I have battled this for 4 years and most of the time by lubrication of the joints have gotten rid of the sound. I once had it at Jag dealer and they did not hear, but could find no cause on front end. It would disappear for 6 months or more. Now I can't seem to get rid of it and 2 cans of lithium grease on every location I am aware of on the right side and I still have the squeak. The sounds appears more along the strut assembly area, but more downward to the back of the wheel bearings.

It is noted in the following. If I raise the car on passenger side with a jack, I will hear a minor creak (like an old door) for about the first 4 inches and then gone. If I go and just pull up on the car with my hands above the right front wheel well, I hear the creak/moan. If I lean on the car it will creak/moan from that side. If I push down or pull up on that side in several motions of up or down I can generate a slight squeak/creak.

If I driving and as I brake I hear a creak as I come to a stop. When I remove my foot from the brake and start forward I hear almost like something is straining slightly through rubber and then gone. If I drive in a parking lot with minor humps I hear a squeak /creak at every little hump. If I turn right or left in a driveway with a dip, I hear the sound If I drive on a straight road or on the highway, I hear nothing. If someone a little heavy sits in the passenger seat you will hear the creak in the suspension.= and that seems to sorta stop the sound while driving.

I have new outer tire rods and calipers, rotors and pads. The car is perfectly aligned. I originally thought it could be the sway bar bushing from listening to it, but when to the side of the car and using a jack, I can tell it is not coming from that area. I thought it could be the control arm bushing, but I have heavily lubricated them separately and it did not go away (knowing how they work and that even lubrication would stop the sound for a slight amount of time). I have even thought it was the back motor mount on that side, but no such evidence. I have used a stethoscope on the on the control arms and no such sound. The sway bar link does not move and has been lubricated and does not stop the noise. Does not appear to be the shock absorber bushing and that has been lubricated to no avail. I have loosen somewhat the strut mount and that is not where the sound is coming from. I have considered the damper bushing, and knowing how this works, even lubrication would stop it for a short time.

So what gives- would a sub-frame mount cause this, although that seems unlikely. I have never heard of one doing this- but could it be the wheel bearing, but that just makes no sense and zero evidence of any problem with it at all.

I am at wits end. The noise in in a terrible range for hearing and not dissimilar to scraping nails on a black board. I do not own a nice car to sound like a rusty pickup truck and I have no mechanic or dealer (especially dealer) I would trust with them seeing the idea of a $3000 - $4000 front end job to be honest vs profit motive.


I appreciate any ideas as this has worn me out. But it has to be something unusual. I do need to replace the upper control arm on both sides as that silly bushing has trouble, but I have greased those well and this sound was happening even before those bushings were less than perfect and they would not make this sound. I have strongly consider the stabilizer link bar. I have heard just the slightest of knocks when pushing and pulling on the car on the passenger side, before it started creaking and moaning louder as I pushed. Would a strablizer link bar cause such a noice and would it even move in the first 3 or 4 inches a jack was lifting up that side is loose, although you cannot get any movement in it by hand???????

Thanks as always

Tom in Dallas
2005 S-Type 3.0 84k

 

I had a hard to diagnose squeak/noise in the front of my benz. Turned out to be lower ball joints that hold the spindles.

 

make sure that all rubber boots on suspension parts are good,

 

I had considered those, but would lower balljoints cause a creak for the first 4 inches or so of raising that side on a jack?? Would they make a sound as I was stopping the car and then start as soon as I started driving again? I am asking as I don';t know and just don't want to replace everything in the system if I don't need to ( and then perhaps find that was not it)

Thanks

Tom

 

mine made noise with any turning of the steering or ANY movement in the spring action. The ball was dry in its housing, it especially made noise when going in and out of my curbed driveway. For the longest time i thought it was the Mac strut, I kept lubing those and it never got better(go figure). Take it to some front end guy and have it evaluated. Again look for any rubber boots that might not hold their grease correctly or boots that have grease on the outside.

 

Worth a try. if I truely think it is the ball joint- I could put a pin hole in and use a syringe to put in some grease and verify- if that makes any sense??

Tom

 

I agree that the ball joints should be your initial suspect. Worn-out ball joints can make squeaks and screeches that come and go depending upon temperature and angle of the suspension at any given time. The ball joints in my 1999 Dodge Ram pickup do this. When I soak them with a few shots of white lithium grease spray, they quiet down for a month or so. That's what I've been doing for the past couple of months. I have the new replacement ball joints but we're not going to do this job until September or October. I'll be damned if we're going to spend all day underneath that truck in 95 degree heat and 90 percent humidity for ball joints. They can easily wait for the cool weather again....

