found a suspension squeak/creak, 100% steering related, but...

[stumpjumper]

on my 986s I've finally located an odd squeak that would show up randomly, last night I was able to place it to my left front wheel and for the first few minutes after driving home I could make it sqeak in the garage by moving the wheel slightly

unfortunately, by the time the time my wife was home to help me locate it while I was at the wheel well the squeak had gone, of course the brakes & wheel had time to fully cool down which makes me think it could be heat related

the squeak has existed both before and after I did a full disc & pad replacement, including new caliper bolts etc, so I don't think it's in the brake system attachment but perhaps in the tie rod end or toe link?

so to sum up:

compressing the suspension does not create the squeak, changing the steering angle does, but only when warm

any ideas?

[ericinboca]

on my 986s I've finally located an odd squeak that would show up randomly, last night I was able to place it to my left front wheel and for the first few minutes after driving home I could make it sqeak in the garage by moving the wheel slightly

unfortunately, by the time the time my wife was home to help me locate it while I was at the wheel well the squeak had gone, of course the brakes & wheel had time to fully cool down which makes me think it could be heat related

the squeak has existed both before and after I did a full disc & pad replacement, including new caliper bolts etc, so I don't think it's in the brake system attachment but perhaps in the tie rod end or toe link?

so to sum up:

compressing the suspension does not create the squeak, changing the steering angle does, but only when warm

any ideas?

When you turn the steering wheel, you:

* rotate the joint on the tie rod end that connects to the wheel carrier

* the wheel carrier rotates around the joint in the lower control arm

* the top of the strut rotates on the steering bearing that sits up there smashed against the strut mount

Are the boots on the tie rod end and on the lower control arm still in good shape?

I wonder if the ball end of one of those is sqeaking as it rotates.

When they are made, they are packed with grease.

[stumpjumper]

on my 986s I've finally located an odd squeak that would show up randomly, last night I was able to place it to my left front wheel and for the first few minutes after driving home I could make it sqeak in the garage by moving the wheel slightly

unfortunately, by the time the time my wife was home to help me locate it while I was at the wheel well the squeak had gone, of course the brakes & wheel had time to fully cool down which makes me think it could be heat related

the squeak has existed both before and after I did a full disc & pad replacement, including new caliper bolts etc, so I don't think it's in the brake system attachment but perhaps in the tie rod end or toe link?

so to sum up:

compressing the suspension does not create the squeak, changing the steering angle does, but only when warm

any ideas?

When you turn the steering wheel, you:

* rotate the joint on the tie rod end that connects to the wheel carrier

* the wheel carrier rotates around the joint in the lower control arm

* the top of the strut rotates on the steering bearing that sits up there smashed against the strut mount

Are the boots on the tie rod end and on the lower control arm still in good shape?

I wonder if the ball end of one of those is sqeaking as it rotates.

When they are made, they are packed with grease.

thanks for replying so quickly

I need to get the front end up on stands to check it thoroughly, didn't have time for that last night, with it on a jack and having the wheel off I didn't see anything obvious but of course with it just on a jack I wasn't about to start shaking things, I'm hoping to do more investigation this weekend

edit:

tonight after the drive home I played some more and now it's squeaking upon suspension compression, (I didn't try last night when it was warm because I had dress pants on) so now I'm thinking it's in part of the strut assembly

Edited November 20, 2009 by stumpjumper

[ericinboca]

on my 986s I've finally located an odd squeak that would show up randomly, last night I was able to place it to my left front wheel and for the first few minutes after driving home I could make it sqeak in the garage by moving the wheel slightly

unfortunately, by the time the time my wife was home to help me locate it while I was at the wheel well the squeak had gone, of course the brakes & wheel had time to fully cool down which makes me think it could be heat related

the squeak has existed both before and after I did a full disc & pad replacement, including new caliper bolts etc, so I don't think it's in the brake system attachment but perhaps in the tie rod end or toe link?

so to sum up:

compressing the suspension does not create the squeak, changing the steering angle does, but only when warm

any ideas?

When you turn the steering wheel, you:

* rotate the joint on the tie rod end that connects to the wheel carrier

* the wheel carrier rotates around the joint in the lower control arm

* the top of the strut rotates on the steering bearing that sits up there smashed against the strut mount

Are the boots on the tie rod end and on the lower control arm still in good shape?

I wonder if the ball end of one of those is sqeaking as it rotates.

When they are made, they are packed with grease.

thanks for replying so quickly

I need to get the front end up on stands to check it thoroughly, didn't have time for that last night, with it on a jack and having the wheel off I didn't see anything obvious but of course with it just on a jack I wasn't about to start shaking things, I'm hoping to do more investigation this weekend

edit:

tonight after the drive home I played some more and now it's squeaking upon suspension compression, (I didn't try last night when it was warm because I had dress pants on) so now I'm thinking it's in part of the strut assembly

take a look at the droplinks and the sway bar too

disconnect the drop links from the sway bar on both sides, and see if it still makes the noise (you can set the car on the ground without the sway bars connected to the drop link (the drop link attaches at one end to the sway bar and then the other end passes through a flange/tab on the strut and the wheel carrier - just disconnect from the sway bar end; leave the top of the drop link where it goes through the wheel carrier alone)

if it doesn't make the noise, then see if you can make the noise by rotating the disconnected sway bar and.or the drop link joints- you might get lucky and isolate the noise to one of these two components

unfortunately it is not so clear cut now if it is making noise when compressed

you need to add the following to things to look at:

* ball joints where they connect to the wheel carrier on the tie rod and the control arm as mentioned earlier

* the sway bars and drop links

* also look at the thrust arm.transverse control arm - this is the one that connects to the lower control arm just inside the ball joint and then connects to the chassis forward up behind the fender well cover

* the damper/strut/spring

* the strut mount and the steering bearing

* the lower control arm where it mounts to the chassis

* check to be sure all the nuts are tight

how many miles on this car?

[stumpjumper]

nearly 62k now

I'll be putting it up on stands to look at it over thanksgiving weekend, hell it may end up sleeping for the winter if I don't find it quickly

if it's part of the strut I think I may swing for a RoW M030

thanks again for the pointers