Creaking Front Suspension

[SoCalDMC12]

Greetings Folks,

Whilst driving home last night, I noticed a slight creaking sound coming from my right-front suspension when going over bumps, or accelerating/decelerating hard.

When I got home I tried pressing down on the right fender to compress the shock/spring, and the suspension definitely creaking. I'm guessing that the shock is going... is this a good assumption? If so, I suppose it's safe to drive for a while, as the spring is what holds up the weight, correct?

Any input would be appreciated!

[SIMid]

Mine squeaks a fair bit on the front end. I was told that the bushes need to be changed as they have gone hard and dried up (due to Alex's lack of driving). The only way to resolve it is to replace them.

I thought it could had been the sway bar bushes or shocks, but it wasn't. I had all the shocks replaced with Spax and she still squeaks. :giggle:

[DMCMW Dave]

Sway bar end bushings are a huge contributor to this. I'd replace the end bushings and the clamp bushings.

[Mark D]

I had a really annoying squeak up front a while back and it turned out the lower ball joint was dry due to a failed rubber boot. Just one more thing to check if it doesn't end up being the sway bar end bushings or the shocks.

On a related note, my DeLorean club UK lower ball joints showed up today and they look AWESOME.

[bkntym]

99% i would say its the upper and lower ball joints. they have grease nipples. grease em up good and the squeek will go away. have them checked by a mechanic to be sure they are not worn out.....but the grease will fix ya up. mine squeaked and that fixed it.. :wiggle:

[David T]

Get a grease gun and pump the tie rod ends and the ball joints. If that doesn't fix it get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Spray it at all of the pivot points one-at-a-time while moving the car up and down till you find the spot that is squeaking and then stops once it gets wet. Common culprits are the upper shock mounts, upper and lower spring perches, sway bar bushings, and control arm bushings. It *could* be a bad shock. If you see any sign of wetness it is leaking and is bad. If it is a ball joint creaking it is NOT safe to drive, it could break. BTW when was the last time the car was greased?
David Teitelbaum

[DMCTek]

[QUOTE=David T;34237]Get a grease gun and pump the tie rod ends and the ball joints.

Stock Delorean tie rod ends (rarely need replaced) don't have grease fittings.

We have fixed 90% of front end squeaks with new sway bar rubber (bushing on control arm and shackles as Dave mentioned) the only other source we have found is the lower ball joints (dry), and this was cured with a few pumps of grease.

[David T]

You can add grease fittings or use a needle and go under the rubber seal to grease the tie rod end. It should be greased. If you want you can always remove it, lift the seal and grease it by hand. Most, by now, need to have the dust seal replaced anyway. On my car I drilled and tapped the back plate and screwed a grease fitting in. Don't forget, a service bulletin added that during servicing you must also lubricate the angle drive. Also on my car, I removed the sway bar bushings on the crumple zone, cleaned and lubricated the bar and the bushings with silicone grease, and reinstalled them. Now they move smoothly and quietly.
David Teitelbaum

[SoCalDMC12]

Thanks for all of the input!

I had the 30k service done a few months ago, I believe the ball joint are checked/greased as part of that job. Assuming this is the case, that leaves the bushings and the shocks as the leading suspects for the creaking, no?

I'll post an update as soon as I know anything more.

[jmettee]

Mine creaks quite a bit just in the driveway speeds when hitting the brakes, but if I bounce the front up & down, it's silent. I believe this points to the ARB bushings as the culprit on my car & not the LCA or UCA bushings (in other words, the fore/aft flex due to braking yanks on the ARB bushings). I know my ball joints are lubed.

Might be another quick test to help pinpoint which bushings are making noise on your car.

[jawn101]

Between this thread and the one comparing all the new style ball joints, I got to thinking that mine had probably never been lubed. When I did my brakes a few weeks ago, the upper control arms were so caked in road debris that you couldn't even see the rivets or the zerk. So today I took it upon myself to pump some grease into both the upper and lower joints. Uppers held it without a problem, but as I suspected, the lower ball joint boots are ripped around the bottom and some of the grease oozed out.

How big a job is it to replace those boots? From the looks of it and from what I see in the workshop manual, it's a whole involved process involving spring compression, etc. Is this a take-it-off-the-road issue, or something that can wait until I can get some help with the job?

[SoCalDMC12]

Well, I brought her to DMC-CA... and of course the creaking stopped! Oh, well. Danny took a look and said that the bushings were kinda dried out, but no other issues with the suspension. I'm just glad the LCA's are OK!

[stevedmc]

Were your control arms recently removed/replaced? When I replaced my LCAs I got stupid and over torqued the bolt that holds them to the frame. This was causing me to have a squeaking noise. I loosened the bolt, torqued it to factory spec (65ish pounds, I think) and the noise went away.

[Ron]

Between this thread and the one comparing all the new style ball joints, I got to thinking that mine had probably never been lubed....the lower ball joint boots are ripped around the bottom and some of the grease oozed out. Sounds like you really ought to have them all checked. Take it to a good alignment shop...Many will let you bring it back and align it after you replace any parts they find bad at no extra cost. Ask first!

