95 q45 squeaky suspension problems

[rsiwicki]

my front drivers side suspension is squeaking like a really old rocking chair every time I go over some bumps...some days are worse than others with the squeaks and the sound is coming from the top of the shock mount under the hood...I lifted the hood and pushed on the car up and down and then heard the squeak right under the black cap of the shock mount. I can hear the sound squeaking/creaking while driving down the road and it started about 2 weeks ago....it is not cool to pull into the driveway of store only to have people look at you because your car is squeaking. funny thing is that it went away for 3-4 days and is now back again, but not as loud as before and I have to find bigger bumps to make it squeak

I had tockio blues and eibachs put on back in March...don't know if this would affect anything this far down the road from improper installation?

[maxnix]

Rob,did they install all new rubber, expecially the bump stops? Spring seats don't usually wear out, but may have, so ask about those also.

[rsiwicki]

I had ordered all new rubber things for the shocks from Joe and asked him to include everything that usually needs replacing or would have some wear on it after 135,000 miles....I know that he included some rubber things for each shock but not certain what exactly it was...and I am almost positive it was the bump stops.

[DAEDALUS]

My guess is upper links.

[rsiwicki]

I think I had those already replaced about 20K ago at the dealer when car was still under my aftermarket warranty that was the top 5 best things that I have ever bought

[natsoundup]

I had squeaky upper links for two years.... however they only squeaked when the temperature was below 45 degrees.

might be something else...

[rsiwicki]

its coming from right under the black round shock mount cap as if you can hear metal grinding against metal making a creaking rocking/door sound....the sound is not coming from the wheel surround area....I have the Stillen Camber adjustments things as well on the car. It was really bad today. I guess it is off to the repair shop....I was just hoping for some pointers so that the mechanic does not spend forever trying to figure it out

[911/Q45]

If you have the Stillen camber adjusters, they are the upper links and need to be greased fairly often. Pump a bunch of lube through the zerk fittings at each end and the bushings will quiet down.

[rsiwicki]

thanks 911/Q45....I hope it is as simple as this. I am pretty sure that the shop did not bother to grease the cambers adjustments up before they installed them

[Q451990]

Just to be sure, check the nut under the black cap on the strut tower. I had one loosen up a couple of turns once and it made all kinds of scary noises.

Heath

[rsiwicki]

how do I check the nut under the black cap???? Is this a DIYer job?

This sounds exactly what is wrong with my car....it is really creaky scary sounding and sounds like it is from right under the black cap.

[natsoundup]

I stated in another thread that I had this issue on the driver side strut. the "top hat" rubber in between the top and and the top of the strut was obliterated.

I pulled the strut assembly, ordered the 38 dollar part from Joe and had a shop compress the spring and replace the top hat for 10 bucks... then I just put the strut back in.

per Heath...you can tighten the nut....that worked for me for awhile, but finally there was no more rubber... I even cheated and put a ton of grease in there as a buffer.

Tightening the nut is no big deal... however you may have to jack the car up a bit and use some locking pliers wrapped in a towel to grab the strut rod. Then just pull the plastic cap off the top of the strut tower and tighten the middle bolt.

I utilized this crude technique for awhile deciding whether to part out the 90 or give it to my son. Son has it. It has had the slipping transmission (4th gear only) for a year now. Go figure.

[Q451990]

You should be able to just pull the cap and tighten the nut with a socket... two minute job. I've never had a problem with the rod spinning since it's keyed with the upper mount. I guess if it's very badly worn from rubbing for a long time, it could be an issue, but I wouldn't expect one.

Heath

[rsiwicki]

Heath....sorry for my ignorance, but are you saying that the black cap on top of the shock inside the engine compartment just pops off when pulled on hard enough? Do I need to loosen the bolts on the two studs surrounding the black cap as well?

[DAEDALUS]

No need to loosen the nuts. Just pry the cap off.

[rsiwicki]

ahh very good...thanks guys for you help. I will do this first thing tomorrow morning while nursing my HappyHour hang over and hopefully it will save me a few bucks from the local repair shop.

[Q451990]

I think we may be talking about different caps. The center nut should be covered by a black plastic cap about the diameter of a quarter. This nut is the one we're suggesting that you check to tighten... the other two on the outside should probably be checked too.

Heath

[rsiwicki]

Well I tried to tighten the nut, but I need a "dep" socket to get in there to see if it is loose. I will take the car to the shop in the next few weeks to see what they can do for it and suggest to them to tighten the nut....thanks for your suggestions.

[DougQ45]

You are correct, a 14MM deep well. Don't gorilla it---not too tight--I beleive 14-17 foot lbs. One nice thing ---its a 60 second job!!

[rsiwicki]

thanks for the exact size...I will stop at AutoZone/PepBoys and see if they let me borrow a 14mm deep socket as I already have a torque wrench.