Thread: "Honking" Self-Leveller

Yeah, but the Honking was more like a Farting noise ,twas the lower gaiter, sealed so well it Farted when operated ,.
You didnt say whether the Load leveller actually works now you fitted a new/service exchange one ? One mans Honk could be another mans Knock !!! ALso seen the upper flange mounts loose on the chassis side.

A big thanks for that! I wouldn't have thought of it. Gaitors and everything are new so that would make sense.

I haven't checked to see if the thing works. I'll have to load up with jerry cans of water or something.

Welllll, I got some new Genuine balljoints, just in case, and pulled the whole damn thing out, and replaced the joints, and put the damn thing back in, and (you all know where this is heading, don't you?), naturally the noise is still there.

I realised that the sound is a lot like a hydraulic pipe bender I have. When the ram is out most of the way, it can make a similar noise if I release it and it retracts at just the right speed, so I wonder if the principle is the same.

Anyway, tomorrow I should have the time to load up the car with something heavy and then flog it down a nearby dirt road. It might not help, but at least it should be fun.

BTW, I recall that when I bought a reco Boge and new joints, both the joints were loose from new, and Graeme Cooper machined a bit off in a lathe to tighten them. As you know they have a nylon cup.

AFAIR from 15 or so years ago, he had to take a bit off the screw cap, so that the top of the socket was tighter on the ball.
Regard sPhilip A

Thanks. It's getting to the point where I'm really going to have to get a lathe. I did find one joint was a bit loose, but didn't bother checking the others. But I think the fault is in the leveller.

I forgot to add before that the crossmember it's bolted to is amplifying the noise quite a lot, so I wonder how bad it really is.

Okaaay, so this time I filled up ten jerry cans with water, to give me a bit over 200kg, filled up the load area with them, and went to my favourite bit of bumpy road, which is horrible in the work car, (a Mahindra), but great in the Rangie.

The honking was there when I left the house but went away when the leveller started getting a workout, and for good measure I drove down a dirt road at 80kmh as well. When I got home I found the suspension was down a bit, whereas I thought that the leveller would just bring it back up to unladen height.

At home, noise gone, unloaded car, noise still gone, just checked now, and the noise is sort of there when I bounce the car, but then goes away.

So maybe new parts just need a good flogging!

could this sort of noise occur after being parked on a slope , then running the car in to the garage and switching it off (2 short bursts of it, then by the time I'd locked it, no more sounds)