Harsh Ride

[dullbird]

recently I have noticed more and more that the Puma appears to be giving quite a harsh ride.....

I have also noticed a lot of knocking through the steering wheel...when it does it it feels like something attached to the steering wheel like the steering arm etc is loose (although its not have checked)...we do think that this might be a worn bush....as when the car gets hot the steering wheel also gets a creek in it and turning the steering wheel gets a fraction notchy.

I was wondering though is it possible the shocks aren't doing there job very well anymore?

Ian bounced the car the other day once he got home from work and it hardly bounced at all which should suggest the shocks are fine...but then I asked him if it was possibly that after some use i.e getting hot could they be fading a bit therefore not doing there job right.....

when he checked the car it was some hours after I had driven it. i.e the shocks would of had ample time to cool.

does this sound feasible?

[Tombie]

Creak is likely to be the bearings on the steering shaft running dry.

Shimmy could be shocks or lose steering arm etc....

Harsh ride is possibly shocks... Are they originals? And how many KMs?

I know you've used it offroad a bit, real offroad wears things real quick, and loosens everything on corrugations!

[dullbird]

Creak is likely to be the bearings on the steering shaft running dry.

its not there all the time though only eveident on really hot days when the car has been out in it.

Shimmy could be shocks or lose steering arm etc....

there is no shimmy when I say a knock I really mean its a knock like something has come loose and is knocking around..not there all the time tends to be at the end of my 80k journey

Harsh ride is possibly shocks... Are they originals? And how many KMs?

Shocks are original but they car only has 52,000k on the clock...it hasn't done a lot of off road at all really although we did do the tour last year and there was some heavy corrie's on that run...we did get shock fade when we came off the gove track....only went out off road once after that trip..this is our tourer more than our off roader

I know you've used it offroad a bit, real offroad wears things real quick, and loosens everything on corrugations!

thanks for the suggestions mike

[SVX37]

recently I have noticed more and more that the Puma appears to be giving quite a harsh ride.....

I have also noticed a lot of knocking through the steering wheel...when it does it it feels like something attached to the steering wheel like the steering arm etc is loose (although its not have checked)...we do think that this might be a worn bush....as when the car gets hot the steering wheel also gets a creek in it and turning the steering wheel gets a fraction notchy.

I was wondering though is it possible the shocks aren't doing there job very well anymore?

Ian bounced the car the other day once he got home from work and it hardly bounced at all which should suggest the shocks are fine...but then I asked him if it was possibly that after some use i.e getting hot could they be fading a bit therefore not doing there job right.....

when he checked the car it was some hours after I had driven it. i.e the shocks would of had ample time to cool.

does this sound feasible?

Hi Dullbird,

I have exactly the same issue you are referring to which is the knocking in the steering wheel. (12K on odo). I had a service last week and explained the issue to the service department. All they could find was that the heat shield from the Turbo was loose. This does seem to have fixed the problem to a degree but I still think I can hear some "groans" when turning the wheel at slow speeds. The knock seems to have gone, but I may be going back again soon if the noise continues.

[justinc]

Lou,

The pinch bolts for the steering column universal joints are quite common to come loose, enough to cause a knock in the wheel as they move in the spline. If you jiggle the wheel side to side, can you feel a knocking noise?

I have just tightened an 05 110 that was very loose, aswell as a knocking noise like a loose steering joint, owner had complained the steering was beginning to feel 'vague' also.

If the puma is like the late Td5 ones, they require a torx socket to tighten, IIRC it was an E11, or E12 size.

JC

[Tombie]

As far as shocks are concerned....

Most factory shocks are stuffed by 40k... And thats road use only...

Some aftermarket designs go longer, but its good practice to change a normal Gas / Foam at no more than 50k..

They degrade over time so its almost unnoticeable.. But becomes very evident once replaced.

The harsh ride could be a sticking piston... Valving issue...

[dmdigital]

Tombie's right on the money about Shocks. I'm hoping to get around to ordering my replacement Koni's this week.

The other thing to check is the steering damper. It can also send some bad movement up the steering. Though from what you've described I'd suspect what everyone else has said is more likely. That said, the SD wears out just the same as shocks do.

[dullbird]

thanks derek I didn't even think of the steering damper.....

[Blknight.aus]

I was going to suggest the steering damper bushes and the panhard rod bushing.

the damper bushings are a pretty common job for us.