Shocked... what might I have missed...?

[wiley_coyote]

I've just pulled all of the struts and calipers off my 02 PFL as the bellows were perished on each strut and I wanted to make sure the brakes were as I'd want them. I ended up replacing all of the discs, unsiezing the sliders of the rear calipers and replacing all of the pads. The front struts were leaking slightly so I ordered a new pair from MR2Ben. The springs all seem to be in good condition and it looks as if they aren't the originals (too shiny).

I finished putting it back together this afternoon (no major traumas), flushed the brake fluid, bled the brakes and went off for a test run. I got about 200 yards.

I seriously thought I'd forgotten to tighten one of the from wheels as the knocking and rattling from the front was horrendous. I went straight back home, checked the frunk wasn't loose or that there was anything rolling round, checked the top mount bolts, lower strut bolts and everything seems to be as it should. I'm now scratching my head wondering what the heck I've done.

Any ideas or anyone experienced anything similar? Thanks.

[Call the midlife!]

Sliders all tight? Springs in the pads etc?

[wiley_coyote]

Yes thanks. I'm confident that it's not the brakes. It's a very definite knocking from the front end.

[Call the midlife!]

Did you fit new top mounts?

[Gaz mr-s]

You've mentioned checking the top mount bolts, did you check the main strut nut?

[potge]

Check also the brake dust shields. If they were seriously rotten, they might even be rotating now... And is quite easy to happen, as a small accidental tap when fitting any of the brake parts is enough.

[shnazzle]

And the simple one. Make sure the spring is seated correctly. But as the top mount bolt can only really be properly fastened with an impact gun, that's a key suspect

[McMr2]

I've just pulled all of the struts and calipers off my 02 PFL as the bellows were perished on each strut and I wanted to make sure the brakes were as I'd want them. I ended up replacing all of the discs, unsiezing the sliders of the rear calipers and replacing all of the pads. The front struts were leaking slightly so I ordered a new pair from MR2Ben. The springs all seem to be in good condition and it looks as if they aren't the originals (too shiny).

I finished putting it back together this afternoon (no major traumas), flushed the brake fluid, bled the brakes and went off for a test run. I got about 200 yards.

I seriously thought I'd forgotten to tighten one of the from wheels as the knocking and rattling from the front was horrendous. I went straight back home, checked the frunk wasn't loose or that there was anything rolling round, checked the top mount bolts, lower strut bolts and everything seems to be as it should. I'm now scratching my head wondering what the heck I've done.

Any ideas or anyone experienced anything similar? Thanks.

Are the calipers secure on the hub? To rule out anything brakes related, does the knocking go away if you're on the brakes? I say this as I had a knock (on another car) over rough roads that turned out to be the caliper rattling on the slide bolts, was convinced it was a bush or something but then noticed it wouldn't happen if I was lightly on the brakes.

Can you feel it through the steering wheel?

[virginpaul]

Anti roll bar bush attachments fully tightened up.
Drop links secured both ends

[wiley_coyote]

Thanks for all of your responses.

We're all sorted now - @shnazzle and @Gaz mr-s are the winners, and I'm embarrassed to say that it was the top strut nut. I 'thought'I'd tightened it OK, but it needed me to clamp the piston and use my impact gun to tighten it those few extra threads that made all of the difference.

The 'ah-hah' moment came when I lifted the front wing instead of bouncing it down. Gotcha.

The car is transformed btw. Lovely and smooth; no knocks or rattles from the front end; stops well and ABS working.

[Call the midlife!]

Never be embarrassed to admit a minor kerfuffle, I've previously won an award for mine, it's how we all learn.👍🏻

[Joesson]

Not mentioned in this thread and seemingly now not relevant for @wiley_coyote, but perhaps worthy of mention is that the top of the shocks have two flats that must be engaged in a matching slot in the top mount.
While I do not have an impact gun I did manage to secure the shocks some years back when refitting them. At the time I posted about the high price of Mr T's Nyloc  nuts for this position and the best practice of replacing them after removal.
Hopefully my new shocks, c/w new nuts will be secured again without the need for an impact gun when I get around to doing it.

[wiley_coyote]

Not mentioned in this thread and seemingly now not relevant for @wiley_coyote, but perhaps worthy of mention is that the top of the shocks have two flats that must be engaged in a matching slot in the top mount.
While I do not have an impact gun I did manage to secure the shocks some years back when refitting them. At the time I posted about the high price of Mr T's Nyloc  nuts for this position and the best practice of replacing them after removal.
Hopefully my new shocks, c/w new nuts will be secured again without the need for an impact gun when I get around to doing it.

Hi. Not on the front they didn't. Rear shocks have a single flat which effectively locks the piston into the top turret/bearing. Front units don't (well mine didn't) have any flats which allowed the piston to spin. Mole grips and a piece of rubber tube fettled that. For me, the impact gun is a recent 'investment'. Worth every penny imho.

[wiley_coyote]

Never be embarrassed to admit a minor kerfuffle, I've previously won an award for mine, it's how we all learn.👍🏻

Oh, I've broken MUCH bigger things in the past! Couldn't agree more about 'fessing up' to misdemeanours and when I realised that the last struts that I services were on a Rover SD1, I didn't feel so bad! It was just one of those moments where I couldn't see clearly passed a simple mistake - getting the feedback from here was great. Cheers.