Squeaky/Creaky Front Suspension

[Joe2402]

Hi everyone,

When driving over speed bumps at slow speed the front suspension makes a loud squeaking, almost creaking noise. The sound is similar to opening the creaky door of your garden shed! It doesn't affect the handling/function of the car but is very annoying/embarrassing.

Hoping it may solve the problem, I have replaced both front struts - they were 100% worn out so time and money not wasted, however this has made no difference to the creaking noise. Both springs and lower/upper rubber insulators were in good condition with no corrosion/deterioration so these can all be ruled out as the cause of the creaking.

The video below shows you the noise when driving over speed bumps at slow speed. (**You will need to turn up your volume to hear it the creaking noise - it's actually much louder in reality, the sound hasn't come out very well on the video.**)

 

Any ideas what could be causing this?

I have inspected the sway bar bushings, although not disassembled them yet. They seem in good condition and look like they have been replaced in the last couple of years. Would it pay to take these apart and stick some rubber grease on them? Or are they supposed to work dry?

Any other suggestions?!

The car is a Toyota Corolla 1999, Conquest, 1.8l Petrol, AE112, 189,000kms on the clock (118,000 miles).

Thanks for your help!! Joe

[trentmeyer23]

In the past I have ziptied an old mobile phone with the voice record function near components that I thought may have been an issue. Worked quite well.

Realistically anything that compresses or extends could be making the issue.

I think you are on the right track looking for a dry bushing, from the minimal sound that I could hear. Also consider lower control arm bushings as well.

[XC9000]

Hi Joe

I didn't listen to it on the video but it seems to me you may have urethane bushes installed at some stage.  In particular if you find some bushes which are not black. 

Just love the suggestion of the old mobile phone…

xc

[Full-Throttle]

The first thing I would look at would be the front swaybar D bushes. If they're the original rubber ones then they'll likely either be cracked or have worn away on the inside, causing the swaybar to slide against the rubber and result in a creaking/squeaking noise. Second suspect would be the lower control arms. Worn bushes in one of those can 100% make the same noise. The lower ball joints are another possible cause. Your swaybar links could be worn, but that would normally make a clunking noise instead of a squeak. Did your new shocks come with bump stops? Or did you reuse your old bump stops? I had a really annoying creaking noise recently after installing new shocks and it turned out that the brand new bump stops that came with it were far too hard and would cause noise when turning as the shock's piston rod rubbed against the inside of the bump stop. My fix was to reuse the original bump stops (still in good condition) and apply some grease to the insides of them for good measure.

So there's many possible things, but if you start looking at them in the order above then it shouldn't take long to isolate the problem.

[Joe2402]

Thanks for all the feedback! Great idea with the mobile phone Trent! 

Wayne - all the bushings are black so I'm guessing it's unlikely they'll be urethane?

Scott - useful info there so thanks. I will have a look at the D bushes tomorrow and see what I find. The noise is fairly even (doesn't favour one side) so that would hopefully point towards those sway bar bushes. Yes, the new shocks came with new bump stops which I used - no noise coming from those (yet...!) but will keep your experience in mind in case it develops in the future. Having said that, this creaking noise existed before I replaced the shocks anyway.

Will post an update after I have looked at the sway bar bushes tomorrow!

[Joe2402]

**UPDATE - HELP STILL REQUIRED!**

Front sway bar D bushes have been removed and inspected - they are in good condition, no cracks, no deterioration, no disfigurement - I have cleaned them up and reinstalled them with some rubber grease.

After a test drive it is quickly apparent that the original squeaking noise is still there.

So.... Is this now pointing towards the lower control arm bushing or the lower ball joints?

Any other possibilities?

[trentmeyer23]

I would be leaning more toward bushings than ball joints due to the noise.

[Joe2402]

Took the lower control arm off this afternoon - this is what I found (see picture).

The bushing has a crack on both sides as seen in the picture. I'm guessing/hoping this will be the cause of the squeaking?

Thoughts?!

Replace the bushing or is it easier to just replace the whole arm?

 

[trentmeyer23]

Regardless of whether it's your problem, the bushes need replacing. It will be a better financial move to do the bushes only and the arm will cost a lot more.