rattle from engine area

[mike635]

So now that I've made it home with my first P-car, it's time to get the wrenches out and start attacking some of the niggling issues I knew it had before I bought it.

There are two noises with the suspension that I have not been able to identify. In the rear, I hear what sounds like a rattle when driving around bumpy parking lots where the rear end moves from side to side (like turning a corner with some bumps). It does not sound like a low clunk, it's more soft metallic rattling in the engine area. I've pulled and tugged on various things in the engine compartment and the only suspicious item is the heat exchangers, the case on each can be made to rattle a little but it's quite subtle. I purchased the car from my brother who claimed that they needed replacing and this is on my list to replace at some point. The thing is, the noise sounds like it's coming from behind the rear seat area, not under the car. The shocks are quite old and probably need replacing although the car is tight and rebounds quite nicely from dips in the road at speed , do they rattle when worn out?

The other noise is from the right front, suspect struts or ball joints, haven't had a close look yet, suspect it will be obvious once I pull the wheel and have a closer look.

Sorry for the long post, I've been search the archives but haven't turned up anything that sounds like the noise I'm hearing. The car is lowered quite a bit (rear is under 24" ground to inside fender lip)

Any ideas?

mike

[jester911]

Check your shocks/struts. I had a rattle on my car not long after buying that turned out to be worn out rear shocks.

[mike635]

Thanks, is there an easy way to check the shocks? From some previous posts I found searching, some feel that the traditional "push up and down on the bumper, look for oscillation" test isn't valid for a car with torsion bar suspension. The best is probably to remove the shocks but that top bolt looks hard to get at in the rear just for a look. Any thoughts?

mike