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MG MGF Technical - Squeek from rear shock area

All

Spent a day trying to get rid of annoying squeek, which is coming from the off-side rear quarter. It is not the shock but seems to come from the upper shock mounting. I took the shock off and then paulled and pushed the upper mounting and the squeek could still be heard. I lossed off the Collant bottle and it still squeeked. I sprayed WD40 on the whole panel and around the engine and it still squeeked. I did noticed that the upper shock mounting is not very strong. It flexed when pressure was applied.

Does anyone have any idea what the squeek could be.
Steve

Steve,

This sounds rather familiar I'm afraid. Here are two things to try.

1. If you open your drivers door, stand on the sill plate and then jump up and down vigorously, can you make it squeak?

2. If you can squeeze your hand in to grab the platework around the upper shock mounting, then try pulling up and pushing down in rapid succession. Can you make it squeak?

If either or both of the answers is yes, then there is a strong possibility that you have a crack in the bodywork around the upper shock mounting.

It happened on my 98 VVC. When driving, it first sounded like a cable hitting the bodywork somewhere behind my right ear whenever I went over a bump. I checked everything, but could not get rid of the noise.

Eventually it got so bad that I could reproduce the squeak first by test 1 above and then, once the crack had been located, by test 2.

I had the crack welded up. The repair lasted a few months and the crack gradually developed again. I went around this loop two more times, but still the crack came back.

Finally, the engine had to come out and the MGF Cup Car triangulation plates had to be welded in to re-enforce the whole area. Obviously I had both sides done, just in case.

This was a very expensive task, but I took the opportunity to have a few other things done whilst the engine was out. Always find a silver lining ;-)
Dave Livingstone

Dave

"If you can squeeze your hand in to grab the platework around the upper shock mounting, then try pulling up and pushing down in rapid succession. Can you make it squeak?" Yes I can.

I have looked at the welds and they look OK. I take it you will see small splits along the welds.
Steve

Steve,

I have to admit I struggled to see the cracks until they were pointed out to me. They were not where I was naturally looking i.e. the actual shock mounting. They were more associated with the body panel above and around the shock mounting. It's also a little hard to remember exactly where now - senility beginning to set in I'm afraid!

If you want to talk to the people who sorted this for me, then call Tech-Speed Motorsport on 01926 632066 and ask if you can have a word with Mick. He can probably describe the nature of the cracks for you better than I, as he welded them up three times! They know me and my car very well, so it's OK to use my name.
Dave Livingstone

Dave

Thanks. I will give them a call.
Steve

Dave I am sorry to ask about what you have already explained, but these cracks how obvious are they when you did see them.

I ask as I have a very similar tapping noise as if a cable is hitting the panel around the rear shock on the passenger side.
I have looked and looked and discovered nothing at all. Still when I was bouncing the car and my mechanic pulled upwards on the shock it disappeared. So he gave the nut 1/4 turn to tighten it and it went away only to reappear 1/2 a mile down the road.

To say the least it is bloody annoying.
S Laithwaite

Stephen,

They were difficult to see even when pointed out to me. I think I would have found them difficult to find even if I was aware of the possibility and looked specifically for them. Don't restrict your search to the immediate area around the top shock mounting. Look at the actual body panels above and around the mounting area.
Dave Livingstone

The same squeak drove me mad for months. It turned out that the thread length on the top of the damper was insufficient and the nut bottomed on the thread before the mounting bush was fully tight. Movement of the bush against the body caused the squeak, which could be made to disappear temporarily by spraying with WD40. It was permanently solved by adding another metal washer between the bush and the nut to allow the nut to fully tighten and clamp the bush to the body.
David Ingham

This thread was discussed between 19/01/2004 and 22/01/2004

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