RatDog

I know I'm exceeding my limit of dumb quesions for the day but is there a way to distinguish rubber bushings from poly bushings just by looking at them and without removing them?

My car has a really obnoxious squeak coming from the front right. Not only can I hear it over the sound of the car's side pipes, I can hear it when riding in another car in front of my car. It squeaks mostly at slow speed when hitting depressions and bumps in the road. You can really hear it when you bounce the front right of the car up and down (not much of a squeak when I bounce the front left).

It's probably too loud to be a bushing but I thought I should check that off my list. Most of the chassis stuff was redone before I bought the car but the shocks don't look new to me. When I get under the car and get my pit crew (my wife) to bounce the fender up and down, it seems like the sound is coming from the area of the shock. I found the sway bar was loose on the front right and thought that might be causing the problem but it still squeaks after tightening the bar down.

Thanks,
-- Steve

Bluestripe67

The poly/urethane control arm bushings look completely different from factory rubber control arm bushings. You can push any pointed tool into a rubber bushing. Poly, you can't do that. Look at your sway bar bushings. They may be the most likely suspect. Dennis

6T7L71CPE

This is what my poly bushings look like. They sound just like your description.

RatDog

Thanks, guys. Pretty sure I have poly. Also pretty sure that's not where the squeak is coming from. It seems too loud for that. Also has a high-pitched sound like metal on metal sometimes.

Steve

Nowhere Man

Is your shock wet like from it leaking. Or do you see any paint missing from any where. If not I would say it's your bushings. I would replace them all with stock rubber bushings

RatDog

It looked dry but I'll take a closer look tomorrow.

Thanks,
Steve

Frankie the Fink

Sometimes it pays to lube those upper control arms in two positions...once with the car's weight on the wheels and hit them again with the wheels airborne (like on a two post lift or jack stands). It fixed a horribly annoying squeak on my '61.