Arash Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Dear all members Recently I took my car to the dealer to diagnose a really bad front suspension noise(almost intolerable) and they identified several trouble areas including strut seats, strut mounts, and upper and lower engine mounts. I replaced all those by myself and the noise is much better than before. I've also done front stabilizer bar bushings recently. I still get some very noticeable noises but don't know where they come from. While opening the front struts in order to replace their mounts, I inspected stablizer bar links. They seemed ok at the first glance but the rubber at both ends seems a little bit too soft. I don't know how to identify a faulty stabilizer link. I also checked both baljoints and tierods and they seem firm and solid. Which other parts I must check in order to identify the remaining suspension noises? All suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timokon@yahoo.com Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 What kind of noises are you hearing? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLAWS Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Check the control arm bushings. Mine were creaking on my 98 STS. I thought had a bad ball joint. I spray it down with some wd 40 and lithium grease and the creaking went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timokon@yahoo.com Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Be careful with this "remedy." Very often, this cures the symptom, NOT the problem. More often than not, the noise is a result of the busing being shot, not just noisy. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton1 Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Had a banging noise in mine at first - couldn't figure it out - there was a bolt missing from the front stabilizer bar. WD-40 - most misunderstood stuff in the universe. It's not a lubricant - it's a water displacement (wd?). It may have some minor lube qualities - but that's not it's purpose - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJPut Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 If the car has high mileage and you have never done the stabilizer bar bushing and links, I would start there. I did that on my car after 130,000 and was amazed at how much quieter the front end was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 What kind of noises are you hearing? Tim To quote Jerry MacGuire "help me to help you". Like Tim said "what kind of noises are you hearing" and under what conditions? Do you hear it turning left, right, straight, over bumps, is it squeaking sound, a grinding sound, etc? Be as specific as you can. I just solved a creaking issue of my own (most annoying) and these guys were a lot of help. -kg 207,000 miles "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 replacing stabilizer links is relatively easy and inexpensive but will make big difference ( mine did). But first tell us about the "better noise" The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rek Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 There's been a bunch (Archives) of info about stabilizer links "Looking OK" that were actually beyond their useful life. When assembled, a faulty end will be held tight by the other ends, and look OK. rek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted July 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I think it's mostly a banging noise;It's definitely not a creaking or a squeaking noise. It seems as though the whole strut assembly is moving. It happens at every major bump no matther you are turning or going straight. My car has 90,000 miles which is not that much. I also need to check the control arm bushings. My problem now is that I can't know for sure whether the links are bad or still ok. The rubber at each side of the link looks a bit too soft when the link is disassembled, But when I installed the struts yesterday and screwed the link to the strut, they seemed ok. I pushed the link in and out with my hand and it was solid. Assuming that my car was driven very hard by the previous owner, would 90,000 miles be an appropriate time to replace the links? by "better noise" I meant the car got much quiter when I replaced strut mounts. Thanks for all suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Arash, lets make sure we're on the same page here. When you said you replaced the upper mounts, did you mean the 2 "dog bone" shaped mounts/ stabilizers? One's shorter then the other. Is that what you meant? -kg "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timokon@yahoo.com Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I'm now thoroughly confused. I thought we were talking about struts.....as in MacPherson Struts, not the dog bones that stabilize the motor. The banging noise when going over bumps, assuming that we are talking about the suspension, usually means the strut on the offending side is DOA. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I'm now thoroughly confused. I thought we were talking about struts.....as in MacPherson Struts, not the dog bones that stabilize the motor. The banging noise when going over bumps, assuming that we are talking about the suspension, usually means the strut on the offending side is DOA. Tim Let's see what Arash has to say about the doggy bones. Amazing how much banging I had going over bunps when mine were shot. To the naked eye they looked fine..... even standing on the brakes and applying load. -kg "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I would change the stab link. 90.000 spirited driving is enough for a link. get new one. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted July 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Sorry confusing you guys I've replaced both front strut mounts(suspension) along with upper(dog bones) and lower engine mounts. My question only concerns the suspension components, not the engine components. When I was saying I replaced the upper mounts, I meant the suspension not the dogbones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Sorry confusing you guys I've replaced both front strut mounts(suspension) along with upper(dog bones) and lower engine mounts. My question only concerns the suspension components, not the engine components. When I was saying I replaced the upper mounts, I meant the suspension not the dogbones. About 2 months ago I had the upper strut mounts replaced but not the very upper bushing. Bad call..... you have to specifiy that you want the upper strut mount bushing included in the order. Who knew? It was in the next week and all was right. Not sure that is your situation though. -kg "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arash Posted July 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I actually checked the upper strut mount bushing carefully and it was ok. It wasn't worn or anything. I also searched the archives regarding the stabilizer bar links. I'm almost convinced that they must be replaced. Is there any other item that I must check in order to detect the banging noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Is there any other item that I must check in order to detect the banging noise? I sense a bad joke coming here. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timokon@yahoo.com Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Can I have another beer? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.