Heard a snapping noise driving slowly any ideas?

A

andya1

Active member
Hi guys

I was just driving at about 30 mph in a straight line pulling up to my house and there was a loudish sort of metal twang as if something was taught and then twanged and snapped! It was fairly loud but seemed to come from underneath the car in the middle but I could be wrong as it did startle me, now I know that the rear springs go on these but the car sounded fine and when I parked it I looked at the back and it didn't look lobsided so I have no idea :cry: I did push down on the rear wing and bounced both sides and of course the suspension is very firm so it didn't bounce much but both sides moved and I didn't hear any scraping noises, so how would I know? Any idea anyone :)

Thanks

Andy
 
Almost certainly the rear spring. It will be just the top 2" broken off and very hard to see without a ramp, lifting it or wheel off.
Doesn't look lopsided and drives fine, hence most people find it only at MOT time
 
So is it still fine and safe to drive like that? How would I know can you tell if the wheel is off and the car is jacked up on one side or is it more complex than that to check them? It just recently had it's mot as well, could it have been a stone trapped in a disk and flying out I wonder.
 
andya1 said:
So is it still fine and safe to drive like that? How would I know can you tell if the wheel is off and the car is jacked up on one side or is it more complex than that to check them? It just recently had it's mot as well, could it have been a stone trapped in a disk and flying out I wonder.
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Within limits it's safe, but that depends on what broke. If it's the top 2" of the spring it will be fine. Easy enough to see if you jack the car up and remove a wheel (Use axle stands for safety too). It's just that with the cursory glance most will miss it being broken.

Stone flying out - possible, but I doubt it and that would rattle around s it flew out and you'd most likely have heard some scraping if it were stuck. You could have hit a stone - all is possible. That's why you need to get under and take a good look.
 
Ok thanks cj I am not a mechanic whatsoever as my wife will tell you :) but I can borrow my neighbours trolley jack and jack each side up seperate will I be able to see if they are broken if I do that, bearing in mind I am new to this sort of thing can a novice check these :) and will I be able to see the whole spring?

Thanks

Andy
 
cj10jeeper said:
Yes you'll be able to see it but don't go under the car with a wheel off just in a jack.
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Thanks cj I will borrow his axle stands as well, so you are saying that I should be able to see the whole spring? I thought part of it was hidden away in the bodywork :)

Andy
 
Thanks for the replies guys I just don't know if I am capable of this and I know that replacing them is fairly easy but I just don't know if I could do that as when someone says it is easy it will be a bit harder than that :) now if only a fellow Z owner lived near me :)
 
Having just watched a video on how to do it yes it looks pretty easy BUT I just don't have any tools to do this job and jobs like this are so much easier to do if you have the tools so I might have to take it into a garage.
 
Would be happy to help you do this (it really is quite a quick repair), depending on where you are in the country??
 
cj10jeeper said:
Almost certainly the rear spring. It will be just the top 2" broken off and very hard to see without a ramp, lifting it or wheel off.
Doesn't look lopsided and drives fine, hence most people find it only at MOT time
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I think it's probably a rear spring too. When it happened to me there was a creaking now and again from the back of the car. I agree it doesn't look lopsided though. IIRC, the bottom part of the spring had snapped off.
 
this happened to mine last week. I was not prepared for the sound it makes. no lopsidedness. I can see the snapped piece through the wheel, no jacking or removal. I have now got the spring from ebay and will be buying a trolley jack and an 18mm long bar to do the job myself - I already have axel stands and chocks.
 
Hi guys

Well It did sound like a stick snapping and I had a feel around and found the broken piece on the offside so I have ordered two springs and I need to buy a trolley jack and axle stands as well, that is the easy bit the hard bit will be doing the job as my wife Linda is convinced when I start to do it the car will be left abandoned in the air in pieces with me also in pieces shaking in a corner!
 
Oakandacorns said:
andya1 - you don't have to replace both springs, you can just change the one.
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Thanks for that and I know you can but I thought it might be best to replace both don't you reckon?

I have ordered two springs
 
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