Hi Guys.
First post on honest john.
looking for a little bit of independatnt advice.
Got myself a 1.6 ford focus zetec X reg. Nothing special just a family run around.
64K genuine mileage just had a full service.
At the service they changed the front brakes and the front right shock. (apparently the shock had leaked onto the brake causing unusual brake wear??
Anyway. Since the work was done everytime I press the brake it knocks. The noise is intermittent. When i took it back to the garage a week after the service it was gone and they couldnt find anything. But now its back with vengance. Its a fairly loud knock/click when you press the break. I can even do 30 mph press the brake ten times and it goes click ten times. Im pretty sure its on the suspension as its doing it going over small bumps now aswell.
Ive had a good look cant find anything obviously wrong. could be the drop link arm (but that was changed 18months ago) or some strut bushes? but nothing is obviously loose when i put it over a pit.
There is a small play in the steering but that's not it and the CV joints are fine and also the common knocks from the pedal box. but for a 10 y/o ford thats o.k and this noise is unrelated to that.
my thoughts are that when they changed the shock they disturbed a worn bush which is now wearing through. Looking for a bit of ammo to go in there with tomorrow cos it cost me £350 to get the service and work done i dont want to fork out another 100 just for a cupla bushes to be changed.
Thanks for your help.
John C
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What about the pads, John, are they sitting nice and tight? I've had something similar happen with no-brand pads and discs.
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I'm not an expert but the first thing I thought of was "Loose brake pads".
I'm not at all clever, it happened to a pal on his Fiesta. :-)
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Years ago, some callipers had a small, springy piece of metal which prevented the pads rattling.
The part was flimsy and not safety related, so it often got lost/left off.
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Just had a thought, try moving the car slowly backwards and forwards and see if it clicks in both directions when you brake, this may indicate pads.
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Have they only changed one shock?. They should always be changed in pairs. Have all the mountings been tightened properly, especially bottom strut mounting. Maybe the top mount is knocking. Sounds like a suspension issue.
Take it back to dealers and get them to check everything over again if you can't see anything. Get them to give it a test drive.
Edited by corax on 07/02/2010 at 19:35
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A regular cause of this type of knocking, on the Focus, is the anti roll bar link.
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Front spring not reseated correctly after shock absorber was changed. Or, front spring actually broken but they haven't bothered to change it (it's usually only the very end that breaks off).
As others have said, you don't just change one shock absorber, by the way.
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BMW reckon (according to their TIS system) that if there is less than 50k miles on the shocks, and one goes, only one should be replaced.
It goes on to spell out that the dealer will not be reimbursed for replacing 2 :-/ Maybe Ford are the same, strikes me as a bit crappy either way.
Maybe they drop tested the other one and it was fine. Who knows.
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A few years ago now I had a similar issue with a recently acquired Ford 1.6 Escort (X-Reg).
The recently replaced pads were not genuine Ford items and once replaced with these the knocking noise was away. Ford ones are cheap enough and don't make it worth while replacing with after-market items.
Also both shocks should have been replaced at the same time as a matter of safety. You now have one new shock and one 10year old 64k tired one. Not good news for handling and braking.
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