Spyder Twin Wishbone Rear Suspension

[jimj]

Pete, it`s probably your dentures. I didn`t believe my wife when she told me Davey Jones was dead, then I saw her face.
Jim

[Spyder fan]

Pete,
The upper wishbones can wear quite badly at the hub connection, mine went oval after 18 months and caused a clackety clack noise over bumps. The replacements have rose joints. Mine is a zetec setup to Sierra hubs but the principle is the same.

Hope this isn't your problem as the bits are not cheap.

Good luck.

[elansprint71]

Now it's been a while; so how many long-term users of the RSC twin-wishbone rear suspension are there on here? Most of the previous respondents seem to have taken the last train to Clarksville (along with Davey Jones; RIP).

Beg your pardon ! I am very much alive, and scuba diving in Tenerife at present

One thing you might check is whether there is enough clearance in the lower shock mounts, allowing the metal eye to contact the shock mount when the rubber bushings are subject to bump loads....

Thanks Sean, I'll do that.

Did you hear the one about the Irish scuba-diver....?

[elansprint71]

Pete,
The upper wishbones can wear quite badly at the hub connection, mine went oval after 18 months and caused a clackety clack noise over bumps. The replacements have rose joints. Mine is a zetec setup to Sierra hubs but the principle is the same.

Hope this isn't your problem as the bits are not cheap.

Good luck.

If I ever get past the mountain of broken domestic appliances that seems to assault me each day, my intention is to dismantle both sides of the car and fit the poly-bushes I've had on the shelf for a while. I changed the right-side upper wishbone when the car was t-boned in 2009; the left side (which is where the noise seems to come from) has been in there for about eight years. The hub end of the upper wishbone is a single bush; got to be a suspect for premature wear.
Thanks for the pointer, I'll pay particular attention to that area.

[elansprint71]

So; I completely dismantled the left rear suspension and found NO signs of wear at all.
Took it for a drive and the clack-clack noise is still there.
The seat-belt mounting bolt is tight.
Not much else it can be, as far as I can see.

Here are a couple of photos taken this evening, when exploring the interior of the boot (not a place I can really recall having really scrutinised in 35 years on and off Elan ownership).
The first photo is from the Sprint (a FHC to DHC conversion; the car in question), the glass-fibre around the tubular strengthening "bit" seems much newer than the rest of the body, so I assume was added when the roof was removed and the raised lip for the Tenax fasteners was put in, when the roof was cut off.
The second photo is of my FHC; I had not previously noticed this strengthening tube, neither did I know that there is a (rusty) piece of steel channel connecting the boot hinge mounting bolts.

None of which gets me nearer to the source of the noise, as far as I can tell, but I'll check the tightness of the nuts on the rusty channel (the Nylok nut in the first photo shows no sign of a bolt inside it!) and also on the steel cross-member which holds in the cardboard fire-wall.

[Foxie]

="elansprint71 Thanks Sean, I'll do that.

Did you hear the one about the Irish scuba-diver....?

Ok. I?ll dive in. And take the bait......

What about the Irish scuba-diver ?

[elansprint71]

Paddy:

"Why do SCUBA divers always fall backwards off their boats?"

To which Murphy replies, "Well if they fell forward they'd still be in the frickin' boat."

It's the way I tell 'em.