Clunking noise from front Suspension

ozmo

Fiat Punto Mk2,
Clunking noise from front Suspension -
Told it was a worn top suspension bearing and it would only cost 25 euros to fit --- if i can get one.

I tried the local Fiat dealer - Blanchardstown charging 160 euros for one bearing - I'm sure It must be possible to get one cheaper my mail order.

So.. Does anyone know the technical name for this so I can find it on the internet - or even better, somewhere I can get one.

thanks guys,
Ozmo

lomb

ozmo wrote:

Fiat Punto Mk2,
Clunking noise from front Suspension -
Told it was a worn top suspension bearing and it would only cost 25 euros to fit --- if i can get one.

I tried the local Fiat dealer - Blanchardstown charging 160 euros for one bearing - I'm sure It must be possible to get one cheaper my mail order.

So.. Does anyone know the technical name for this so I can find it on the internet - or even better, somewhere I can get one.

thanks guys,
Ozmo

if its a bearing and u can get it out, take it to a bearing place. shouldnt be more than 10 euro. try a breakers yard for the same part if u cant take ur one out. then take the used part to a bearing place and get a new one. it might be a rubber bushing though and not a bearing.

ozmo

lomb wrote:

if its a bearing and u can get it out, take it to a bearing place. shouldnt be more than 10 euro. try a breakers yard for the same part if u cant take ur one out. then take the used part to a bearing place and get a new one. it might be a rubber bushing though and not a bearing.

Thanks - it was the wife who took the car to the Fiat dealer - so I didnt get the name of the part. I've no idea how to remove the suspension bearing.
Good idea about the breakers yard though.
All I know is its definitely a Bearing of some sort that sits on the top of the left suspension.

Anyone know what its called?
thanks,

lomb

ozmo wrote:

Thanks - it was the wife who took the car to the Fiat dealer - so I didnt get the name of the part. I've no idea how to remove the suspension bearing.
Good idea about the breakers yard though.
All I know is its definitely a Bearing of some sort that sits on the top of the left suspension.

Anyone know what its called?
thanks,

im not sure whether they use roller bearings or radial bearings in suspension components. if it is a bearing you need millimeter readings to get the right one. ie u need to get it out or failing that pay a trip to a breakers yard.

DivX

It is usually called a Front Strut Top Mounting.

Not sure if you can remove the bearing from the actual mount, and in any case you'd need to rip the suspension to measure the bearing with a vernier calipers and this is time consuming and the car will be off the road.

If you need to change the strut top mount you will probably also need to compress the spring with a set of spring compressors to replace the mount, this in itself can be very dangerous in inexperienced hands.

Course this could all be irrelevant if its not that particular part!

Lomb i think those bearings are nearly always radial ball bearings as they are load bearing.

DivX

Check out this thread Ordering Parts (Punto)

I checked to see if your part listed but it wasn't, might be worth giving www.shop4parts.co.uk a ring?

stratos

Is it the cv joint he means ? maybe.

DivX

Could be, ozmo is it okay when the car is going in a straight line and does it only start knocking when you lock the steering to either side?

ozmo

DivX wrote:

Could be, ozmo is it okay when the car is going in a straight line and does it only start knocking when you lock the steering to either side?

Nah, Its a bearing at the top of the shock absorber. Gets a rubbing creaking nasty sound going over speedramps and really bad going over 45 mph (?kmph). QuickFit said it was a harmless noise, but they would put it in for 25 euros if I could source one - they couldnt get one. CV joints i imagine are a lot harder to install.

cannot find much on the web for a "Front Strut Top Mounting".
I saw something called a "Dome Bearing" - would that be it??

I'll call QFit tomorrow and see if I can find the guy who spoke to my wife - he might remember the car and give me more info what to look for.
thanks.

AMurphy

Given the description Gets a rubbing creaking nasty sound going over speedramps and really bad going over 45 mph (?kmph). . I'd take a look at the guide busing at the top of the damper/strut where the rod slides through.
Grab it in the middle (through the spring) and see if you can yank it in and out to detect play/wear int eh bushing

If it is leaking oil, might explain a lot.

Unfortunately, any "shaft" held in a rubber bushing can make these sounds, so with the helo of a weight friend, try isolate the location a bit better. So the anti-roll bar mounts are a good canditate also, as are the lower arm mounts.

The bearing at the top (often called "strut bearing") is always loose unloaded and so will appear worn if you jack the car up.
The whole assembly, mount + bearings may be $160, the bearing is generally easy to replace and costs maybe $5, that of course it the darn thing is not welded or swaged into the assembly.
Timkin, SKF and FAG should have suitable bearings.

The difficult part for you is compressing the spring to remove the cap keeping the top bearing in place.
And generally with the spring out of the way you can get a feel for the condition of the damper.

karltimber

I have the same in my 03 Octavia -- it's fine on flat ground but once you go over slight bumps - there is a slight thumping sound from front left suspension.

Went onto an octavia forum and a guy said that it was prob the roll over bar bushings ---


karlos

-anyone know where to get haynes manuals on-line ??

thx

Seth Brundle

karltimber wrote:

-anyone know where to get haynes manuals on-line ??

www.haynes.co.uk
www.ebay.co.uk
www.amazon.com
...

StRiKeR

Fiat wants €160 for one top strut mount? crazy!

ozmo

StRiKeR wrote:

Fiat wants €160 for one top strut mount? crazy!

Yup.
Thanks to whoever mentioned Irish breakers site http://www.imvra.com/ (lost the source of this info)
You can contact several breakers yards via this site - someone there knew what it was and had one to send me.

ta,
ozmo.