Very intermittent front end knock noise

mike_msch · April 21, 2018

I have just had most ofthe front suspension changed, springs, lower arms, arb bushes and drop links. I noticed the driver side is sitting 0.5mm lower than the other side. Could be uneven ground etc (i have not checked on flat surface yet). With all this work done the front driver side is making a very rare occasional knock noise over uneven surfaces and going down a speed hump. I looked into the cost of all the parts i just paid out on and did not notice that i only paid nearly £5 for one drop link. I think the average price for one link should be £15-20. Can a cheap drop link really wear out after 2 months?

richdraper · April 22, 2018

yes. buy cheap, buy twice!

you can get genuine Jag ones for around £30 if you look hard enough.

i had a cheapy cheap ARB droplink a few years ago on my Fiat Stilo, albeit only £3 less than a TRW replacement(who are Suspension OEM for later shape Fiats and Alfas). within 2 WEEKS, it was knocking. I couldnt believe it either.

This is now my personal train of thought... I never buy cheap. If i can afford Genuine ill ALWAYS try to buy Genuine, if i cant find Genuine for whatever reason i try to find who was OEM for that particular part. There are a few things that stray from that mentality, but not much.

Engine parts are ALWAYS Genuine unless its filtration or Belts then i opt for Mann or Continental.

Sparks on all my petrol cars have been NGK produced.

Brakes are ALWAYS Brembo or Genuine for the fitting kits/pins etc.

Suspension has always been TRW (because ive always owned italian) but the choice is none existent for Jags for some reason, so i dont really know where to look at the moment.

tyres... since the government stopped subsidising cheap tyres i recently put a set of Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 on the Alfa and i cannot speak highly enough of them. i used cheap tyres because they were perfectly adequate on low powered, aged handling cars that ive owned. i had them on the Alfa, and they were fine until you ran them in the wet, then they turned scary, a mix between the increase in power and weight of the 2.4 diesel in a big saloon was just too much. Dunlops are far better although nearly £500 for a set.

This comes up so many times on the forums that I'm on and this isn't aimed nastily at you but... bottom line is you bought a <insert prestige marque here>... treat it like one... if you couldn't afford the bills then you shoulda bought a <insert cheap marque here>.

I'm looking at upgrading to the new shape long wheelbase XJR in a few years, i know for a fact that tyres are £700+ and a dealer service is north of £500 and it barely returns 20mpg aswell as being almost impossible to park anywhere due to its length. That's the kind of money a car like that commands, if you're prepared for it it makes it a little more palatable.. to some people its horrifically priced 'for just a car' but you're sitting in £100k+ of 'charged V8 limousine, you cant expect to run it on a shoe string.