Going insane knocking noise/loose feeling when going over sharp small bumps.

[joeynahlous]

Hey guys i am going insane and thinking of selling my car, i have a knocking noise/ loose feeling noise that i hear and feel when i go over small or sharp bumps , i have just changed my Lca and sway bar links , front sway bar bushing have 20 000 miles on them, as i was changing my sway bar links i realized it was very easy to move my sway bar up and down i dnt know if that has anything to do with it, does a bad inner tie rod end have anything to do with it, the noise only happens when going straight, i still need to get my alignment done but want to fix everything to avoid getting it done twice.

[PJPR01]

Ball joints!!

[gkwait]

Mine was combo ball joints and sway bar bushings.

[joeynahlous]

Hey guys thanks for thehe reply, are we talking upper control arm
Ball joints??? Cause I just replaced the whole LCA a week ago.

[umbertob]

I am not clear if you replaced the sway bar bushes or not yet? My front suspensions' squeaks and knocks over bumps and broken pavement have always been resolved with replacement of those bushings, I am on my third set of OEM ones and I can just feel like a fourth set may be in my future - approaching 190k miles on my car and with my window open I can occasionally hear a mild squeak over bumps originating from the front end, the first sign the bushings are going bad - but the procedure is fairly quick and painless (cost-wise) on a Sport w/o Dynamic Response.

Yours is more complicated due to the hydraulic controls (BTW, have you checked the DR system fluid to make sure it is in good conditions / doesn't look contaminated?), but those soft rubber bushings Land Rover uses would still be my first suspects, especially if your stabilizer bar appears to have that much free play. Don't know for sure if that play is a characteristic of DR fitted cars, though. It may very well be normal.

[joeynahlous]

yes umbertob i replaced my sway bar bushings around 22 000 miles ago, and there was easy play in the sway bar itself whiles i was replacing the sway bar links, there is no squeaking at all, the noise happens only on small and sharp bumps or uneven roads , i get the feelings of looseness and a knock pop type of noise, but if i go over a big bump were alot of pressure is applied to the suspension their is no noise. Their is also no noise whiles turning up my driveway with a slope. i have not checked the fluids i will do that 2mrrw as report what i find out, after i replaced the LCA i checked to see the LCA bushings and their was slight play in them when i shake the control arm, my mechanic said it is normal i dont know if that is true?

[gooseyloosey]

1. Sway bar bushings are the #1 culprit here. How are the roads in OK? Depending on the road surface, I can hear them loosen up after 10-15K and they get really bad ~30K up here in the NE, but its like driving in an artillery range 'round here. In the land of fruits and nuts where Umbertob lives or anywhere you have smooth roads they'll last longer, so its not inconceivable that at 22K you are hearing some noise again.

2. LCA. Depending on how hard you are shaking you should not be able to feel or see any play of the lca ball joint or the two bushings in a new LCA by just grabbing the wheel and trying to shake it around by hand, assuming you have average strength (bench press ~#175 using free weights ).

3. UCA. Its not inconceivable that the UCA is worn as well. I would guess the UCA should last 2X as long as the LCA. Due to the nature of how double wishbone works, the UCA does not suffer the same level of abuse as the LCA. But, if the LCA gets really worn, the excess movement at the LCA could cause the UCA to wear faster.

[Project RRSC]

I have the same issue. The LCA ball joints are bad and causing a knock sounds over bumps and I hear a strange noise at full lock. I live in NJ where the roads are horrible so im guessing this is common.

[dantheman1]

A knocking noise and a loose feeling are two different things. Knocking is from either the LCA, UCA, or sway bar bushings. Loose feeling over uneven pavement (steering wheel shakes side to side) is "normal" as per LR or, in extreme cases, warrants replacement of entire steering rack or tie rod ends. After getting my LCA, UCA, sway bar bushings, and tie rod ends all replaced under warranty, I still have a slight side to side shake (or loose feeling) going over uneven pavement or hitting uneven bumps/dips in the road. LR is saying it's normal, but when it gets worse, it'll need the steering rack replaced.

[joeynahlous]

gooseyloosey id have to say the roads down here are nothing close to fresh fruits and nuts haha, the roads are not soo good here, these couple of days the weather dropped down from 58 degrees to 29 degrees and the knocking noise changed a lot and has became louder! It is more like a solid knock noise when going over small bumps or sharp bumps. their is movement in the LCA bushings after i jack the car up and use a wrench to try and shake the bushings around but not by applying force straight to the tire itself, if i had that much strength i would be participating in the Olympics! I have pretty much changed the whole front suspension now, i am going to change the inner tie rod ends as soon as the weather gets warm again, but i dont think that has anything to do with the knocking noise cause the noise is heard only when going straight over bumps.

