The Safrane.Info Forum!

I have a knocking from the rear which I suspect is my shock absorbers being on their last legs. Anyone have any suggestions as to what is the best replacement, OEM or alternative make? The car really is running very sweetly at the moment apart from this and I like to get things sorted on the car.

You can get a pair off ebay for less than £100 but I bought one from my local dealer for £86 - for one! There are two types too, gas or oil and I can't remember what the one I bought is (it's now in the shed unused having been taken off the car that was scrapped lol). v6rxe might be able to get you a good deal though..

Be warned though, they're a bit of a pain to replace unlike the front ones. Not only do you need to remove the side parts for the parcel shelf but I seem to remember struggling with the seat belt for some reason too. There is a black plastic cap over the top of the strut - don't remove it, it's glued in (though if you want to put wax around it for rust protection you might want to - be warned it might not be pretty though!).

Good luck!

Yes, I did have to do some welding there a year or two back so am aware that it is a little bit of a pain to get to. Only one side was rotten when I did it but I guess the other side might be getting a bit rusty by now. It was the only rust anywhere on the whole car at that point and came as a bit of a surprise.
Might have a look at some point this week.

Hi
I can look a genuine one up at work if you want?
But would be better to go into your local dealer i guess.
Let me have you reg and i will see how much and if you can still get them and what side you def want.

I think its top bearing giving you a knocking sound. Looks like this: [img ]http://www.reklamagratis.pl/_mm/_d/_ext2/42513/s_poduszka%20amortyzatora%20tyl%20renault%20safrane01.jpg[/img ]. You will need spring compression set to replace it.

Note by Saffles - Image deliberately broken due to avast detecting malware

I had to replace one a few years back as it was knocking. When I looked at the shock it was leaking it's oil and just riding on the actual spring.

It may be the top part, it may be the shock itself but I would suspect it's the shock.

Thanks for the advice.
I will take a look when I get a chance and see what's what. :-)

Had a quick look today. No issues getting the parcel shelf and side bits off.



Was a bit concerned about the rust after having the issue a few years back but the side that was welded still looks good



And the other side is still like new.



I'm fairly confident it is the shocks so bought some new Boge gas shocks off ebay for £99 for the pair. I saw them advertised for £120 each elsewhere so they must be a decent shock (I haven't heard of the company before but they supposedly supply shocks to Merc and BMW amongst others to fit on new cars). Even if it isn't the shocks, the car is 15 years old so they are past their best anyway so I'll pop them on next week and see if anything else shows up.

This is the driver side rear shock from the safrane i broke up / scrapped this year:







The other side side - much better but slowly starting:





Then there were a few other silly bits on the turn:

Under rear seats:



Front shock mount - doesn't look too bad but it was so rotten i managed to put my finger through it:



Rear bumpers refuse to come off without breaking:



Inside drivers door (passenger side just as bad):



To be honest, it wasn't too bad but the rear shock was an accident waiting to happen. I only broke the car because I had nowhere to keep it due to lack of work etc. Considering it only cost me £550 and had lived on a farm for many years (possibly explaining the rot) it actually survived very well (I only expected it to last 6 months max - 2 years later.. lol).

Got to the bottom of the issue today once I got the car on the Ramp. Turned out to be the handbrake cables which were hanging down and knocking against the rear suspension. A very simple fix with a couple of cable ties. Have driven since and it's like driving a new car. Something so simple was really getting on my nerves. Unfortunately, I bought a pair of shocks and don't need them now but they can go into stock for the future or can sell if requested. Just made up to have the car driving like a new one again after a long time trying to get to the crux of the problem.

And whilst I was at it, one of the few issues I have had with the car since I bought it was non working lights in the boot compartment. Played about with the units and couldn't get them working but went back to the switch for the lighting on the boot opening and messed about with that and lo and behold, the lights came to life. A little contact cleaner and I now have a pair of working lights in the boot.