Bloody Annoying Knocking Noise

[ryan.wilkinson]

A while back my S2 developed a very annoying knocking noise coming from the rear left when the car became warm (motorway). After a bit of research I had the rear inboard toe in joint replaced by Horizon and all seem ok. The knocking noise has now come back with avengence and is driving me mad. The noise happens under load but if I clamber under the car and wiggle the toe in bar it doesnt move at all, so could it be something else?? Anyone??

[SOUPS]

A while back my S2 developed a very annoying knocking noise coming from the rear left when the car became warm (motorway).  After a bit of research I had the rear inboard toe in joint replaced by Horizon and all seem ok.  The knocking noise has now come back with avengence and is driving me mad.  The noise happens under load but if I clamber under the car and wiggle the toe in bar it doesnt move at all, so could it be something else??  Anyone??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

same thing happen to my s1 well still the noise is there Mloc users told me to spray some silicon basd lubricant and i almost emptied 2 bottles it stopped for a a few hours but then noise came on and even worse... i might have sprayed the wrong place lol i think it was the right place

[GreyKnight]

A while back my S2 developed a very annoying knocking noise coming from the rear left when the car became warm (motorway).  After a bit of research I had the rear inboard toe in joint replaced by Horizon and all seem ok.  The knocking noise has now come back with avengence and is driving me mad.  The noise happens under load but if I clamber under the car and wiggle the toe in bar it doesnt move at all, so could it be something else??  Anyone??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well IMHO there's your problem! The toe link bar should move when you twist it. If it doesn't move then that most likely means the ball joints are seized and this will cause the knocking noise. I had it on mine a few weeks ago. Had all the ball joints on the driver side rear replaced (including wishbone ball joints) and the noise has stopped. Cost me £330 though...

[ryan.wilkinson]

Had an opinion this weekend on the car and the suggestion was the CV joint. Problem is that I clambered under the car and cant feel any significant movement in the drive shaft. Does this sound feasible or a nice way to get £'s out of me????????? I cant see how it would make the same noise as the toe in bar joint

[Dave S]

Hi Ryan

 

I think if it was the CV joint it would be knocking in time with the speed of the wheels / roadspeed.

If it was one of the ball /toe joints then it would be intermitant and related to bumps and suspension movement.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Dave

[GreyKnight]

I still say that if the tow link bar doesn't move freely there's your problem...

[ryan.wilkinson]

I am mightly confused. The knocking is not constant but is not in line with say a bump in the road. This sounds logical as I would expect the knock to be connected to the load/un-load of the suspension and not just with a bump in the road. The other strange thing is that the noise is not there when the car is cold only when hot (say long motorway journey) again making me think toe in not CV joint. I took the undertray off the other day and I can move the toe in bar if I hold it with some pliers but the chappy at the garage say the toe in bar should not move. All in all a bit lost. If I was synical I would suggest that the original toe in bar joint was not replaced and now its payday again. But (big BUT) the car was jacked and the answer came back as CV joint and the garage has a sterling reputation (I have posted it because I didnt want people to be swayed!!!)

[GreyKnight]

I took the undertray off the other day and I can move the toe in bar if I hold it with some pliers but the chappy at the garage say the toe in bar should not move.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'll stick my neck out here and say that whilst I am NOT a mechanic and am relatively new to Elise problems the seized ball joints on my S1 were diagnosed by Nick Whale Sportscars due to the following traits:-

 

1) The tow link bar did not move and it most certainly SHOULD. It is connected by BALL JOINTS at each end so it would be mighty odd if it didn't twist forward and backward! If you have to use pliers then it is seized - no question. Both of my toe link bars twist by hand about 30 degrees each way

 

2) The noise only occurred when the car was HOT. This was because the inboard ball joint is close to the exhaust and so when hot it expands and due to it being dry it creaks around in its socket.

 

Oh, and mine didn't necessarily creak when going over big bumps - it creaked with the motion of the car following the undulation of the road.

[mambosasa]

I am mightly confused.  The knocking is not constant but is not in line with say a bump in the road.  This sounds logical as I would expect the knock to be connected to the load/un-load of the suspension and not just with a bump in the road.  The other strange thing is that the noise is not there when the car is cold only when hot (say long motorway journey) again making me think toe in not CV joint.  I took the undertray off the other day and I can move the toe in bar if I hold it with some pliers but the chappy at the garage say the toe in bar should not move.  All in all a bit lost.  If I was synical I would suggest that the original toe in bar joint was not replaced and now its payday again.  But (big BUT) the car was jacked and the answer came back as CV joint and the garage has a sterling reputation (I have posted it because I didnt want people to be swayed!!!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? With the receint hot weather, my car has developed exactly the same symptoms! Annoying knocking sound from the rear once the car is hot. The sound has a feel of forced movements occuring on a very tight joint or rubber mount.

 

If it is the toe link fault, would it make the car unsafe?

[ipanter]

If it is the toe link fault, would it make the car unsafe?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The toe link controls steering of the rear wheels. It is a bar that connects the chassis to the hub (at a non central point). It is mounted at an angle so that when the car travels up and down it's suspention while cornering, it either forces the hub away, or pulls it towards the car, causing the wheels to steer.

 

So if the toe link was seized then it would have an adverse effect on handing. As the rear wheels would no longer steer as they should.

 

Whether the forces involved would allow it to completely seize, i don't know. If it is clunking though, it sounds as if it wants to seize, but is being forced under considerable pressure to move. If left for too long then this would probably result in something failing.

 

If the toe link was no longer connected, or missing then the rear wheels would steer as they wished, and this would be dangerous.

 

I know of one elise incident where a toe link failed causing the car to take a short cut across a round-about. This was due however to the toe link not being repaired after a previous collision.

 

I'm not sure this really answers your question but i hope it will help you make a decision as to what to do.

 

Ian

[Scott_Mac]

Given the fact its temp related also, it definitely sounds like dried out ball joints to me.

[mambosasa]

Given the fact its temp related also, it definitely sounds like dried out ball joints to me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It seems as if its a sure bet now that this is where the problem lays. So if thats the case, what am I looking at cost wise? £300-400 as suggested elsewhere?

 

Bis.

[Scott_Mac]

Errr, replacement ball joints on an Elise, i'm not 100% sure but IIRC its about £150... but really can't recall.

 

Give Horizon a yell.

[Phil S1]

Definitely sounds like the toe links to me. A surefire way of checking is to get someone else to sit on the sill and bounce the car up and down while you're holding the toe link. You'll 'feel' the knock as it happens. It's nearly always the inboard passenger side as that's the one closest to the exhaust. There is a heatshield to fit at this position, available from Lotus if you've not already got one, which goes some way towards stopping it happening in the future....in theory

[Steve R]

Bought a ball joint from Eliseparts (can't remember the price) and Horizon charged me £32+VAT (if I remeber right) to fit

 

Rear Toe Link was around £70-80 aswell.

 

Mines knocking at the back at the moment though so will need to have a look myself too