Hi All,
TLDR:
Front knocking: bushes 14 months old, 5k miles done since.
Apologies for the essay.
For the past 3/4 months there’s been various knocking/creaks seemingly from the front when going over the usual high quality road surfaces here. In February last year I had the lower front arms with track rods, both front and rear arm bushes, drop links, and ARB bushes replaced from British Parts, not Brit Parts. Since then I’ve done around 5.5k miles, 99.99% on road (148750 to 154000 ish). Sometimes there’s a creak when setting off, others it’s just the ‘thud’ when a pothole or repair is hit. My man who sorts things on the FL has had a look and a quick drive and decided that it’s the ARBs that seem to be the culprit. I thought it might be the engine mounts but he’s given them a thumbs up. Same for the others I had replaced. I do remember when I saw the front ARB bushes that they looked like something for a pedal car they were so small ( hence the good price!). It’s a difficult issue because sometimes there’s no creaking but there is now always ‘thud, thud’. I suggested to my mechanic that I replace the ARBs with poly bushes but have read some don’t like them. For now I’ve ordered some more el cheapo ARBs to be fitted. If the thud disappears I’ll either leave them or put polys in. Is the FL1 known for chewing through front ARB bushes given how small they are and how heavy it is? Any thought on what else could be going on and a remedy would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Michael.
TLDR:
Front knocking: bushes 14 months old, 5k miles done since.
Apologies for the essay.
For the past 3/4 months there’s been various knocking/creaks seemingly from the front when going over the usual high quality road surfaces here. In February last year I had the lower front arms with track rods, both front and rear arm bushes, drop links, and ARB bushes replaced from British Parts, not Brit Parts. Since then I’ve done around 5.5k miles, 99.99% on road (148750 to 154000 ish). Sometimes there’s a creak when setting off, others it’s just the ‘thud’ when a pothole or repair is hit. My man who sorts things on the FL has had a look and a quick drive and decided that it’s the ARBs that seem to be the culprit. I thought it might be the engine mounts but he’s given them a thumbs up. Same for the others I had replaced. I do remember when I saw the front ARB bushes that they looked like something for a pedal car they were so small ( hence the good price!). It’s a difficult issue because sometimes there’s no creaking but there is now always ‘thud, thud’. I suggested to my mechanic that I replace the ARBs with poly bushes but have read some don’t like them. For now I’ve ordered some more el cheapo ARBs to be fitted. If the thud disappears I’ll either leave them or put polys in. Is the FL1 known for chewing through front ARB bushes given how small they are and how heavy it is? Any thought on what else could be going on and a remedy would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Michael.
