Posted May 19, 2003 Report Posted May 19, 2003 Ive just got my 1997 tdi and it appears to have a similar metalic suspension noise. the garage i got it from had it back for 4 days to do the air con, water pump and this noise, but failed with the noise! a mechanic i use has had a look and reckons its the anti roll bar links, although slight play in them both its not an mot failure. ill let you know the result when ive got them changed. Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted May 27, 2003 Author Report Posted May 27, 2003 Well Eddie, perhaps your mechanic was right! Collected the car from service at lunchtime and the rattle/thump was the anti-roll bar links; changed under warranty. Bad news is it seems that the garage has broken the aircon when they did the service. It was all working finr before it went to them but when I turned the key to drive off, the display panel is flashing indicating a failure somewhere. Air supply seems to be cooled, fans work so is this just a coincidence or have they broken something? I'll re-post this under "garage/servicing". Ivor. Quote
Guest dshergold@refco.com Posted May 27, 2003 Report Posted May 27, 2003 Just joined the forum, was going to say my 2002 TDi had this same problem, fine at speed but "clunked" when slow over uneven road - this was the link rod and fixed under warranty - must be a common fault. Quote
Guest martinkerr Posted May 27, 2003 Report Posted May 27, 2003 i have a 95 gal, just came back from garage, knocking noise at low speeds caused by anti roll bar links, Quote
Guest SaraSeahorse Posted June 2, 2003 Report Posted June 2, 2003 mine was due to worn tracking rod prior to that the noise was due to lose steering rack (after replacement and garage has not done up properly) Quote
Guest reefer Posted June 3, 2003 Report Posted June 3, 2003 My 96 TDi had a similar noise turned out to be a worn antiroll bar link. The link between the antiroll bar and the Mcpherson strut, cost me Quote
Guest kev godwin Posted June 3, 2003 Report Posted June 3, 2003 just found this forum and excellent site, been having the same problem with my 1999 tdi. Just thanks for finally giving me some ideas to try and sort out this 'orrible knocking will eventually reply back to forum with results Quote
Guest JonathanK Posted June 16, 2003 Report Posted June 16, 2003 I have the metalic clunking noise too and have had it checked by a garage as well as having a good look myself. It's not: Roll Bar Links Track Rod end Bottom cover Loose rad The car has just passed it's mot and when it was in, they lifted the front end when it was on the lift so that all suspensions was 'loose'. Nothing. The garage suggested it might have been the rear, lower engine/gearbox mount (I thought that's why there was a square hole in the cover) but further investigation proved it wasn't that either. I don't know where to look next!! Could the roll bar lonks cause it and not show signs of wear when you push/pull them? JK Quote
Guest Boggler Posted June 16, 2003 Report Posted June 16, 2003 I had the clunk, read this thread, and even though mine had passed an MOt with the clunk replaced the roll bar drop down link, result no more clunk. Don't think you can feasibly test this with out actually taking it off as it is always under presssure, even if the vehicle is jacked up with the suspension hanging. Suggest you take the drop down link off the side with the nosie and test it. When mine was taken off it just disintegrated. Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted June 16, 2003 Author Report Posted June 16, 2003 I had waggled all the suspension bits on mine and not found the noise, but the garage (main dealer ) seemed to know straight away that it was the anti-roll bar links. Reading other postings, it seems almost certain that this is what's causing your noise, Jonathan K. What I find worrying is that they wear so badly after as little as 15,000 miles! Quote
Guest JonathanK Posted June 16, 2003 Report Posted June 16, 2003 Thanks Boggler, I guess I'll change them and hope for the best. Ivor, I think you're right. 15k is low for this kind of problem. My Seat has just turned 136k. It's a 99 T and this is the first time for changing. Thanks for the input. Jonathan Quote
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