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Suspension Noise.

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  #1  
Old 01-24-2011, 11:09 PM
HulkB5's Avatar
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Location: Renton,Washington
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Default Suspension Noise.

My front end makes a really loud annoying squeaking noise when i turn my wheels but usually only if i am parked or at a slow roll. Do you think my suspension just may need to be greased or something is wrong?
i haven't gotten time to check it out yet.
 
  #2  
Old 01-25-2011, 01:15 AM
A4Cragman's Avatar
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Location: SLC, Utah
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Worn control arm bushings. Notorious with age. Since you'd have to take the arm out anyway to replace the bushing, most people (myself included) usually just replace the whole arm at once since buying a new arm comes with a bushing preinstalled. Like lightbulbs and other symmetrical components of a car, if one is shot, the others are likely not far behind so I would recommend replacing all 8 arms at once, and since you'll have to take the sway bar links and tie rod ends out to change the arms, might as well give those a replacing too; pretty typical front end suspension rebuild to do all of it at once. If you do the labor yourself, it won't be that bad on the wallet. You can pick up a full front end kit that has all 8 arms, 2 sway bar links and 2 tie rod ends in it for $250-$300 on ebay; thats where I got my kit (vendor fcp groton) for $250 shipped and haven't had any complaints almost 2 years later. If you don't want to trust ebay for car parts (which also isn't uncommon, I just happen to be a broke *** college student that didn't want to shell out for genuine or non ebay aftermarket parts) you can get the same kit from ECS, purems, or blauparts for anywhere between $600 and $1000. Most of the reason I went with the ebay kit is cuz I didn't have time to do the install myself so I had to pay my mechanic to do it while I was in class so my end total for the job was about $850 parts and labor but if I had had the time to do it myself and thus saved the $600 on labor, I would have been more willing to get the ECS kit.

That said, its not an urgent fix unless you rally or track your car, essentially the noise will just get louder and more annoying and eventually the worn joints will start rubbing; your biggest concern will likely be passing the safety test as worn bushings usually invoke loose ball joints and a bad ball joint will fail you on a safety test. Until then, you shouldn't have much problem just day to day driving, unless its been making the noise for over a year or like I said before you do auto cross or rally or something like that.

Good luck!
 
  #3  
Old 01-25-2011, 01:31 AM
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Ok i have a full suspension kit in my garage for my car unopened, its so awful, i can hardly drive through a parking garage without everyone looking at me.
It can be very embarrassing.
 
  #4  
Old 01-25-2011, 09:53 AM
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Then definitely do your control arms. Be prepared for it to suck. The pinch bolt is going to be so rusted, just like it was for me and just like it is for everyone outside of a dry climate.

Buy the FCP Groton kit from Ebay or their website.
 
  #5  
Old 01-25-2011, 12:17 PM
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Haha, that's the kit that i have in my garage.
 
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