Intermittent rattle from front drivers side

[Azazl187]

02 plate EP3 that has done 130k. As title says, I'm getting an intermittent rattle coming from the front drivers side that I can hear when the car is driving forward. It can be at any speed. It sounds a bit like the front drop links have gone, they are only a year old but I replaced them anyway. The rattle still exists.

It's like something has come loose and it rattles around for a bit before it kind of settles and then it comes back. Almost like it needs the right kind of jolt to set it off.

It doesn't sound like plastic or something from the engine or gear box.

Ideas please peeps

 

[Azazl187]

Viewed 73 times and no ideas at all?! . So i decided to replace my anti roll bar bushes with some polyurethane ones and what a difference this has made to the handling, these are so easy to replace and at 30 quid for some decent bushes i encourage everyone to make this change if your car has done over 100k. The rattle hasent happened yet either on my short drive to work.

One thing i did notice that someone maybe able to help me with.... While checking the rubber gators around the suspension struts i noticed that on the right side where the rattle is coming from there seems to be a loose ring around the suspension strut... I can push it up and down the strut easily through the gator. If i go to the other side of the car and check the same thing on the passenger side strut there is nothing that i can move about.

Any idea what this is guys?

Thanks

 

[jizzy]

Sounds like the bump stop has come adrift

 

[Azazl187]

That sounds perfectly feasible. Any ideas on how to fix it?

 

[jizzy]

Remove shocker
Use spring clamp to clamp spring, remove top mount & bumpstop, replace bump stop & rebuild

 

[Azazl187]

What will stop the new bump stopper from doing the same thing? Dont they just need refixing? What stops them normally moving around up and down the suspension shocker?

 

[jizzy]

Its suppose to be connected to a rubber section that sits inside the top mount

 

[Azazl187]

So they are supposed to be in the top of the strut? I wonder if it will just push back up in there..... I have poly bushes at the front and camber bolts so removing the front suspension is a pain in the backside.

 

[jizzy]

It will just fall down again & again & again

 

[Azazl187]

and again?.... . Alright ill take the dam thing apart and replace them on both sides. I think ill replace the whole shock as they have had 130k through them now....

 

[jizzy]

Only replace the shocks if they are knocking or have lost the gas/fluid
Just replace the bumpstops