Any ideas on what this suspension (?) noise might be please? Vauxhall Corsa

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Location
South West Wales
Country
United Kingdom
Make Vauxhall
Model Corsa D SXI
Engine size/Type 1.4 petrol
Year 2007
Mileage 75k

Hi

My car has been making a couple of noises for some time, mainly on country roads. It sounds like it’s coming from behind the front foot-wells, or perhaps a bit higher than that. Really tough to tell. I initially took it to a couple of garages, both of who put it on the ramp and couldn’t see anything. One of the garages said they didn’t think it was suspension related. Here's what it sounded like (best heard at middle/second half of recording):


A couple of months later we tried a third garage. We also brought the MOT forward three months and had that done.

***Front drop link anti-roll bar*** This is what they diagnosed as making the noise. And it also failed the MOT for this (certificate said "Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt NSF Upper"). The work/replacement has been done and has cured one of the noises.

Everything else on the MOT was fine. No advisories. And everything else suspension related looked fine, including:

***Lower arm bush, passenger front*** The mechanic had a look and said it seems ok and he would not bother doing anything. It's not perfect, but there's not enough play/movement/problem to even be a MOT advisory. He said it might cause a slight noise when turning corners or heavy steering, but it's nothing to worry about.

However, drove it home and one of the noises is still there. It's the main noise you can hear in the above recording. I've done some new recordings and will put a link below. The first one is pretty good but have included the others too in case they are helpful.

It has since been back to the garage. They've had another look and took it for a drive to listen. They say there is nothing obvious, and so they are suspecting the noise is the front shock absorber. They said it is hard to visually tell or to test if this is worn (something about balls or ball bearings near the top that you cannot access?), and seeing as everything else looks fine, all points to this being the problem. Will be around £200 all in.

I wondered what you guys think about it being that please? Does it sound likely? The noise seems to be coming from the area behind the pedals, but tbh it's tough to tell exactly.

Any replies would be a massive help, as the bills are building up which is fine if the issue gets sorted but not if it keeps having to go back for more work.

Huge thanks

 
My first thought would be drop links.....cheap replacements don't even last 12 months!
However, if these are ruled out I would suspect the bearing that lives on the top of the suspension strut. They get a hell of a life and are ignored until a spring breaks. These things allow the strut to turn as the car is steered and are often similar to a large ball race.
You can try pulling the spring hard forward and back - maybe with the vehicle jacked up and the wheels dangling - and see if the noise occurs.
Nothing to be really worried about though, as the MOT didn't find anything.
John :)
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

My first thought would be drop links...

Just in case I got confused above, is a drop link the same thing as a "anti-roll bar linkage ball joint"? That's what the MOT says was wrong, and I'm pretty certain the garage changed the drop link as a result.

That being said, this was on the passenger side. The noise we have now is on the driver's side. But seeing as they changed the passenger side and seeing as we had a chat about drop links, surely (hopefully!) it wouldn't be the drop link on the driver's side making the link and they've missed it after all that? Prayer hands emoji!

However, if these are ruled out I would suspect the bearing that lives on the top of the suspension strut.

Ignorant question #2.... Is that the same thing as the top mount?

If so, I think (and again, read "hope") they are changing this when we go back. I didn't speak to them as my partner took it in. But what she remembers them saying is "shock absorber", but also that there is a part at the top which has ball bearings internally and so cannot be inspected to confirm whether it is worn or not. Certainly seems to match what you describe...

Thanks again.
 
Drop links are what we call them, but they also answer to being called stabilisers so your original garage description means the same.
These things connect the front struts to the anti roll bar and they are difficult to check on the car because of the loads involved - however if a rubber boot is split then you can consider the part is goosed.

The top mount consists of some sort of bearing to allow the strut to swivel when steering......sometimes they are in two parts, others just one.
I always replace them if fitting new springs as they get a hell of a hard life.

Some vehicles have a sort of a drop link on the rear suspension too - and sometimes the source of the knock can be deceptive!
John :)
 
Just wanted to come back to say we had the shock absorber and top mount changed today and all is good. Perhaps that might help someone in the future trying to diagnose a similar sound, although to be fair it seems like a lot of things can make this type of sound! Well, if that's case, here's another thing to add to the list of potentials for you!

Thanks for the responses and help @Burnerman
 
Drop links, difficult to diagnose but that sounds like my zafira which had the same problem.
 
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