a bit of play....

[micka]

Put my car on the ramp yesterday and checked each wheel for play...

The passenger wheel when I rock it side to side got play not in the bearing or ball joint but the suspension top mount rubber is rocking slightly side to side...

Is this supposed to happen, how can I tighten it or fix it? Any suggestions please help? Thankyou

Micka

 

[superls]

if thats where the play is, then it shouldnt do it and really the only solution would be new ones

 

[micka]

How you mean new ones, is it the top mount itself the rubber or can it be tightened, the play is not too bad just there in comparison withthe driverside, please help

Micka

 

[pollyp]

maybe the nut that holds the damper shaft to the rubber mount is loose and simply requires tightening with an offset spanner.

 

[micka]

maybe the nut that holds the damper shaft to the rubber mount is loose and simply requires tightening with an offset spanner.

Its the passengerside front, how do you tighten it up it sounds like a plan, could you explain a bit indepth on how to tighten it please, I can see 2 bolts possibly 10mm on each side of the top mount, thanks

 

[pollyp]

its the (17mm?) nut in the middle within the rubber donut-like mount.

stick this on the nut, spray abit of wd40 on the rubber mount to help the spanner slide in

use a small adjustable spanner on the tip of the damper shaft to stop it spinning and just tighten the nut till its secure

 

[micka]

Will thank you for that useful post pollyp...

Guess what while the car was on the road I checked each wheel again the passenger and driverside and there was no play in the top mount as the cars weight was on the suspension hence not being on a ramp.... The drivers and passenger wheel both have slight side to side play u can feel it ever so slightly but not top to bottom play just side to side... What could that be??? I hate trying to diagnose suspension components, sorry for the story

Micka

 

[pollyp]

you only check the steering & suspension mostly with the car body lifted and the wheel fully extended/unloaded

grab wheel at top & bottom and rock it. tiny play is ok but if it feels more than 2mm then check for visual movement at the lower balljoint, strut to hub bracket, front & rear lower arm bushes and the two 10mm nuts that hold the strut top mount to the body. when someone pushes the brake and the play reduces, it could be the hubs worn.

now grab it at the sides and try to turn/rock it. tiny play is ok but anything larger could be worn hubs (check if it reduces while pressing brake), visually check for worn inner or outer steering trackrod ends, front or rear lower arm bushes (this would also cause steering to veer off on motorways whenever accelerating hard in a straight line)

with the body lowered down, the damper shaft is no longer under tension with the top mount from the spring. grab the top of the wheel and move it in/out, the 17mm nut holding the damper shaft to the rubber top mount should not have any play