cliffcoggin

Time to find a mechanic who knows what he is doing Arron. Three of us on the list have said repeatedly that at least one of the ball joints is clapped out, and there are suspicions about other parts of the suspension and steering. What more can we say.

Unless that was a professional grade scanner it can not be relied upon. The cheap scanners from China are cheap for a reason.

Good for you Kai. It's a shame Sid could not be bothered to keep this forum updated.

Can you hear the solenoid of the driver's door lock operate, or is it silent?

Is it definitely lubricating oil Calum? Could it be brake fluid? Loss of either could be expensive or even dangerous, and needs to be investigated quickly. Without looking in the engine bay nobody here can be certain. You need to get the bonnet up, wipe or wash off any oil, and then run the engine while watching for fluid escape.

Do you realise that is wrecking the front tyres?

Does the noise change when cornering at or near full lock?

Probably a seized pulley has damaged the belt as Steve mentioned, but worth considering pulley or tensioner misalignment. I don't see that any of those things would affect the idle speed.

Since when has Google been the arbiter of correct English? I have been working on cars for 54 years, long before Google (an American company,) was invented, and I was trained by my father who was a mechanic for the GPO. He and his colleagues used the term track rod for the link connecting the hub assembly to the rack (or the Pitman arm on a re-circulating ball steering box.) Having said that, it's not worth arguing about so let's concentrate on Arron's problem.

Track rod and tie rod are the respective British and American terms for the same thing. I doubt I shall comment further in this topic as I seem to be repeating myself to no effect.

That's probably because it is broken, but unless you confirm that either by removing it or looking up into the end, it is merely supposition.

Being able to move the spring a little is meaningless while it is not under load. You need to look right up into the top of its mounting to see if it is broken, and if you can not see the top end well enough then the whole strut will need to be removed for inspection.

I see and hear it now Aaron. You should be able to twist the rod, (that's what the ball in the joint is for,) but only with difficulty, and certainly not with any noise, so I'd say that joint is clapped out, which means its partner on the other side is probably not much better. Given how bad that one is, it would be worth testing every steering and suspension joint as I mentioned earlier. Get somebody to wriggle the steering wheel to and fro while you feel every joint with your fingers for play. You might be able to hear some knocking but feeling them is more sensitive to tiny amounts of movement.

Don't be too sure the springs are unbroken until you have jacked the car high enough to allow the springs to fully expand, then inspect the ends where they sit in steel cups. The steering joints and suspension joints can be checked if you can put the car over an inspection pit for access to the underside while the weight is on the wheels. I somehow doubt that you have a pit available.

Sorry Aaron. I will not download files from strangers. If you could post it on a public platform I'd be happy to listen to it.

No it is not normal. Any of the suspension or steering joints that have any slack whatsoever need to be replaced. Look too for broken springs, a loose steering rack, loose wheel bearings, and loose wheel nuts.

Thinking further on this, a permanent live supply to the radio would flatten your battery if you forgot to turn it off, therefore the radio must have a way of storing settings when power is turned off.

OK I understand now. Why not use the old supply wire? Surely the old radio retained station settings etc?

I am not understanding something here. What settings do you believe you can transfer from the old radio to the new one?

This makes no sense to me. Who are you addressing? Who are you quoting? How can light bulbs look at you? Who didn't make any claims?

I repeat. You should not be able to hear the turbo at all when driving.

You should not be able to hear the turbo at all when driving, so it's likely there is a fault in it.

If you bought it from a dealer take it back to him.

Paul. Wheel bearing noise might be a hum, but more usually the noise is a scraping, grinding, or rumbling sound. If there are no other symptoms I'd say the most likely suspect is a faulty tyre. Does the sound change when decelerating? Does it happen in all gears? Does it change when cornering? Can you feel vibration through the steering wheel or the seat? Does it change when applying the brakes?

Once again Sid. Which engine does it have?