Mr Whippy
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 09:49 AM |
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Mk6 fiesta springs twanging
So on my wee fiesta I changed the whole suspension system which was easy enough but since then as I turn the wheel I hear the springs twanging. Hmm
the top bearing was quite tight but didn't see anything about greasing it prior to fitting. Done this kind of jobs on other cars and this
bearing has to be the worst design I've seen yet, cheap and nasty. Any ideas? I don't mind stripping it back down as it's all free
and with new bolts...
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nick205
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 11:01 AM |
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Are you referring to the bearing on top of the suspension strut?
I've changed a few myself and likewise never seen any instruction to lubricate them in any way. Ordinarily they seem to have a pretty long
service life and I assume are designed for any water to drain out via gravity.
There's usually a torque figure to tighten the nut to on the strut top. I'd imagine over-tightening it would put more load on the bearing
and may make it wear faster.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 11:13 AM |
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Hmm never thought of that tbh, no didn't use a torque wrench just a modified spanner
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nick205
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 11:24 AM |
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Haynes manual for the 205 GTI gives:
Self-locking nut = 45nm
Crimped nut = 70nm
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 11:29 AM |
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45nm oh... that's not tight at all
I suspect I am well above that, I used a tube extension.... Well I didn't have a manual at the time...silly me, glad I asked  I did think the
steering was a bit heavy, now I know why
Thanks very much 
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nick205
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 12:02 PM |
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Might be worth slackening them off a bit and see if it helps.
I think many of the bearings contain caged ball bearings so hopefully the balls or surfaces are not damaged!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 12:48 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nick205
Might be worth slackening them off a bit and see if it helps.
I think many of the bearings contain caged ball bearings so hopefully the balls or surfaces are not damaged!
yeah I think your right with the cause, I actually ripped one of the old ones apart to see how it works and it's just a ring of ball bearings in
a simple cage against the plastic housing surface which has a groove in both sides (this being the original Ford part). Don't think I have went
ott with it to the point where I would have damage it as it doesn't sound rough, just tight... I'm more use to proper metal bearings that
are tightened down on the inner bearing rather than this version of clamping the whole thing together
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nick205
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 12:58 PM |
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Fingers crossed!
Be sure to report back and let us know if clackeing it off helps resolve the issue.
Out of curiosity what's the mileage of the car and were other suspension parts/joints worn out?
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joneh
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 02:30 PM |
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Had exactly the same on my Jeep - I needed to grease the top bearings and not over tighten.
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snapper
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 03:38 PM |
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Mk 6 top mounts are of toffee, in normal use, well you know for me, and I changed 3 to date
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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nick205
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 04:27 PM |
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Hmm - sounds like they're not so good then!
Tightening the nut can be awkward as the shock absorber strut can rotate while you try and tighten the nut. Often there's an Allen fitting in
the top of the strut to allow you to overcome this if using an Allen key through a spanner though.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 05:14 PM |
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Macpherson struts normally have a shoulder on the piston so it shouldn't be possible to overtighten the nut and damage the top mount.
They're also nylocs and from memory around 50lbft is about right for the ones I've seen.
But I have replaced umpteen top mount bearings because they've failed, sometimes after only a few hundred miles. There's loads of cheap
parts out there, and they're not worth the effort. The one I did last on my Saab came out and sprinkled itself all over the floor, and it was
maybe 1000 miles old? It was Eurocarparts 'middle' top mount, so not their cheapest one.
It got replaced with some that were Meyle branded and they're meant to be one of the best.
The other thing to check would be washers, it's often easy to miss one (or a previous owner to miss one), then the wrong things are sat against
each other.
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obfripper
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| posted on 18/6/18 at 07:55 PM |
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Make sure the nut is fully tightened otherwise it could end up looking like this.
 
Description
If you drop down the strut top it should only take hand pressure to turn against the spring, it should turn smoothly.
Another thing to check is the alignment of the top - it will bolt down in 3 orientations, on most strut tops only 1 of these is correct and the other
2 will misalign the top bearing. This should be marked into the top face of the strut mount with an arrow pointing front-rear as futted to the car.
Dave
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 19/6/18 at 06:10 AM |
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well I checked it last night looking at the old parts and the design is such that the central nut does not influence the bearing pressure, only the
spring pushes against it so still at a lose however I was thinking of inserting a 2mm rubber gasket between the spring and the plastic bearing
housing, partly to increase grip but also to isolate the road noise a bit more as it's quite loud, I know you can get a lower one although
that's to stop the springs snapping all the time...
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trextr7monkey
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| posted on 20/6/18 at 07:54 AM |
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I have a pair of new fiesta springs of unknown model rolling around garage if any use can send pics and measurement s if helpful FOC
atb
Mike
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14016102@N00/ (cut and paste this dodgey link)
Our most recent pics are here:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/trextr7monkey/
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 20/6/18 at 11:14 AM |
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Thanks Mike for the offer, I don't think springs are the issue though as they are new, more they are slipping on the strut mount bearing for
some reason, looking into it just now
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trextr7monkey
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| posted on 20/6/18 at 12:29 PM |
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Yes I figured that but I’m trying to clear space in the garage I might have to start making those chickens on Springs that you see in parks!
Atb
Mike
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14016102@N00/ (cut and paste this dodgey link)
Our most recent pics are here:
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/trextr7monkey/
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