Outback Knock From Underneath

Outback Knock From Underneath

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DSLiverpool

Original Poster:

15,136 posts

209 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
quotequote all
Chaps my 2006 H6 knocks when on anything other than the smooth road (car park with ruts, any sort of pot holed surface etc). I bought it from a really good garage who said they know it knocks but cannot see a cause, I have offered to pay to put it into a specialist to diagnose and they have said to bring it back in for another look.

Its mainly apparent on side to side movement and comes from the passenger side but hard to pinpoint front to rear

Its getting worse but is still elusive, before it goes in I would like some idea of what it could be, apart from drop links is anything else "clonky" under the car. its 2006 with 60k miles and just passed an MOT with no advisories

Cheers

MDMA .

9,207 posts

108 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
quotequote all
welcome to the Legacy / Outback of that vintage ! smile notoriously hard on suspension bushes. try the following :

strut mounts, tie rod ends, roll bar end links ( and every other rubber bush underneath - they will need replacing eventually ).


DSLiverpool

Original Poster:

15,136 posts

209 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
quotequote all
MDMA . said:
welcome to the Legacy / Outback of that vintage ! smile notoriously hard on suspension bushes. try the following :

strut mounts, tie rod ends, roll bar end links ( and every other rubber bush underneath - they will need replacing eventually ).
Cheers - as its just from the dealers and they will cover it I prefer to get anything £££ done by them - whats the pricier of these and the most obvious ? Cheers

MDMA .

9,207 posts

108 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
quotequote all
time and labour ! parts are not that expensive.

vxr2010

2,597 posts

166 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
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arb rubber mounts and the drop links both cheap and try them first but don't buy cheap drop links they won't last

sawman

4,963 posts

237 months

Thursday 29th September 2016
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mine did this when I first had it (at 37k miles), and the main dealer (grudgingly) replaced a drop link, which helped slightly, I then had bushes replaced by the chaps who do my servicing and its been all quiet ever since (84K) - I considered upgrading to whiteline stuff but havent got around to it

gforceg

3,524 posts

186 months

Saturday 1st October 2016
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I've got similar symptoms so I've just been having a look at the various suspect parts.

How easy is it to change the drop links and ARB bushes? They look easily accessible but are there any hidden perils aside from seized fasteners? I assume it's worth doing the drops at the same time.

If that doesn't fix the clunking I'll look at replacing the strut mounts although they look pretty fresh.

Thanks.

vxr2010

2,597 posts

166 months

Saturday 1st October 2016
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lots of wd40 first over a few days , drop links some times need cutting off , mine came off ok even after 10 years of being on it i had no problems

gforceg

3,524 posts

186 months

Saturday 19th November 2016
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Just to follow up, I replaced the ARB bushes a week or two ago and it made no noticeable difference to my clonking.

However, I changed the drop links this afternoon and, thank goodness, the noises have gone. Woohoo!

The chap at the Subaru dealer who sold me the parts had a look underneath to be sure what was needed and said the bushes at the back of the front wishbones would be a Pass/advisory on an MOT so should be done before next time.

Roger Irrelevant

3,113 posts

120 months

Friday 25th November 2016
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gforceg said:
Just to follow up, I replaced the ARB bushes a week or two ago and it made no noticeable difference to my clonking.

However, I changed the drop links this afternoon and, thank goodness, the noises have gone. Woohoo!
Out of interest how much were the parts for this? Got an H6 that's clonking a bit myself and want to get an idea of how much it might be to fix.

DSLiverpool

Original Poster:

15,136 posts

209 months

Friday 25th November 2016
quotequote all
Roger Irrelevant said:
Out of interest how much were the parts for this? Got an H6 that's clonking a bit myself and want to get an idea of how much it might be to fix.
At a main dealer £45 each rear and 30 mins to fit

gforceg

3,524 posts

186 months

Saturday 26th November 2016
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Roger Irrelevant said:
Out of interest how much were the parts for this? Got an H6 that's clonking a bit myself and want to get an idea of how much it might be to fix.
The ARB bushes were a few quid each and the drop links were about £100 for the front pair, all from the local Subaru garage.

If I'd done both jobs at the same time like any normal person it would have been about 2.5 hours work for me.

DSLiverpool

Original Poster:

15,136 posts

209 months

Friday 9th December 2016
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Rear end now quiet as a mouse, I can hear the tyre roar now which is pretty loud.