[umbertob]

Joey,

See revised bulletin attached, fresh off the presses. Apparently, redesigned sway bar bushing clamps have been issued for your suspensions. Although your vehicle should not be included in this TSB (the bulletin only applies to MY07-11 with Dynamic Response), honestly I don't see why it shouldn't? It's not as if these knock noises only started on MY07s. Worth looking into this with your local shop, as I still think something is up with your "only 22,000 miles old" roll bar bushings myself.

[joeynahlous]

Thank you umbertob, i will print this copy and take it to the shop and see what he says, it has been cold 29 degrees and wet for a week now, it just got dry and warmed up today and i think whiles at the atm i heard a squeeking noise from front, i am hoping it is my bushings. I can barely hear it so i will wait maybe a day or two and hopefully the noise might get louder. when it got really cold the noise was very loud and now that the temp went up the noise is still their but not soo loud .I will also be changing my inner tie rod 2mmrw, and i was wondering what type of clamp do you suggest i use for the boot? zip tie? hose clamp?

[jverrant]

Amazing. Just purchased a 09 RRS SC HST, and also just joined the forum. I love the vehicle, and i can't believe that with only 22k on it I am noticing the same noise on front end. Not too concerned as I purchased the 100k maintenance package. But, what's up with RR building a superb vehicle like this with faulty suspension that doesn't last past 20k?

Probably stems from the fact that the RRSC weight is 7,000lb, and understandably an air ride suspension on this weight is I'm sure difficult.

Sorry, not good enough excuse on a MSRP $90,000 MSRP US. Bad engineering!

[RRToadHall]

Probably stems from the fact that the RRSC weight is 7,000lb, and understandably an air ride suspension on this weight is I'm sure difficult.Sorry, not good enough excuse on a MSRP $90,000 MSRP US. Bad engineering!

Air springs have nothing to do with steering components or any of the suspension issues noted here. Air springs simply take the place of steel coil springs. Weight can hardly enter into the equation when talking about EAS either since big rigs have been runnign Air Ride for decades with very little issue.

[mpartyka]

Amazing. Just purchased a 09 RRS SC HST, and also just joined the forum. I love the vehicle, and i can't believe that with only 22k on it I am noticing the same noise on front end. Not too concerned as I purchased the 100k maintenance package. But, what's up with RR building a superb vehicle like this with faulty suspension that doesn't last past 20k?

Congrats on your HST purchase!

I bought by 09 HST with 22k miles on it about a year and a half ago. Bought it to get through the long winters with deep snow we expect up here... Last year was a record year for snow fall and this year... Almost nothing on the ground. I just have to laugh. Still the point is, though i bought it for the winters i drove the hell out of it last summer. I really do enjoy the look and feel of this vehicle.

Our roads up here are in pretty bad shape especially in the heart of Minneapolis and i just turned 30k miles and now i'm hearing a hollow clunking noise when going over some of the more uneven roads. It's definitely new and just searching the forums here will quickly inform you on some of the more common suspension ailments. It's been at the dealership for the last week and a half. They say they have corrected the suspension problem that it took them two visits to notice. And i pointed out some rust spots on the back tailgate, around where the pistons connect and at the top of the liftgate. Apparently any corrosion problem needs to be approved by the service manager. The manager tells me, "it's just surface corrosion like we would see under the vehicle if we flipped it over", and not covered by warranty service. I didn't like this and said as much so then they tell me the district manager would be out the next day and if i wanted i could have him take a look. I said sure though i was sure they would just call me up and give me the same reason as to why they wouldn't be doing anything about it. But to my surprise they reiterated what they told me initially but then added that they wanted me to be a happy customer and were sending it to a body shop to address at no cost to me. Nice!

I was starting to think i was just being too picky then i took my 07 Lexus IS out and over the same road (on an older vehicle mind you with well over twice the miles) it's just got a nice tight feel, no odd noises or clunking. The loaner that i have from the dealership is a 2012 LR4 and again going over that same rough road it's also nice, tight and quiet just like the lexus so i'm really looking forward to my RRS being that way again.