my squaking front end mystery

[fivespeedsteed]

i had a little squeaking in my front end for a while. i took it to performance and we sprayed the top strut mount, the sway bar bushings, and end link bushings with white lithium grease. and it stopped for a while. then it came back, and i went back and the person told me that the sway bar bushings were shot, not the end links but the 2 of them that hold the bar to the car. he sprayed just those and i think it shut up some more. now its back in a big way. its a terrible sound, i can almost feel it vibrate the steering wheel. my friend and i sprayed both side strut mounts, endlinks, sway bar bushings and we moved the wheel to see if tie rods or balljoints gave any and we tightened my outer wheel bearing and all that made it a little quieter.

im supposed to have an appt at this front end shop tomorrow at 2.30 but they said they were going to have to work me in, so im not even sure if i want to go. im very poor right now, and its like a 20 to 30 minute drive.

can someone tell me what to lube so i can track it down? im gonna try to order new end link bushings and then do all 10 bushings on the sway bar at once.

the only thing we observed that was suspicious were the tops of the struts moving just a little, and the steering rack bolt on the drivers side seemed like the steering rack was moving a little on that.

im getting dissapointed here, and i dont know what needs to be done next. please shoot me some advice, im just tyring to get it so i dont replace every bushing in my front end to find the one bad one somewhere if thats the case. i really appreciate it guys, im sorry ive been posting so many questions.

 

[backfocus]

It is probably the sway bar bushings that mount it to the car.

Jack up the front the put it on stands. Take the jack and raise and lower the wheel and tire on one side. Listen for squeaks, it should be pretty easy to locate this way if the noise is that bad. This is how I found out my bushings were bad. Although if they are really bad it probably will come right back, you will have to replace them and while you are at it replace the end links as well. Pretty easy fix. I bought all my stuff from MM and it wasn't that much.

It could by a spring bushing or shock mount, but form the info you gave I am guessing sway bar bushing.

 

[mustanggt5pt0]

I was going to say it could be the ball joint, but judging from what you described probably not.

 

[Mustang78]

does it squeak when you hit a bump or does it change with speed? jack the car up and spin the front tires individually, then turn the wheel to listen for noises, you can always remove the sway bar temporarily, on a DD it wont hurt you that much, but put it nack on as soon as you have the $$ for new bushings, a junkyard is a good place to go for used parts

~Mark~

 

[fivespeedsteed]

i jacked it up and did the test where you grab the wheel and try to make it budge up or down and side to side, one of them is tie rod and the other is balljoint. mine didnt budge or make noise in either direction. i got endlink kits from advanced today 20 for both sides. tomorrow im gonna pull the sway off, clean it get the new bushings on it, and see what happens.

it happens when i turn too, if i turn the wheel and go around a turn it squeaks when the strut flexes any, when the wheel goes up or down. also when going down the road straight. when you sit still it squeaks from dead center to about a 1/4 turn each way, then stops.

 

[iwashmycar]

my 94 did that till i bought new struts

 

[fivespeedsteed]

ah thats okay there on the way too.

 

[backfocus]

Did you do the test I told described for the swaybar? Did you find the squeak? Also when you jacked it up did you turn the wheels side to side?

The reason I asked is the you said

when you sit still it squeaks from dead center to about a 1/4 turn each way, then stops.

It could be something else, but could also be from the weight of the car shifting and moving the swaybar as you turn.

If you haven't do the test! It might save you a bit in the long run.

 

[iwashmycar]

I was going to say it could be the ball joint, but judging from what you described probably not.

would a ball joint be a metal-sounding squeek when the car goes over something like a pothole where the suspension drops quickly. Ive got this goin on and it drives me nuts..

 

[fivespeedsteed]

well today i didnt do that test. i needed to replace the sway bushings anyways so i just took it off. i didnt have time to put the new ones on, so its just off totaly. it still squeaks. now its looking to either be the steering rack moving, the top strut mount, or the lower a arm to to k member, they looked pretty cracked. i may try to white lithium them and see what makes it shutup.

i still think its crazy it only does it when im in the car.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

oh i forgot. the plastic catch for the 4 bolts that hold the sway on broke, should i just use the 4 bolts without the plastic to put it back on, or should i just go get a new plastic catch?