good evening all
would like some advice from all you clever cloggs out there when it comes to suspension
i tried my hand (with some friends) at some suspension work on my car. The adjustable top mounts had been put in the wrong way by a friend who recently swapped my struts and springs for some new ones (fronts only) because the old ones were leaking badly.
We did it over a 2 day period, starting with the passenger side first. No problems what so ever, took it for a drive and no sounds.
As we started on the drivers side the next day we found it difficult to removed the ARB link because as we were trying to loosen the retaining bolt, the thread was moving with the bolt. In the end some pliars on hte back and some perseverance got it off. Next obstacle was taking the pinch bolt out from the back and trying to get the strut out. It looked like we wouldve had to get the the driveshaft out, because as we were pulling the strut down with a bar round the back opening up the gap the driveshaft was stopping on the ARB. without wanting to do any further damage, i thought id just adjust the top mount and put it back in place. We put the strut in as far down as it would go and put the bolt in around the back. When it came to putting the ARB link in, we found it difficult tightening it back up. We managed to do it, dont get me wrong... We never got it tightened up to spec.
After putting the wheel back on and dropping it i took it for a drive. Going over gentle turbulance in the road (minor pot holes, crevices and what not) i found it knocking slightly... however on some it wouldnt knock :S sort of intermittant... Seems to be coming from the drivers side mostly but at some points i can hear it coming from both. Another thing worth noting from this is that my drivers side is slightly higher than my passenger side at the front whilst both struts are wound all the way down and tightened too (we're talking about a few mm but is noticeable to me)
Had a 4 wheel alignment done so ive got everything up to spec and the sound is still there. Im reluctant to touch anything for a little while now as cash is not readily available with having a few imminent big spends. The questions i would like help answering are as follows
What could be the cause of this knocking?
If its the ARB links, would i be able to change them myself without altering the tracking in any way or would this be better left to a competant mechanic?
Why would my car by slightly higher on the drivers side than the passengers at the front? could the ARB link have anything to do with this?
any assistance would be much appreciated. I would like point out that im not mechanically minded at all so sorry if any or all of my post sounds completley stupid. Many thanks
