Suspension knock

[labeline]

Hi everyone. Apologies if you have seen this enquiry on Facebook. Had the car up in the air today to try to ID the source of the front suspension knock. We couldn’t replicate the sound whatever we did. Everything seems really solid, no play, no knocking when parts are levered, bounced or prodded. Bushes all looked ok as far as visual examination can tell. Springs were intact. The only think we could find was that the plastic sleeve that fits on the bottom of the passenger side spring has slipped off which means the spring is sitting directly on the metal pan. Would that cause a knock? My intention is to compress the spring in situ and reseat the plastic sleeve. Any suggestions appreciated. The noise only appears on the bounce, like going over a pothole or sleeping policeman.....but not when you push up and down on the wing. Tie bars have been changed. Anti roll bar bushes will be next if the plastic sleeve replacement doesn’t sort it.

[Lighty]

The plastic spring cover “slipping” will not usually cause a knock.
On the B9 Berlingo push and pull the top of the wheel with the car sitting on the floor. If it knocks then the suspension strut top mount has failed. You won’t detect this play once it’s jacked up.
Other than that if you strip the damper off, there is often “play” in the damper piston, you can lay the body on the floor & pit your foot on it, this allows you to detect the slight play in the shiny rod.
These fail a lot & a new one will cure the issue.

[labeline]

The plastic spring cover “slipping” will not usually cause a knock.
On the B9 Berlingo push and pull the top of the wheel with the car sitting on the floor. If it knocks then the suspension strut top mount has failed. You won’t detect this play once it’s jacked up.
Other than that if you strip the damper off, there is often “play” in the damper piston, you can lay the body on the floor & pit your foot on it, this allows you to detect the slight play in the shiny rod.
These fail a lot & a new one will cure the issue.

Thanks for that. I have done a lot of pulling and pushing and can’t replicate the noise at all. In fact it seems really solid. I am wondering if a shock absorber has failed. If I am changing the shocks it makes sense to change the top mounts at the same time I suppose.

[TioPotz]

I've had the same problem over the past 4 years with mine. I've taken it to numerous garages, including Citroen and still no further forward with curing the dreaded slow speed clonk from the L/H/F. Guess the only answer is not to drive slowly!!

[Flamingo 3166]

I've had the same problem over the past 4 years with mine. I've taken it to numerous garages, including Citroen and still no further forward with curing the dreaded slow speed clonk from the L/H/F. Guess the only answer is not to drive slowly!!

Mine had what I think might be a similar sound at the end of its 1 year used warranty.   The dealer was excellent, first replacing the bump stops (which made the noise worse) and then putting on new front shocks.   That solved the problem entirely and all sorted.   Perhaps worth a look at the shocks...

[TioPotz]

Thanks Flamingo. I've had this problem for over 30k miles and although certain garages have discounted the shocks, I think I will have both fronts replaced as the car is coming up to 100k miles, so new shocks would be a good idea anyway. Oddly enough the car rides, steers as it should and tyre wear is even and no visible signs of leaks around the shocks. It's due a service soon, so will get the shocks changed, so watch this space!

2011 VTR in Iron Grey, modutop, window roof etc....

[Flamingo 3166]

Thanks Flamingo. I've had this problem for over 30k miles and although certain garages have discounted the shocks, I think I will have both fronts replaced as the car is coming up to 100k miles, so new shocks would be a good idea anyway. Oddly enough the car rides, steers as it should and tyre wear is even and no visible signs of leaks around the shocks. It's due a service soon, so will get the shocks changed, so watch this space!

2011 VTR in Iron Grey, modutop, window roof etc....

I had this with a Picasso years ago too.   The noise got worse and worse, but tyre wear and steering was fine - it was just the noise...   Let me know how you get on.

[bikergraham]

Yes my front shocks are noisy as well , I replaced them about 3 x years ago , so that got rid of one rattling noise and introduced another , I just put up with it now , they comment on it during the MOT but they still work as they should . Cant be bothered to spend the time and money on something that could happen again . Original shocks were oil , new ones are gas but are a lot " harsher " ride and have little to no rebound damping , but im led to understand that the gas ones are a bit like that .

[pelerin]

Hi everyone. Apologies if you have seen this enquiry on Facebook. Had the car up in the air today to try to ID the source of the front suspension knock. We couldn’t replicate the sound whatever we did. Everything seems really solid, no play, no knocking when parts are levered, bounced or prodded. Bushes all looked ok as far as visual examination can tell. Springs were intact. The only think we could find was that the plastic sleeve that fits on the bottom of the passenger side spring has slipped off which means the spring is sitting directly on the metal pan. Would that cause a knock? My intention is to compress the spring in situ and reseat the plastic sleeve. Any suggestions appreciated. The noise only appears on the bounce, like going over a pothole or sleeping policeman.....but not when you push up and down on the wing. Tie bars have been changed. Anti roll bar bushes will be next if the plastic sleeve replacement doesn’t sort it.

For the last 6 months I have had a problem which sounds similar with my 2011 Berlingo Multispace (46,000 miles). There was a noise from the near side front when passing over bumps in the road and when the engine was labouring. It sounded sometimes like the rumble of a loose panel  and sometimes there was a more metallic sound to it, more like a ball joint with play in it. I took it to a local Citroen garage who did a thorough inspection up on the lift with and without weight on the wheels, also with weight on the wheels but with a turntable arrangement under each front wheel which twisted the wheels from side to side. Also banging panels etc. They were unable to find any problem. Passed its MOT in May with no problems. An AA guy also had a go at finding the problem and could find no play in the suspension after 5 minutes pushing and pulling. However another garage has just replaced the nearside front strut and top mounting and the problem seems to be solved and the noise has gone. The garage commented that you can't tell if the top mount is gone until it's dismantled.   Thanks to Lighty for putting us on the right track.

[Lighty]

Hi everyone. Apologies if you have seen this enquiry on Facebook. Had the car up in the air today to try to ID the source of the front suspension knock. We couldn’t replicate the sound whatever we did. Everything seems really solid, no play, no knocking when parts are levered, bounced or prodded. Bushes all looked ok as far as visual examination can tell. Springs were intact. The only think we could find was that the plastic sleeve that fits on the bottom of the passenger side spring has slipped off which means the spring is sitting directly on the metal pan. Would that cause a knock? My intention is to compress the spring in situ and reseat the plastic sleeve. Any suggestions appreciated. The noise only appears on the bounce, like going over a pothole or sleeping policeman.....but not when you push up and down on the wing. Tie bars have been changed. Anti roll bar bushes will be next if the plastic sleeve replacement doesn’t sort it.

For the last 6 months I have had a problem which sounds similar with my 2011 Berlingo Multispace (46,000 miles). There was a noise from the near side front when passing over bumps in the road and when the engine was labouring. It sounded sometimes like the rumble of a loose panel  and sometimes there was a more metallic sound to it, more like a ball joint with play in it. I took it to a local Citroen garage who did a thorough inspection up on the lift with and without weight on the wheels, also with weight on the wheels but with a turntable arrangement under each front wheel which twisted the wheels from side to side. Also banging panels etc. They were unable to find any problem. Passed its MOT in May with no problems. An AA guy also had a go at finding the problem and could find no play in the suspension after 5 minutes pushing and pulling. However another garage has just replaced the nearside front strut and top mounting and the problem seems to be solved and the noise has gone. The garage commented that you can't tell if the top mount is gone until it's dismantled.   Thanks to Lighty for putting us on the right track.





glad you got to the bottom of it !