Adjusting front shocks

Had a bad n/side front rattle, problem was solved by new shock absorber being fitted, 9 months on and i got a similar rattle from the off side, i knew it was the shock by the way the car was handling, so had another new shocker fitted, however although the handling is fine now, the rattle is still ther only a tad worse as it now knocks as well, i noticed by looking on here that the top nuts being not tight can cause this, si i just had a look, and the first thing i noticed was the allen head screw on the nearside sticks out about 15mm while the offside its only about 10mm, and when pulling on a spanner on the locknut, you can notice the rubber seal, or watever it is that sits on the mounting does try to turn slightly with the nut as its tightened, my main question is, when tightening the shock, is it the allen bolt that needs to be tight, or just the locknut?, and would the fact they stick out diferant amounts definatley mean one isn't tight enough, or is there a set adjustment for them?
Hope someone can de-cipher my waffle and possibly advise me, thanks in advance...Dave, oh and its a 98 diesel if it matters

Are the shocks the same brand? They should always be changed as a pair at the same time.

to be honest, no, they were done at diferant times by differant garages

ok, i just found a susension picture showing the components, what i thought may be an ajustment bolt would appear to be simply the top of the shock with an allen key slot to make it easier to tighten the mounting bracket, so i guess i can answer my own question by saying the "locknut" as i called it, just needs to be tight

Ironworker said:

to be honest, no, they were done at diferant times by differant garages

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Usually the allen key in the top is simply to stop the shaft turning whilst you tighten the nut (onto the top mount). The fact you have two different length threads may well be because they are different brands. I'd start by making sure both are tight and go from there. To be honest I wouldn't be running with two different brands on, but that's just my opinion!

The knocking could be the lower ball joint on the wishbone.

if i was stone deaf, i wouldn't know anything was wrong, it drives fine, doesnt pull to one side, feels totally normal, but driving on an uneven road, not particularly a bumpy one,but one with lots of patch repairs etc, and it sounds like im pulling a bunch of tin cans down the road, with the occasional deadened clunk, which seems to happen most after i stop and take my foot off the brake and the car settles back to a normal position