Ls400 Mkll Clunk..need Help.

sir john · November 24, 2009

On the 14th Sept a wolley in a toyota, traveling at about 12mph, ran into the back of my stationary LS.

This shoved in the bumper and bent up the boot floor. The car has since been repaired at County Coach Builders Barrow.

New bumper and repaired boot floor. (Some of you might remember my posting asking if i should put up with a poor repair to the boot floor) Well, its been back to the repairers last week who, as far as can see, have done nothing.

Anyway, in the last couple of days the car has started to make a load CLUNK when it comes to rest while braking. And its getting worse. ie loader and i can feel it inside the car. Its almost as if there is something loose under the car that shifts under the load of braking. Has anyone got any ideas what this might be??

Thinking that it might be part of th suspension shifting back and forth i measured the wheel base on the left and right. Suprise suprise, its 7mm shorter on the OS. Thats the side that took most of the inpact. Im not very happy as things seem to be gonig from bad to worse.

ManicMark · November 24, 2009

Hi I would get on the phone to the insurance company get them to collect the car & supply you with a courtersy car untill its sorted out, I wouldn,t drive it as 1 it could be dangerous & 2 will no doubt be doing more damage. It has not been a satisfactory repair & they are responsible for it. My pennies worth but that is your rights.

Nitmoi · November 24, 2009

I second Manic Mark, insist on a new second hand replacement Lexus perhaps.

steveskeggy · November 25, 2009

It sounds to me as though you are at the point where the car needs an independant inspection to assess the work that has been done.

Not sure about the tollerances involved, but a 7mm difference between the two sides seems quite a lot.

Did you have this repair done yourself, or is it an insurance claim?

As to the noise, it could be anything, a prop shaft joint could have gone if it is now at the wrong angle (unlikely but posible), or even worse the suspension could be falling to pieces on that side.

I am not an expert but if, as I would suspect, the floor has moved enough to shift the wheel forward by 7mm, then to repair this would most likely involve a jig, which it sounds like the repairers have not used. In which case I would think that the insurance would declare the car a right off, due to the cost of the repair against the value of the car.

In the meantime I think it would be wise not to use the car until this is investigated.

Whatever, I would not take it back to Bodgit and Scarper, sorry County Coach Builders, if I were you, as it sounds as if they are pulling your banana.

On the 14th Sept a wolley in a toyota, traveling at about 12mph, ran into the back of my stationary LS.
This shoved in the bumper and bent up the boot floor. The car has since been repaired at County Coach Builders Barrow.

New bumper and repaired boot floor. (Some of you might remember my posting asking if i should put up with a poor repair to the boot floor) Well, its been back to the repairers last week who, as far as can see, have done nothing.

Anyway, in the last couple of days the car has started to make a load CLUNK when it comes to rest while braking. And its getting worse. ie loader and i can feel it inside the car. Its almost as if there is something loose under the car that shifts under the load of braking. Has anyone got any ideas what this might be??

Thinking that it might be part of th suspension shifting back and forth i measured the wheel base on the left and right. Suprise suprise, its 7mm shorter on the OS. Thats the side that took most of the inpact. Im not very happy as things seem to be gonig from bad to worse.

Manc · November 27, 2009

If the accident was not your fault then you have a right to get your car back in the condition it was in beforehand.

Dont let the insurance co. fob you off with a cheque for half the value (If it is a write-off).

Jig work lowers the value of the car immensely as it is never the same again and is weakened so its unfortunate either way but make sure you get what you lost (you can include receipts for recent work too!)

Manc · November 30, 2009

Its been a while since the initial repair so the clunk could be another fault.

The brakes can clunk like that when the control arms have gone, mine sounded like my brakes or suspension were falling apart or would snap at any time...but it was just worn ball joints.

The brake pads should also have a retainer pin, a v-shaped pin that fits into both pads. This apparently can cause the pads to slide up & down in the caliper and make noise - safe tho, i was told...

Let us know what the outcome is if you can please, it could be an educating issue you have with this garage....for all of us

Cheers

Nitmoi · November 30, 2009

The pins are round and there are two to locate the discs. There's virtually no movement there as they are guided into the caliper by shims as well. Just put new discs and pads on Saturday and soldered a new bit of wire into the sensor to save me £55. Discs £42 each pads QH, £19.49, wire free. On drive with car jack and simple tools 2.5 hours.