Everytime I go over any kind of a bump, I hear this creaking sound that I thought would be the shocks, but others have said that it could be the bushings. I hear from the front and back, but the front sounds worse. Has anyone ran into this before?

 

I hear this in my 99 hardtop and have also heard it in a friend's 00 hardtop. I believe this is due to the whacky suspension geometry produced by lowering because I never heard the sound before lowering these cars.

 

Lubricate both front and rear sway bar mounting bushings. Remove brackets--spread bushing apart and lubricate

 

:iagree:

This cost next to nothing, and if it works or does not work, you are not out really any money

 

Unfortunately the creaking was there even before I lowered it. What kind of lubrication do I use???

 

FWIW, if you guys are driving a coupe, perhaps its your top that's creaking when going over bumps. Creaking tops have been a topic of much discussion on this forum.
Joe

 

The creaking sound you're talking about I have heard before...usually I've heard it on coupes when leaving a driveway at an angle and the body kinda "twists"...the sound I am hearing is coming from the front and back of the car...

 

I lubed the sway bar bushing and that helped but did not cure it. I replace the factory plastic end links with factory steel ends links and that solved the problem for me. I would check those. I found that i could grab those with my hands and could recreat the noise. Its a cheap fix and aesy to do your self.

Tony

 

Press down (jounce) on the rear of the car and listen for the noise, better yet get a helper to do it while you crawl under and listen. Isolate the source of the noise.

Lube the sway bar bushings as described above, spray penetrating lube into the control arm bushings, shock mounts and shock struts, do all this several times. The rubber bushings are the biggest source of my creaks from the rear suspension, problem is they're pressed on and lubricant has a tough time getting where it needs to go.
Finally torque check every bolt and nut on the suspension carraige for proper tension. Body/frame bushings can also creak.

 

I have a 99 coupe and had a creaking noise that was driving me to drink! What solved it for me was silcone. I bought some tubes of GM silcone grease from Mid America. Lubed all my seals and now not even a PEEP!! I am very happy, and now all my seals are conditioned.. Awesome. :flag :thumbs:

 

Thanks for the help guys...I'm gonna work on it tomorrow if it isn't too hot outside...(yea right)

 

There are 2 possible creaking sounds that you are hearing from the front.

1) Rubber Hood stops. More noticeable if you are backing up over a slight bump, especially at an angle. Carwax or silicone lube will eliminate this noise. There are 4 rubber bumpers for the hood. You can tell if its the bumpers by just popping the hood (you don't need to raise it) and going over the same bump. If the noise is still there with the hood popped, it isn't the hood bumpers.

2) Front swaybar bushings. More noticeable if you are slowly going over a speed bump, especially at an angle. Noise seems to disappear at higher speeds. The front bushings (at least on my Z) have a polyester mesh that contacts the swaybar. Most oil-based lubricants will simply wear off within 1-2 months time or ruin the polyester and you will have the problem again. Best suggestion is to replace the bushings ($6 each thru Fichtner) and see if that helps. I suspect that moisture or contamination causes the bushings to go bad. I am currently trying silicone grease on mine, awaiting new bushings from Ken. Don't waste your time with synthetic grease, lithium grease or bearing grease........ they are a temporary fix. The silicone grease has lasted for 3 weeks with no problems. Pepboys has a higher viscosity (thicker) silicone grease than the small GM tubes, which is what I'm currently testing.


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[Modified by TexasRedZ06, 2:24 AM 8/10/2003]

 

Well I worked on the car this morning and here are the results:

Put the car on ramps...got under the car and pushed up on the cross member and could duplicate the sound...sounds like it's coming from the sway bar areal...I took off the sway bar and bushings, cleaned them real good and then sprayed some silicone lubricant on them and reinstalled sway bars and bushings. I pushed the car up and down and the noise was gone. I let it set for a while then took it out for a drive...slowly the noise came back again. I'm pretty sure the bushing's are bad or something...when I slid them to the side you could see where the bushings wore through the paint and exposed the metal below. Apparently the silicone spray wasn't enough to stop the creaking for long. I will email Ken and see about getting some new bushings/end links/sway bars. Is there anything difference with the new bushings? Are they rubber too?

 

Graphite dry lubricant will stay in place much longer than oil or silicone.
You can use spray lubricant first then apply dry graphite powder on the bushings.

Did you remove and lube the endlinks when you did this? Just curious...

 

I didn't lube the end links...I've read that after a while the rubber bushings become hard and dry, which is why they need to be replaced. My car has 77,000 miles on it so I guess it's about time to replace them. I'll probably try to squirt some spray on the end links tomorrow to see what it does though...I looked up the parts and to get 4 new endlinks (aluminum) and 4 new bushings would be like $74 plus shipping.