Hi- I've just bought a 2004 Micra K12-its recently had a new MOT. I've noticed a clonk when turning and have traced it to the front coil spring which is moving slightly. I can reproduce the noise by holding the spring and twisting it-it can move very slightly. The spring has recently been changed prior to me purchasing the car
front coil spring
- Thread starter welshdave
- Start date
I had this after changing mine out before the mot it was fine then I was told it was not tight and had to be looked at again.
Anyhow, I looked around a bit shook the car and found that I had to turn the top nut ever so slightly tighter than I had done them up.
And also checked the lower bolts although I could see all the movement for me was at the top both the mount and centre had a slight movement.
And while I had the wheel off this had aslo cause the front disc brake to come loose so check the torque nut if you can to make sure this has not vibrated loose with the problem you are experiencing.
Those are the main thing to check for you or your mechanic.
Anyhow, I looked around a bit shook the car and found that I had to turn the top nut ever so slightly tighter than I had done them up.
And also checked the lower bolts although I could see all the movement for me was at the top both the mount and centre had a slight movement.
And while I had the wheel off this had aslo cause the front disc brake to come loose so check the torque nut if you can to make sure this has not vibrated loose with the problem you are experiencing.
Those are the main thing to check for you or your mechanic.
If you rock the car you should then listen till you can pin point the sound.
The 3 13mm bolts are worth checking if you see visual movement while its on the ground one could possible came loose.
What I found was the top nut of the strut in center had either backed off slightly say a half or just over half turn.
This became visual as I held the spring and car together giving it an almighty shake.
You may have to lift the car to tighten them so to take the weight away from the struts.
In my case I had replaced the whole unit springs and struts with the top hats.
With aftermarket parts.
The only item that was not changed was the 13mm bolts that hold the top mounts to the strut tower.
At the bottom of the strut spring area is a seat for the spring check this is seated correctly. One of mine was slightly off and I had to re-compress the spring while setting them up off the vehicle.
At the top this is not the case its more rounded as they are directly under the top mount that has bearings as far as I'm aware both sets have just a circle that the spring sits in.
Someone may step in and say to not do what I did for safety reasons as if you loosen it off the Spring may fly out or whatever and this is a possibility.
But as long as you know that your turning it clockwise to tighten it should be okay.
The other thing you may encounter is that your socket set or tool does not match with this top nut so you may have to buy one to fit.
For me I had to buy some spanners that had the correct size deep offset ring spanners.
Or a torque wrench so you can check the correct torque setting is applied.
I actually used this method afterwards once I found my other socket set..
I will edit this with the amount you should have in case you so want to make certain that its correct.
(If in doubt let an expert check things out..)
(Keep in mind that the spring has high compression and is a real danger. To you or anyone near the vehicle.
Its not recommended but would save time removing the whole unit to check.
And if you wanted to be extra safe you could use spring compressors.)
The bottom bolts should be between this and I went upward to 110 from the 100nm to 117.nm
The top one also requires a hex key and or methods that are not great for setting specific torq.
The top nut torq I did not list in my install here. Since the topic has a safety issue mentioned above. Could however be found in workshop manual.
The 3 13mm bolts are worth checking if you see visual movement while its on the ground one could possible came loose.
What I found was the top nut of the strut in center had either backed off slightly say a half or just over half turn.
This became visual as I held the spring and car together giving it an almighty shake.
You may have to lift the car to tighten them so to take the weight away from the struts.
In my case I had replaced the whole unit springs and struts with the top hats.
With aftermarket parts.
The only item that was not changed was the 13mm bolts that hold the top mounts to the strut tower.
At the bottom of the strut spring area is a seat for the spring check this is seated correctly. One of mine was slightly off and I had to re-compress the spring while setting them up off the vehicle.
At the top this is not the case its more rounded as they are directly under the top mount that has bearings as far as I'm aware both sets have just a circle that the spring sits in.
Someone may step in and say to not do what I did for safety reasons as if you loosen it off the Spring may fly out or whatever and this is a possibility.
But as long as you know that your turning it clockwise to tighten it should be okay.
The other thing you may encounter is that your socket set or tool does not match with this top nut so you may have to buy one to fit.
For me I had to buy some spanners that had the correct size deep offset ring spanners.
Or a torque wrench so you can check the correct torque setting is applied.
I actually used this method afterwards once I found my other socket set..
I will edit this with the amount you should have in case you so want to make certain that its correct.
(If in doubt let an expert check things out..)
(Keep in mind that the spring has high compression and is a real danger. To you or anyone near the vehicle.
Its not recommended but would save time removing the whole unit to check.
And if you wanted to be extra safe you could use spring compressors.)
The bottom bolts should be between this and I went upward to 110 from the 100nm to 117.nm
The top one also requires a hex key and or methods that are not great for setting specific torq.
The top nut torq I did not list in my install here. Since the topic has a safety issue mentioned above. Could however be found in workshop manual.
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Here is an image of the diagram to help further if you need to make other checks.
Do you know if both sides were changed as the should always be changed in pairs.
This goes for struts and springs alike.
Might be a silly question but it's definitely something you may want to check.
This goes for struts and springs alike.
Might be a silly question but it's definitely something you may want to check.
Could well be not sure how you would check this my old ones seemed to be still working when removed.
Maybe while on axle stands you could turn the wheel or have someone else do so and figure out if it's that.
They could be replaced but you will need spring compressors for that task.
Maybe while on axle stands you could turn the wheel or have someone else do so and figure out if it's that.
They could be replaced but you will need spring compressors for that task.
Well at least you know now what it is.
Not sure how it can be done wrong but the way they fit the do look upside down maybe they got cunfused.
BTW How are the struts condition.?
You can see mine in my suspension thread the old ones were in terrible condition but still worked just about these were 2005 originals. I guess.
Not sure how it can be done wrong but the way they fit the do look upside down maybe they got cunfused.
BTW How are the struts condition.?
You can see mine in my suspension thread the old ones were in terrible condition but still worked just about these were 2005 originals. I guess.
My advice is to take it back to the Garage and report your findings and also the info the RAC technician has told you. As is the case with so many garages using short cuts and untrained staff passing off as professions....you may get lucky and they repair their mistake or offer compensation!keep the info coming in we all like to know of members experiences.?
