knocking noise??

Topic: knocking noise?? (Read 3892 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #15 – May 12, 2005, 02:52:37 PM

I am having the same exact problem as you, flipnbird. 86 Cougar 5.0. I have recently replaced the struts, sway bar bushings and links, passenger side balljoint (was told driver's side is fine), and motor mounts. Also got an alignment done a few weeks ago. I can easily hear it when I hit a rough patch or when I am slowing down to stop at a light. It sounds like something is loose underneath and is rattling around and hitting the driver's side floor. I had it up on a lift and mechanic told me everything looked ok underneath, but there is definately something going on under there. I think the springs might still be original, but I don't see anything wrong with them visually. Can't figure this one out. :disappoin

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #16 – May 13, 2005, 06:22:04 AM

well if one of us figures it out, let the other one know !! i am going to crawl back under mine tonight and take another look see.

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #17 – May 16, 2005, 04:08:52 PM

Will do. Good luck! Let me know how it goes

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #18 – May 18, 2005, 10:24:47 AM

Quote from: flipnbird

is there any way to visually, manually check the ball joints while up on stands

the stock ball joint has a little button or nipple in the center on the bottom side where the grease fitting is normally located.

i forget how it goes but someone will straighten me out.

here is the deal from what i remember.
if the center is FLUSH with the ball joint,, the ball joint is bad.

if the center is still sticking out,, its good.

this only applies to the sealed units (greaseless)

____________________
yep,, if its flush, then they are bad, just looked it up for you..see pic

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #19 – May 18, 2005, 10:15:34 PM

my TC makes that noise also but my sway bar bushings are gone..... so theres my noise replacing them tomorrow will let you know if it solves my problem

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #20 – May 18, 2005, 10:16:02 PM

could it be a bad strut?

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #21 – May 18, 2005, 10:19:42 PM

Quote from: jcassity

Ball joint replacement

jack up car in the center of the control arm (spring location)
slide jack stand in towards the outter part of the control arm
jack stand should be in close proximity to the ball joint but not in the way.
lower jack onto jack stand
remove wheel
remove caliper and tie up with wire to keep stress off hose
remove rotor (dust cap, cotter pin, adjustment nut,outter bearing)
the inner bearing and rotor seal will stay put
pull rotor off now
remove tie rod end (cotter pin and castle nut)
back tie rod end nut off till flush with the top threads
hammer downward to dislodge it
finish removing castle nut and lower out tie rod end slid out of the way
*notice the compression still on the big spring
*you are ok as long as the jack stand remains on the outter part of the conrol arm
remove strut bolts and lightly hammer strut out of place and swing out of the way
Pivit spindal assy outwards remove the keeper bolt
you may have to spread out the s with a flat head/hammer
lift up and remove the hub/spindal assy
use a hammer to knock straight down on the ball joint.
hammer on the ball joint stud as well as the control arm sides
eventually it will come out.

install ball joint---
relocate jack to balljoint area
*notice the lip on the ball joint where the seat is
*notice how thick your control arm metal is (hole where ball joint goes)
place balljoint up in hole
jack up your jack under the balljoint to apply some presure
your control arm will move up just slightly (about 3/4'')
inspect and make sure the balljoint is started by hand evenly around the seat
use a hammer to tap around the outter part of the control arm downwards
this will start to seat the balljoint
your control arm will lower as you do this
you may need to jack up on the ball joint a little bit more to get some tension
continue hammering around on the contol arm till you see the ball joint is seated
inspect the underside of the control arm to verify this
install spindal,strut,rotor,caliper,tierod end, ect ect and your done.

you dont need any special tools to do this.

just wanted to put in my advice on removing tie rod ends... DO NOT... hammer down on the bolt or the nut.. smack the side of the housing the tie rod will fall right out.. if it doesnt fall witht he first hit.. hit it harder or get a bigger hammer. this method is much better and wont bang up your threads. thanks :D

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #22 – May 19, 2005, 09:11:32 AM

With my car, it has to be something other than a strut, sway bar link or bushing, and tie rod end because I just replaced the struts and sway bar stuff and also recently had an alignment done. I figure they would have said something if one of the tie rod ends was bad.

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #23 – May 19, 2005, 09:31:53 PM

replaced the swaybar busings on my TC today and my nocing noise went away, if I were you I would crawl under there and see whats loose.. jack up your front wheels one at a time and grab both sides and move them back and forth if there is any looseness at all replace your tie rod ends. hope you find what it is Graham

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #24 – May 22, 2005, 11:51:33 AM

good morning guys, just now got another chance to get up under her, checked my ball joints buy the diagram ya'll gave me,and yes the little nipple is flush with the joint, might be sticking out a 1/32 so i'm figuring this is probably my noise so this next weekend will be my first chance to give jcassity's removal plan a shot. thanks again for all the reply's, if there is any more ways to remove them let me know, again thanks

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #25 – May 23, 2005, 01:31:33 PM

read my message above for a good hint :D

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #26 – May 23, 2005, 11:49:54 PM

It is possible it could be the ball joint. But from my experence it almost always turns out to be the sway bar end link. I've had this happen on three cars. The endlink is attached to the sway bar and looks to be attached to the a-arm. But look at the underside of the A-arm and check to see if the very bottom nut is still there. On the 3 cars that I had like this you couldn't tell until you got under the A-arm to check that bottom nut. The best way to check your ball joints is to jack up the car and pu it on stands. Then take you floor jack and jack up the A-arm about 1/8"-1/4" then check to see if you have any play in the ball joint by grasping the tire at the top and bottom and trying to move you hands back and forth. You have to supprt the A-arm because if you don't the springs will put pressure on the joint and you won't be able to tell if it good or not. Also I had a ball joint that was more toast than I would admitt to and it never made a sound. I found the ball joint problem when I was installing my bushing kit and put in 2 new ball joints. I also had both front springs that were broken and they never made a sound. I would still stand by my first sugestion and say that its the sway bar end link bottom nut is missing. This causes the sway bar end link bolt to slam down on the A-arm until it gets into the hole that is goes in. hope this helps

Re: knocking noise??

Reply #27 – May 24, 2005, 01:11:41 PM

thanks for your input stuckman, i checked my endlinks this past weekend for broken link or any movement(was none) but never really checked to see if the bottom nut was still there, i will check that and your ball joint check hopefully tonight( got 2 kids to watch while my wife is at work). got two new tie rod ends sitting in the garage might go ahead and try to get them on also, thanks again for all the help, Joe