Topic

OK.

I have had this 'eee-eek' noise coming from somewhere behind the driver's head. It started off just as a small noise when I navigated the speed bumps in the town.

However it has gradually got worse over time, getting louder and more frequent until recently it has been there most of the time, and sounds as if someone is torturing a mouse!

I ruled out anything in the interior, but it was hard to isolate the source as it was quite difficult to replicate the noise with the car stationary on the drive.
I greased my nipples as a precaution.
I checked out all the bushes in the offside rear suspension, but the only one that showed any wear/movement was the bottom damper rubber/bush.(the one the nice MOT guy will fail your F on, usually). I didn't really think this was 'Mr. Squeaky' but I replaced it and test drove the car.

Marvellous, the noise was now totally................ deafening! And continuous! The poor mouse was screaming for mercy and so was I.

So how could replacing a bush make it worse? Unless the squeaky one was at the other end of the damper, of course.

So a quick check showed a bit of movement at the top fixing point. Aha!

To remove the top nut on the damper it is best to take out the two bolts holding the expansion tank and move the tank to one side.

This allows access to the nut. You need two spanners, a 14mm for the nut and an 8mm to stop the damper itself rotating.
I have a 14mm ratchet spanner, which was perfect to use in the restricted space.

I removed the nut and the cap washer; I pulled off the top rubber and it looked like this.



It should have looked something like this.



The missing section goes into the damper securing hole and prevents the damper top moving around.

This is the damper removed from the car.


I replaced the worn rubber and refitted the washer cap and nut.
After re-locating and fixing the expansion tank, I went for a test drive.

Bliss, perfect bliss. Not a squeak! YES!

I will be looking at why this bottom damper bush on the F keeps failing later - I must have replaced them 2-3 times in two years. I have investigated and now have a cunning plan.