Corolla Knocking

[Wookie75]

I have had a knocking on my corolla 1998 for months now its coming from the near side front

I have replaced

all joints and links

and all the rubbers i can find

i have also replaced the

shock and the top bearing

also the wheel bearing

the noise is a cross between a rumble and a really hard knocking noise but neither is constant ,my mechanic is at a loss

Please Help

[oldcodger]

If your mechanic is test driving and repairing it without locating the problem, its not going to be easy for us to say what it is remotely.

Taking your words literally, they imply he has just replaced the nearside parts only ? generally its  poor practice as things like the shocks should be replaced in axle pairs, same with things like track rod ends etc .

You say its not a constant noise , but when does it occur and does anything seems to make it worse ?

Typical tests, going around a small roundabout or similar as some speed so you load up one side of the suspension, does that make things worse.

On a clear flat surface/car park, driving around in circles on full lock, in both directions, does that make things worse.

Any change in the noise then accellerating hard or braking hard ?

[Wookie75]

the noise does seem only to be on a rough surface. turning left or right seems to make no difference at all .we have replaced both sides of said pieces but to no avail he is at as much of a loss as us as everytime he takes the car for a test drive he cannot hear the noise i do trust him i have used him for years and he has saved me loads by repairing things instead of fitting new parts all the time like alot of modern garages seem to do these days i was just wondering if anyone had come across the same problem as me after replacing so many parts

i thought maybe the drive shaft but he has said its all in good condition

[alan333]

Does the noise go away while braking?  Could be the brake caliper slider pins rattling, if they're prone to it like the Avensis are.

[Wookie75]

cant say ive noticed i will check soon as i get a chance thank you alan333

[oldcodger]

56 minutes ago, alan333 said:

Does the noise go away while braking?  Could be the brake caliper slider pins rattling, if they're prone to it like the Avensis are.

Hey Allan,

I've had "pad" rattle for a while and not been able to cure it, though from what you say it sounds like it may be the slider pins ?

I've resorted to using Cerafix on the pad backs and that cures the rattle for a few months, though wonder if thats just hiding the real problem if it was the slider pins ..?

Do you know if its the pins that wear or the bushes inside the actual mounting bracket, or both ?   did enquire about the price of the bracket , think it was about £170 each!

Edit   - just found your post from May  - will get the wheels off and check for play as you mentioned - cheers

[oldcodger]

1 hour ago, Wookie75 said:

 as everytime he takes the car for a test drive he cannot hear the noise

Well that makes this really hard to isolate if your mechanic cannot hear it.

What I have noticed, is that sometimes more than others,  tyre 'roar' can make some really loud sounds over certain, usually rougher road surfaces.

Have you tried swaping your front and rear tyres around to see if they make any difference ?  Diffferent tread depths or different makes can affect things.

[Wookie75]

oldcodger good point about the tyres we have had a new set on since the noise began its been going a while now thats was one of my first thoughts

its just really strange its sounds like somthing a really hard knocking over rough ground like cobbles/the calipers have been freed up a few times i even thought it could be them but it didnt make sense to follow that one up as it is intermitent and i just thought brakes couldnt possible be making that much of a violent knocking sound its really quite a scary noise and what makes it more irritaing is its been through and MOT recently and nothing was picked up either

[oldcodger]

If it was brake rattle I would have expected your mechanic to have experienced that on a test drive, its very easy to identify, just drive over some rough road, typically at 20 -30mph, and you usually hear the metalic rattle/clatter as you go over each bump

Drive over the same again, but half way though lightly apply the footbrake so you do not loose too much speed and the clatter stops.

Why not get a passenger in the car to make a sound recording /video of the noise and post it up / show it to your mechanic so he can experience it and the driving conditions.

If its such a loud violent sound wonder why he cannot recreate it ; perhaps he test drives it hard  and the noise is perhaps only evident if you are a steady driver ; what about  taking  him for a drive on roads you know where it makes the noise ?