[rundmc]

I had creaking as well. When I re-greased the ball joints and put new bushings on the sway bar all around, it went away. (Of course, I also did a complete front end suspension tear-down and rebuild, so that probably helped sort out any issues as well because everthing was reconditioned and hand-torqued to manual spec by me personally...)

[jawn101]

Sounds like you really ought to have them all checked. Take it to a good alignment shop...Many will let you bring it back and align it after you replace any parts they find bad at no extra cost. Ask first!

What would the shop look for as far as determining if a joint is bad? I'm in a pretty small town and I might as well bring in the Queen Mary or a Saturn V rocket as far as the shops here are concerned. The more info I have going in the better :)

[Ron]

lol...I can relate (living in the middle of a national forest).
If you have to change them, you'll need to get an alignment anyway....

http://www.f150forum.com/f76/how-check-your-ball-joints-video-67310/

Note that the joint in the vid needed replacing a long time ago...ANY movement between the two parts means it is bad. Listen and feel it for smoothness while someone turns the wheel before jacking it up....
You can't always get the play to show by hand like he did...Assuming you don't have a lift, jack it up just enough to get a pry-bar under the tires. Try prying on anything and every direction that allows you to get a bite. CHeck for noise and smoothness again.

[jawn101]

lol...I can relate (living in the middle of a national forest).
If you have to change them, you'll need to get an alignment anyway....

http://www.f150forum.com/f76/how-check-your-ball-joints-video-67310/

Note that the joint in the vid needed replacing a long time ago...ANY movement between the two parts means it is bad. Listen and feel it for smoothness while someone turns the wheel before jacking it up....
You can't always get the play to show by hand like he did...Assuming you don't have a lift, jack it up just enough to get a pry-bar under the tires. Try prying on anything and every direction that allows you to get a bite. CHeck for noise and smoothness again.

Thanks Ron! Here's what I see. I did like the video showed and there is absolutely zero play in the front wheels except when they start pushing in on the steering rack and it begins to turn. So that's a good sign. The boots aren't torn on the bottom, they've just come loose - looks like that little spring ring that fits around the bottom has lost some of it's elasticity and isn't holding particularly well. I'll probably just clean and repack those joints with new boots and retaining rings when I eventually get around to upgrading the front suspension, and keep putting more grease in every couple hundred miles until then. I believe my creaking is a result of a PO heating the front springs to collapse and lower the car.

However, when I turn the wheel (and this has been a problem since day 1 with this car, despite a brand new steering rack) there is a bit of a "lumpy" feel to it. In fact, with the wheels off and no friction on the rack, turning the wheel lock to lock actually obviates that it's sort of bumping up and down as it travels. The steering wheel actually moves slightly up and down inside the car. Tough to describe and maybe too subtle to catch on a video. I don't know what it could be - U-joints? Bent steering column?

[Ron]

Sometimes you can lay your hand/fingers on the individual parts to help find it and others you just have to start at one end and start taking things loose to see if it goes away and that's not 100% LOL

"...except when they start pushing in on the steering rack and it begins to turn."
To be sure- What is pushing and where is the play?

[jawn101]

"...except when they start pushing in on the steering rack and it begins to turn."
To be sure- What is pushing and where is the play?

Oh, I just meant if I start pulling/pushing on the wheel, it will eventually start steering the car - moving the whole rack. No worries there. Clunky wording on my part.

[SoCalDMC12]

Were your control arms recently removed/replaced? When I replaced my LCAs I got stupid and over torqued the bolt that holds them to the frame. This was causing me to have a squeaking noise. I loosened the bolt, torqued it to factory spec (65ish pounds, I think) and the noise went away.

Nope... not in the 4 or so year that I've had the car. She seems to be OK now. Go figure!

[David T]

Your steering wheel should turn smoothly with no "bumpiness" or looseness. It *could* be a stiff U joint on the steering column where it attahces to the rack. Try lubricating it with some spray.
David Teitelbaum

[jawn101]

Your steering wheel should turn smoothly with no "bumpiness" or looseness. It *could* be a stiff U joint on the steering column where it attahces to the rack. Try lubricating it with some spray.
David Teitelbaum

Thanks, David! Will do for sure. But it feels like you had an 'otherwise...' on deck there. If it doesn't turn out to be a simple sticky u-joint, what's next?

Also, any particular spray lube recommended for this? Or just good old WD-40?

[DMC5180]

I lived with that annoying creak and squeak up front for Years. When I pulled the 4 OEM donut bushings out they were Cold set (worn out). I had installed them in 2000. I finally broke down and spent some money on Toby's ARB poly bushing kit. It's been silent up front ever since (3 years). I didn't believe it could be those bushings because of the metallic sound of the squeak, but they were the culprit all along.

[DMCMW Dave]

I've seen a few cars with corroded bearings in the steering column u-joints. You will get a lumpy feel in the steering that is still apparent with the front tires off the ground. You can generally find them by soaking the joints in penetrating oil - Kroil, PB blaster, etc. If the feeling goes away you have found the problem. Unfortunately there isn't any good way to permanently re-lube the u-joints so you end up replacing the assembly. Oiling them is very temporary.