Wonder if anyone can shed any light on this. Xantia TD with newish ball joints both sides- new droplinks and TREs turning a rh bend, weight on the N/S front wheel - horrible deep rattle I can feel through the steering wheel especially if the road is potholed or rutted. Suspected the inner TRE but when I jacked up the car and tugged the wheel in the 1/4 to 3 position there was next to no play I susepected a ball joint the last time but I had only changed it 8k miles earlier but changed it again, but the noise still remains.
Bit bamboozled really. Can something at the top of the strut cause this? There does not seem to be corrosion at the strut tops. Tried shining lights through etc.
My Cars: Citroens since 1990, BX Diesel, GTI, TZD with 1.9 TD running extra boost before it was fashionable!, ZX Volcane TD, S2 Xantia break 1.9TD, Xantia HDI 110, currently zipping about in a C2 Diesel. C2 died from the dreaded worm, C3 Picasso HDI Exclusive, the adventure continues.
I believe they are famous for rattling brake pads.
BXs since 1993 built 1.9 TZD turbo, got a S2 Xantia estate, brilliant car! 2013, Xantia HDI LX 110 2000 new car with 122,000, l C2 HDI Rusty rocket, C3 Picasso HDI new to me.
My Cars: Citroens since 1990, BX Diesel, GTI, TZD with 1.9 TD running extra boost before it was fashionable!, ZX Volcane TD, S2 Xantia break 1.9TD, Xantia HDI 110, currently zipping about in a C2 Diesel. C2 died from the dreaded worm, C3 Picasso HDI Exclusive, the adventure continues.
BXs since 1993 built 1.9 TZD turbo, got a S2 Xantia estate, brilliant car! 2013, Xantia HDI LX 110 2000 new car with 122,000, l C2 HDI Rusty rocket, C3 Picasso HDI new to me.
I have a very similar rattle on my Xantia, so I'll be watching this thread with interest.
As yet I've not had the opportunity to seriously look at the problem but it sounds/feels like a front right lower swivel joint - but if you have replaced both your lower swivel joints and the noise remains I'm not so confident in my diagnosis now...
Loose mountings on the right hand end of the steering rack was something crossed my mind, but if so it's the first I've ever heard of that happening.
Simon
1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White
2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver 1977 G Special 1129cc LHD 1978 CX 2400 1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX 1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
Unfortunately these sorts of noises can be transmitted through various bits of the car which can really throw you off the scent. The other thing, and it catches a lot out (me included) is that just because a part is new doesn't mean it's still not faulty. Without a shaker rig it's going to be difficult to pin down and you really can reproduce the forces on components when it's stationary. I've had drop links that "felt" ok but rattled on the car. There's a limited number of things it could be but still expensive to replace everything.
Saab 900s with fhe earlier front handbrake system were prone to this, especially after a few miles when the brake pad retaining pins wore into an oval rather than circular cross section.
Whether it could be felt through the steering seemed to vary between cars massively, in my case you really could. New anti-rattle spring, new slide pins and some grease on the back of the pads solved the problem for me for about a tenner.
Has to be worth a look! Does the noise disappear on these surfaces if you're braking?
Also, my number one cause for noises like this...make absolutely sure that the exhaust is secure and not touching anything! Have been fooled into replacing a ball joint before because of what turned out to be a duff exhaust hanger that was letting the downpipe touch the gearbox...yes, I felt a right muppet, and no, the guys at the garage I worked at never let me forget it!
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Thanks, I was looking at replacing the bushes on the N/S suspension arm as with a 18" bar I could get a few mm of movement at the rear and it looked a bit as if the bonding was breaking away from the outer edges - see attached Youtube vid.
Anyway ordered a complete arm with pushes already in place for £47 inc P& P - so will see how that goes. The strange thing is that there is no obvious play in the steering. when the car is raised. Will check the steering rack bolts at the weekend though. I do live down a long heavily rutted track and spend a lot of time on small country roads where the N/S gets a hammering in pot holes too. Will try and get that changed over the next couple of weeks time permitting.
At last some resolution to the rattle - decided on a full rebuild of the N/S suspension so replaced the arm with a new arm with new bushes, new ball joint and new droplink and it feels much more solid and sorted. Interestingly the "new" balljoint that I had fitted earlier this year was completely knackered - really bad play, so much than when off the car there was a distinct knock when rattling the "pin" It was a £7-8 cheappy from fleabay so pays your money and takes your chance. The new one was from my local main factor and its a delphi joint this time. Heres hoping it lasts longer. I must admit to having discounted it as a source as it was so new! Silly me, as you chaps have said just because a part is new does not mean its fault free!
Fitting the arm was a pain - its like a puzzle getting it past the ARB. I ended up disconnecting the droplink and the arm bush clamp (undone anyway) and jacked the arm up as far as I could. That did not give enough space so had to diconnect the otherside droplink which of course was siezed and the allen socket rounded off. Ended up having to cut it off. Luckily had a spare droplink handy. Then managed to manoever and tap in the bushes so that the bolts went through. Noticed now that my driveshaft oil seal is worn and has a slow drip of stinky gear oil! All the strut movement did it in I think pulling the D/S around.
The car feels really tight now. On teh old arm the rear bush just fell off the inner bush which looks welded on the arm with rust!
I susepected a ball joint the last time but I had only changed it 8k miles earlier but changed it again, but the noise still remains.
