Insanely annoying creaking noise coming from front suspension

[eldusto84]

I'm pretty sure that I either have a bad ball joint, a bad shock, or a bad anti-roll bar bushing...or perhaps a combination of the three. My Delorean squeaks very loudly while on the road, with the noise coming exclusively from the front driver's side. If I park the car and apply pressure over that part of the car, it sqeaks. If I turn the steering wheel slowly while the car is parked, or even at lower speeds on the road, it squeaks. Lots of squeaking and it's driving me nuts.

I greased the ball joint up pretty good and that didn't seem to do anything. It doesn't seem to have any play to it, so I'm thinking it might be OK. Can a bad anti-roll bar bushing be the culprit for the steering squeak AND suspension/bumpy road squeak? It's very hard to tell where the source of the noise is, even when I'm under the car and have someone turning the wheel and pushing on the suspension.

[Mark D]

I've been told the front anti roll bar bushings are a popular culprit for the squeaks. If you've got some silicone spray or WD-40 you could try spraying some in there to see if it goes away. It'll only be a temporary fix, but then you can isolate the problem and disassemble and grease properly if that turns out to be the case.

If you've checked ball joints it also be the lower control arm anti roll bar bushings, or even the steering rod ends if they haven't been greased in a while.

Process of elimination spraying a few different things seems to be the only way to figure out where it's coming from.

[David T]

The springs also tend to move in the perches and can squeak. Also the shock mounts, control arm bushings, etc. Grease the ball joints (4), the tie rod ends (2), take the sway bar bushings apart and put some silicone grease on them. If you still have squeaking get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Squirt something and push on the car. keep doing it one-at-a-time till you find the source of the squeak. When doing a general "grease job" on the front end you should also lube the 2 U-joints on the steering, the steer bushing, and the angle drive. Inspect the dust seals on all of the joints, brake pads and rotors, brake hoses, and the general area. Once you find what is squeaking with the water you can follow it up with some silicone spray.
David Teitelbaum