Freelander 1 Horrid clunking noise from front. Now with added sound!

flanagaj said:

@Alibro - When you removed your strut could you see anything wrong with it?

Reason I ask is that mine all looks fine and the only thing I notice is that if I retract the piston the whole way and then press the piston in, the first 10mm of travel happens with no resistance and then I feel / hear the fluid causing resistance.

I think I read on here somewhere that is not correct.

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Your strut sounds knackered to my. There shouldn't much free play and the piston should rise when it's been pushed in.

Nodge68 said:

Your strut sounds knackered to my. There shouldn't much free play and the piston should rise when it's been pushed in.

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The piston doesn't rise when pushed in, but if I extend it right out, turn the unit upside down and pushed the unit down. There is a flat spot of ~10mm before the piston started to resist.

The piston should rise on OE shocks as they are gas pressurised. You were given incorrect information earlier. Oh and the shocks shouldn't be operated upside down as it draws air into the oil.

Nodge68 said:

The piston should rise on OE shocks as they are gas pressurised. You were given incorrect information earlier.

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I did think that was the case. How can you tell if they are gas pressured as this one feels like it's oil filled as you can hear what sounds like fluid when you push the piston in?

Nodge68 said:

Oh and the shocks shouldn't be operated upside down as it draws air into the oil.

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:-O Oops. I just took it for a spin and the clunk has disappeared. Now that could be the temperature, but it could also be (fingers crossed) that it was the shock to strut contact causing the noise. I am going to wait and see if the noise returns.

flanagaj said:

I did think that was the case. How can you tell if they are gas pressured as this one feels like it's oil filled as you can hear what sounds like fluid when you push the piston in?

:-O Oops. I just took it for a spin and the clunk has disappeared. Now that could be the temperature, but it could also be (fingers crossed) that it was the shock to strut contact causing the noise. I am going to wait and see if the noise returns.

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All Freelander struts are oil filled as this is what does the damping. However they also have a pressurised gas in there too. This keeps the oil from frothing as the piston rises and falls. This keeps the shock working at a constant rate, regardless of temperature.

Maybe your top mount is knocking and fitting it in a different position has eliminated the slack it had?

Nodge68 said:

All Freelander struts are oil filled as this is what does the damping. However they also have a pressurised gas in there too. This keeps the oil from frothing as the piston rises and falls. This keeps the shock working at a constant rate, regardless of temperature.

Maybe your top mount is knocking and fitting it in a different position has eliminated the slack it had?

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Do they all have gas struts?

wammers said:

Do they all have gas struts?

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Yes. From the factory they do.

Nodge68 said:

Yes. From the factory they do.

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Ok but there are after market units that do not appear to be gas struts. Are shown compressed and have no retaining clip. It would of course not be normal if a gas strut stayed compressed. But lack of gas would not cause a knock. More than likely top mount.

You still struggling with this wammers???
I had exactly the same noise last week... found the front wishbone rear nut (into the rubber bush and alloy housing) wasn't tight enough.. after loosening it and whacking it up with the gun, the noise has gone.... I trust you have tried the rear bushes nut?? (Same size as wheel nuts iirc)

xpuser8334 said:

You still struggling with this wammers???
I had exactly the same noise last week... found the front wishbone rear nut (into the rubber bush and alloy housing) wasn't tight enough.. after loosening it and whacking it up with the gun, the noise has gone.... I trust you have tried the rear bushes nut?? (Same size as wheel nuts iirc)

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No not struggling at all what makes you think that? 99% of knocks on Mcpherson struts will be the top mount.

wammers said:

Ok but there are after market units that do not appear to be gas struts. Are shown compressed and have no retaining clip. It would of course not be normal if a gas strut stayed compressed. But lack of gas would not cause a knock. More than likely top mount.

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Some aftermarket struts aren't gas for sure. That's why I said factory struts. The factory Delphi strut has been known to knock on occasion. I've stripped one such knocking strut, finding the piston loose on the shaft.
The top mount bearing can also cause knocking, as can a multitude of other things.

I'll keep an ear out to see if the noise returns. Reluctant to replace the struts on a whim as I am looking at +£200 for a pair of quality ones.

flanagaj said:

@Alibro - When you removed your strut could you see anything wrong with it?

Reason I ask is that mine all looks fine and the only thing I notice is that if I retract the piston the whole way and then press the piston in, the first 10mm of travel happens with no resistance and then I feel / hear the fluid causing resistance.

I think I read on here somewhere that is not correct.

Click to expand...

My strut looked fine and seemed to rise fine when compressed. That's why I refitted it hoping that greasing everything in sight might make a difference. Unfortunately it still rattled. I also had days where you could barely hear it and others when it was very noisy.
I thought £40 for a used one from a scrappy wasn't too bad.

wammers said:

No not struggling at all what makes you think that? 99% of knocks on Mcpherson struts will be the top mount.

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My mistake. .. I thought this was an age old ongoing thread.. where I commented before ... I apologise... it must have been another similar thread I remember from the beginning of this year.... hope you get it sorted though..

The top mount bearing was all fine and rotated very smoothly. The top mount rubber was a little loose and had a degree of lateral movement. Not sure if that is correct or an indication it needs replacing?

The knock is back. Nothing all summer and now it's back with a vengeance :-(

Sorry to reopen it, but if anyone who hasn't read through has any pointers, please comment. Replacing struts on a whim might be costly if it does not fix the issue.

So far, lower wishbones, arb linkages, arb bushes have all been replaced.

Used shocks from a low miles K series with a dead engine won't be too expensive.
It's not a whim if you've already gone through all the other options and lots of others are saying they had the same issue.

Alibro said:

Used shocks from a low miles K series with a dead engine won't be too expensive.
It's not a whim if you've already gone through all the other options and lots of others are saying they had the same issue.

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Fair point. Temp has warmed up a bit and the noise has gone. Eurocar parts have a 30% off weekend and can get a pair of Sachs for £183 inc VAT so I think I'll just go for that option.

Ok, Good luck with it. You might need drop links and tre's as well unless you're very lucky and they come out in one piece.

flanagaj said:

Fair point. Temp has warmed up a bit and the noise has gone. Eurocar parts have a 30% off weekend and can get a pair of Sachs for £183 inc VAT so I think I'll just go for that option.

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Did swaping the shocks work then?