 

yup, I had a cracked boot so I greased it thru that, It quieted right down and still seems tight. If it is a ball though, there should be evidence of a cracked boot otherwise they don't loose their lube.

 

I will look and see, but would ball joints cause a creaking sound for about 4 inches when I jack up the car on that side (passenger)? And would any sound only occur at low speeds like in parking lots and such with many small imperfections in the payment or small undulations?

Tom in Dallas

 

Of course, but in Texas with the heat and bad roads- anything could happen. But I have had this sound for 4 years and by now, would not the ball joints show the wear and tear if that was the original cause?

Tom

 

Tom, these sounds you describe, they typically are not heard when driving the car in the rain. Is that true with your car??

If that is true, what I generally do is catch the sound when it's plainly evident, and spray one moving bushing at a time with a spray bottle of water. Put it thru the paces after each soaking and see if the squeak is affected when wet. If I can get to a point where spraying a particular bushing will give a few minute respite from the noise, I know I found the culprit.

This has, over the years, worked on all the suspension arms and the stabilizer bushes and links as well.

Good luck!

 

I really do not remember about the rain. I think that has been on and off.

Since I can jack up the car a few inches and see if the sound is there. I have been for the last 2 days, spraying certain areas (lubricant) and then letting the car down and jack back up to see if it is still there. these 2 days have been frustrating as i cannot get the sound to leave and there is nothing left to spray. What kind of movement/noise does the sway bar stablizing link make is out of whack?? If the car is on a flat surface. i jack up the passenger side, get this creak/moan sound for about 4 inches (creaks from about 1inch to 4 inches) and then is gone. What would possibly be moving that would cause this at that point???

Tom in Dallas

 

If you're over 50, try spraying your knees....

 

I am well over 50 and still run my 4 miles a day, but not sure that my knee spraying will help my car or hearing of the sound and might provide a problem for the dry cleaners- ha!!

Tom

 

I see you checked them already but this will for sure rule them out. As a test to see if the sway bar or end links are making noise. You can disconnect the front end links very easy, only one bolt per side. Then move the car or drive around to check for changes.
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I was going on and replace those anyway. Too cheap and too easy- unless there is some hidden secret. The sound comes from that general area area- but you know how suspension sounds are in fooling you.

Do you think that is had a problem with the stabilizers links that I would get a creak or gran when jacking up the car?? Would I not get more of a knocking sound from that element?

Thanks

Tom in Dallas- (with his noises)

Tom

 

It seems a bit of a long shot but I like cheap and easy. You also could have noise from the sway bar bushings and those are hard to lubricate. Plus they are a know problem/wear item.

Lower ball joint is suspect too.
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Lower ball joint would make sense. I have specifically had some bounce the car and was right below the sway var bushing and the sound was not from their. I will replace them when I do anything anyway, but that is not the sound.

It comes from the area of the ball joint, but I personally think now it has something to do with the strut on that side and that yellow piece on top of the strut. I have zero problems with the suspension, except for the noise. I put the car in an extremely closed in and quiet place and jacked it up slowly with my left hand while sitting and looking and listening closely and narrowed the sound down to what would appear to be the center of the spring. That leaves the strut. I spayed silicon on top of the strut where the bolt is in the engine compartment. It absorbed around the rubber below and low and behold the sound has been gone by the next day. I had always sprayed that area before (for good measure) and the sound would eventually disappear. I never until now put it together and that is why the Jag dealer, beyond their complete incompetence was unable to find it as they would use standard testing and the strut in that case would not appear bad. That would also explain the creaking sound starting at 1 inch and going to about 4 inches before quitting when jacking up the car.

I may need to replace the ball joints and will replace the sway bar bushings and stabilizer link bar, but I really did not think I could jack the car and hear a creaking sound that would come from the ball joint.

Does that make sense???

Thanks

Tom in Dallas

 

I think you have good cause to replace the upper strut mount.
If you can quiet it down by spraying it that is solid proof.

The sway bar end link are easy so just wanted you to do that first.
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I am not sure if it is the strut mount or the piece that is one the bar that is on top of the strut before you mount to the actual mount.

I was under the car to listen to the sway bar bushings. The bolt toward the engine is easy to get to- how does one get to the bolt toward the front??

Thanks
Tom in Dallas