Ever since hitting a big hole in one of our bad bitumen roads, a occasional knocking noise emanates from underneath my car.
It sounds something like the exhaust hitting the body now and then. But it is not that; the exhaust mounting is all sound.
My mechanic put the vehicle up on his hoist and diagnosed faulty sway bar link pins. I failed to see what was wrong with them, but I did replace them anyway. This did not fix the problem.
He has subsequently advised to fit new sway bar bushes, so I bought some. I now have the car elevated on stands, but the bushes look perfectly sound to me. I am unable to make the bar deflect up or down by levering with a large screwdriver.
Accordingly, I am not swapping them out, at least not yet. I am beginning to wonder if it is the strut or struts. The damping action of them appears to be fine when I move the car up and down by pushing on a guard etc.
Is it possible for the suspension struts to make a loud clunking noise when deflected suddenly? This noise is most apparent when driving slowly over rough ground.
Ideas and suggestions will be most welcome.
Jim.