hello! driving my 2f the other day when i heard a knocking noise coming from the front right (i think ) i could feel it sightly on my pedal too,

it only seems to be at about 35mph on a normal surfaced road cant hear any difference going around corners.

the first thing i thought of was the weight on the drive shaft but that's nice and tight.

secondly thought top mounts now there is a slight gap no huge but there is one so i jacked up front end gave the wheel a wobble and this did seem to have a little play could this be making quite a loud noise whilst driving?

the wheel shouldnt have any play

have you checked the wheel nuts?

yeah wheel nuts are fine it had 4 brand new tires fitted the day before and i watched them do them up to torque the whole strut leg seems to move with a little wiggle when jacked up would this be top mounts? only started the last 2 days

have you actualy checked the nuts though? you often get a reminder on the bill to check after 50 miles - so it can happen

otherwise yeah top mounts can wear , or the ball joint , have a good wriggle and see where its moving , but if its only happened sinse the tyre center then that points towards the nuts

ok mate cheers i will check now whilst I've got ten mins left on break at work

you may have been on to something there dude the front right were the knocking was coming from the nuts was not exactly tight i could move them with ease but the other 3 were good so hopefully on way home i dont hear anything again! cheers man was the obvious thing to check really

good stuff

if i ever hear the slighest of knocks /clonks i always pull over and check the nuts , for the sake of 5 mins its well worth it

hopefully that's it man cheers again

There are loads of possibilities on these!

First to check would be the hub bottom pinch bolts. This clamps the ball joint. I say first, because i've had the joint pop out on two occasions in the past (once in 2004 and once in 2009, different cars), and the result is usually an accident - left the road in '04 and skidded into the central reservation in '09. The only damage both times was to the wing arch, where the tyre crushed it. This can also damage the hub, as the balljoint pin is stronger than the steel the hub's made of, so even if you catch it before it sends you off the road, you may still need a new hub. This has also happened to me once (the correct bolt type is essential - 12.9 shore, threadless for at least the first 20mm).

However, you can rule any of this out, because signs of this only happens when turning from one side to another - as the ARB load pushes and pulls on the balljoint vertically.

It could also be the balljoint itself, of course.

Other vertical ones are the top mounts and the dampers. The top mounts are already subject of your attention. This issue is terribly common on these, an absolute answer is to use Fiat Punto bladeback top caps as i've said in countless topics on the subject before, might put it as my profile signature..

The dampers, well that's just a case of tightening the damper retaining caps down on the struts (inside the spring). Too much and you can damage the thread, though. If the dampers are just too short, then a washer can be placed between damper and cap (this washer has to be circa M20). Some people throw a 2p coin down the strut so the damper is jacked up, but as the seat is dished and coins are soft, it can require periodic tightening.

If it's happening with acceleration/braking then it's most likely the track control arms,(if not the ball joint itself). The outer bushes wear relatively rapidly on these, not the best design. Then there are the ARB mounts, but they'd have to be completely shot to be noisy, unless the bolts are loose. If the inner track arm bushes are worn, then the arm can foul the chassis, causing a thumping noise, but again, the bush would have to be long past it.

If the noise is more of a rattling, then it's almost certainly loose brake pads. This sounds worse than it is - they won't go anywhere, they'll just be missing a shim.

It was just the wheel nuts! The garage didn't tourqe them up all bolts were finger tight! Nasty man