My 406 family estate (7 seater) has an annoying (and seemingly untraceable!) "thumping noise", which seems to come from around the rear o/s wheel /wheel arch area.
It only happens at lowish speeds on a particular type of road. It seems to have a "resonance" with certain road surfaces, e.g. slight imperfections in the surface or low relief cobles. Even if I just touch the footbreak at 1mph, there's a "knock" from this area.
The garage chaps have checked all of the external bits - bushes, rear wheel bits & pieces, shocker, exhaust heat shield etc. etc.(it's a deaper "rubber hammer" type knocking than that)but everything is OK.
I've checked the internals - rear facing seat + mounting, spare wheel & tools fixings, side storage boxes etc. etc. and I just can't find anything that is loose or suspect.
Is there a common fault on these cars...it's driving me nuts.
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On my 406 saloon, the cause of a similar noise to what you describe was caused by the rear drop link. I assume that the estate has them? Also that they have been checked properly if so.
On my car it used to make a bumping noise on poor road surfaces, and non at all on good road surfaces.
Reggie
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If it does it at 1mph, I would have someone under neath it move it a few inches and put the brakes on. Continue to do so until the source is found.
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Don't know what a "drop link" is, but I can suggest that if / when I take it back to the man at the garage.
It does just happen on poor road surfaces, AND I've now discovered that if I depress the footbrake as I travel or operate the handbrake slightly "on", the noises stop (the slight speed reduction isn't the factor though)...someone might know why that is - why applying the breaks, even very gently, cures the problem.
To my untrained eye, when I took off the rear o/s wheel (which is the area where the noise emanates from) all of the bushes / brake disk / calipers seem ok (solid all-round & no splits in the bushes, and I suppose the garage guy checked this anyway.)
In the light of the above, any further suggestions or sudden illuminations as to the cure?
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don't know the model so this is just a general observation; but operating the brake will result in the hub/axle being 'pulled' backwards to the rear of the car, taking out play in any bushes or links which are holding it in its normal place; I suppose shock absorber bushes, especially the top one, are too obvious a suggestion?
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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Shrewd observation....I'd considered this "shift of load" myself as I mulled over it last night, having looked at the callipers / disc etc. & found no obvious problems.
For the Peugeot experts out there: how likely / common is this?
Also, the top bush I presume is out of sight...or can I get at from the inside to look (estate)?
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The only source of noise from the rear of a 406 is from worn rear tie-rods. This manifests itself as more of a rattle than a thumping noise.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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I would go with the suggestion of tie rods.
Mine went on my 406 saloon,when I was on Holiday in France,in August.It cost me about £200 to have them rectified,however,all 4 wheels have to be re-aligned when you have new ones fitted.
If your capable,then you can replace them yourself,and then have the wheels re-aligned,and you should save a packet.
It'll be either of the following,but should be easy to tell which ones knackered,by any excess play on the relevant part.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ANTI-ROLL-BAR-LINK-ROD-406-vertical...m
Or:
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ANTI-ROLL-BAR-LINK-ROD-406-horizont...m
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Forgot.
If you replace one,then replace the other side as well,of whichever tie rod it is.
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I replaced the f/o/s and r/o/s drop links only. I didn't re-align the wheels and have had no problems! Who told you to do this?
Reggie.
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I was advised by three sets of people.
1st was my local Peugeot dealer,and the 2nd was by the repair agent in France.The 3rd was on an internet forum,but I can't remember which one.
Ken.
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Thanks for that guys - very positive & helpful.
Can't understand, though, why the garage, who seemed to have a good look and pull around, didn't pick this up.
Having said that, they didn't take the wheel off, which, when I did, seemed to reveal a few rods that looked like these, and maybe aren't accessible / visible with the wheel on?
By the way, if I attempt to replace these, will I need special tools e.g. to "hold the remaining assemblies together", or is it just a matter of removing nuts, manhandling the item out & the new one(s) in?
Or should I just bite the bullet & let a garage do it?
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Had a similar problem with my Toyota which turned out to be badly fitted tie-bars. You need an Allen key or similar to hold the threaded bolt coming out of the ball-joint whilst using a spanner to tighten the nut. The guy that did mine didn't do this properly so that under load and going over some (but not all bumps) you'd hear a thump. Jacking the car up and tugging things by hand didn't reveal the cause due to the anti-roll bar taking the strain - it was found crawling around with the wheels on the ground. Oh and btw no re-alingnment required.
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Cheers...I don't know if the Toyota & Peugeot 406 are similar?. If I attempt to replace the tye rods, will I also need special tools e.g. to "hold the remaining assemblies together" or to position the location holes / rods, or is it just a matter of removing nuts as suggested, manhandling the item out & the new one(s) in?
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Fair point...it's a sort of a rattle (regular) but a quite low frequency, so sounds like a series of thumps.
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It may sound really silly, but have you jacked your car up recently with our own jack? If so, check that you?ve put it back properly, it sits inside the spare wheel and mine rattles and bangs about if I don?t wrap it in padding and wedge it in. It just might save you a few quid.
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Yes, thanks for the suggestion...checked all of that. On this model it sits very neatly in a polystyrene unit with all of the other tools. Spare tyre also firmly held.
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