Suspension noise

[gouldsborough7]

With help from other members, I thought I had just about got most of my Berli problems sussed out, but Sod's Law along came with another snag this morning.

When driving over a couple of really sunken manhole covers with the nearside wheels, a noise I can only describe as 'crashing' was apparent. No problem at all with more ordinary potholes and bumps. I have had a problem in keeping the nearside tie-bar nuts tight, and high on my list of 'things to do' (probably next week )is to replace the bushes and improve the locking of the nuts, plus make sure the wheelbase measures OK on both sides of the car.

It would be nice to know if I my diagnosis is correct, or could something else make such a loud dramatic noise? I would add that this only happened in direct sympathy with hitting these duff manhole covers, with the remainder of my journey being quite quiet in this direction. I could not simulate the noise when bouncing the suspension at a standstill.

Cheers
Mike

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Suspension noise

Check sump and exhaust for shiny marks or dents. Failing that see the post on gearbox and propshaft / chassis contact.

Check the upper bumpstops are there. Theoretically, without these, the tyre just might catch a bit of chassis or body.

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Suspension noise

Thanks, Dane
I plan to go around the car looking for something loose or missing. Don't think the noise is road contacting the underneath. Sounds more like the noise when door is slammed. Anyway, another little job to add to never ending list! The fun of kit-cars etc.

[gouldsborough7]

Re: Suspension noise

Just to update you, that I believe my problem has been cured. Reluctantly, I entrusted the task to my local village garage. I provided them with a new gearbox mounting, which by itself would not have caused any grief for me to fit. The main problem was to get the car high enough into the air to be able to inspect all of the gaps around gearbox & engine.

My diagnosis after one particularly noisy journey was that the propshaft was banging some part of the chassis or other metalwork below. The garage confirmed this, and experimented with spacers when fitting the mounting. The boss did offer to obtain a secondhand hydraulic hoist for me at an estimated £1,000, knowing that I only had a domestic single garage. Nice idea, but daft!

Cheers
Mike