[Wookie75]

i didnt think about recording it thats a brilliant idea the mechanic had the car for a couple of days and drove it home and back he is a very carefull driver as am i i will give the brake thing a try cheers

[Wookie75]

Hi i have been out and tried breaking to stop the noise and even tried to softly put the breaks on but to no avial its bizzare to say the least i dont want to get rid of the car as its been and still is a brillliant little motor

[oldcodger]

Without anyone else hearing the noise its going to be a real problem to fix .....

Is it loud enough to make a recording of ?

You have just  been able to reproduce the noise to see if braking stops it, so why cannot you do the same with your mechanic in the passenger seat ?

If its been such a log outstanding problem for you both , cannot see him objecting to that in order to get to the bottom of things.

[Wookie75]

no i didnt reproduce the noise i cant just make it happen when i want sorry didnt mean to give that impression no idea why i would have done so to be honest ,sorry i should have mentioned it is intermitent my menchanic wont mind coming out with me as he has done before but it doesnt seem to happen when he is about , next time someone is in the car with me when it happens i will get them to record it as that is i think the only thing i can now think to do thanks for the advice so far

[oldcodger]

No problem, just assumed you had.

One thing you have not mentioned, does the noise seem to change in relation to the cars speed  or engine revs and does it only occur in low or high gear or low or high speed ?

Think all you can do is keep a log of when it happens and when it does note the road ,road surface, engine temp, how long you had been driving for before the noise, speeds, gears,  how log does it last  and anything obvious that makes it stop etc etc.

Perhaps after several logs a common theme might develop ...

[TomdeGuerre]

Heard about a car like this, it would make a rattle/knocking noise but would never make it when he got his mechanic in to check it. Turned out it was the passengers seat, it rattled when the driver was in it himself but not when somebody (eg the mechanic) sat in it.

[Wookie75]

the noise happens regardless of if someone is in the passenger seat or not and a low or high revs ,high speed low speed ,when i pull off the driveway after not using for a few hours or minutes its really intermitent the seat did go through my mind but thats all been checked. i will get one of my nieces to record next time they are in the car and it happens

[Wookie75]

problem solved the noise is traveling from the back of the car it a long bar that comes from the body of the car to near the rear wheel not sure what its called but finnally the problem has been found thanks to my son

[oldcodger]

Shows how deceptive such sounds can be.

Which part is it thats knocking  ,  just a loose bolt or a worn bush ?

 

[Wookie75]

not sure which piece ,it goes from just below the rear drum towards the front of the car my mechanic is on it at the moment he never looked at the back because i insisted it was the front and with it not happening when he is drives it he wouldnt have picked it up

[paigerich]

Any chance of a picture of this part pls. I'm having similar issues with my 07 diesel. Swapped similar parts but still making too much noise.

Thanks

[Wookie75]

will see what i can do

 

[paigerich]

On 05/10/2016 at 0:00 AM, Wookie75 said:

will see what i can do

 

Hello mate.....Did you manage to take a picture or find out the name of the part? 

Thanks Richard 

[Wookie75]

no sorry have not had the chance but my mechanic has had it up and greased all the rubbers and cleaned everything and its still knocking so im going to have a look at the rear shock mount on the boot when i get a chance if i thats not it im just going to put up with it till it either breaks something or it drives me to scraping it lol

[paigerich]

Hello mate.....I've spoken on this thread a couple of times, trying to find a cure for my knocking on 07 Corolla.

I recently had the cam belt changed and asked the mechanic to try and diagnose the knocking coming from the front of the car. 

His answer was, when I collected was the drop link bar had gone. I was a bit sceptical as I'd replaced them about 2 years ago and it hasn't cured the problem. I priced them up and as they weren't expensive thought I'd give it another go. I changed them last time through self diagnosis!!! I bought some new ones and they were a little longer and more sturdy than the previous one, fitted them and BINGO no more knocking or rattling. Quite as a mouse.

I'm certainly not advocating that your mechanic is wrong but I didn't notice that the drop links had been changed and for the cost, might be worth a go. You mightn't even have the car anymore lol

Thanks