creaking front end when turning left

[bflosho]

I've got a 93 that when I turn the wheel to the left and back to center at slow speeds or not moving at all... turning out of a parking spot or driveway I get a creaking/ moaning sound from the driver side front it seems to coming from what I think is a Sfb,It is located just behind foglight and has a 18mm bolt going through it? It gets worse when the weather gets colder and has been making noises since last Nov.So far I've replaced tie rods,control arm and end links ( all were shot). Is that a SFB and can it just need to be tightened or does it need to be replaced? Is something getting ready to snap?I did the test where I have someone turn the wheel back and forth and only had limited engine movement about 1/4".
Thanks for any insight
Steve

 

[94mtx]

steve,
well the 18mm bolt head that is behind the foglight is the front subframe bolt. and it would not be a bad idea to replace the sfbs. as far as the creaking, everyone has there own opinion of what constitues a creak vs. a moan or what ever. but.... from where it is coming from it could be the subframe. there is a few options as far as bushing material, get what you think is best, i just put in aluminum and so far like them. there is a slight bit of added high freq vibration (i.e. highway speed changing lanes and driving over reflectors) and there is a alignment procedure, not technical or indepth, but something to do. you might want to double check the endlinks, depending on what style youwent with, have issues retaining the grease. the torque setting for factory sfbs is 85ft/lbs.

jon

 

[bflosho]

Jon Thanks for the quick reply,I was afraid of that, I've read the searches for changing the SFB's and it sounds pretty simple and straight forward especially the fronts, but because of the weather up here and the salt they use on the roads I'm afraid I'm going to run into problems getting that 18mm bolt off. Did you do yours and were the bolts frozen? I'd hate to shear the bolt off trying to break it free and then have to figure out how to get the remaining bolt shaft out!
Thanks again,
Steve

 

[gdsqdcr]

Steve

You are describing the same issues that I am having with my 94. I have replaced my SFB's and put aluminum in there. I still have the noise, though. I am having all the tierods checked out on Monday.

As for removing the bolts on the SFB's. I tried myself, and couldnt get them off. If you are going to do it, make sure you can get some GOOD leverage on the bolts.

Anthony

 

[bflosho]

Anthony,
Thanks, That's what I'm afraid of, taking the time and after getting everything half dissasembled finding that I can't get one stupid bolt or nut off w/o creating more of a headache,then to find out it was'nt it in the first place,I've already gone through it w/ the end links, tie rods,control arms I thought I had it solved until the weather got colder and the the creaking started again and has gotten worse,its not even below zero yet! I'm going to try and back off the bolt on the drivers side tomorrow and see if the bushing is torn up or what and if I see anything then try to replace w/ aluminum. I guess it can't hurt, the rest of the front end has been replaced and I don't think after that there's anything left...did I mention that the struts and springs are new to?!Let me know how your repairs go!

 

[RI-SHO]

Is it coming from anywhere near the strut towers?

If so its defitnaly your strut bearings that need replacement, in my old SHO i had the same problem in the cold weather they just got so bad too.

 

[gdsqdcr]

Steve

If the bushings are bad, get the aluminum. The aluminum bushings are AWESOME.
One thing that noticed on mine, is that the swaybar around the bushing, is clean. The rest of the swaybar has the normal dirt on it, but in the bushing area looked as if the swaybar was actually moving in the bushing. I dont know if that is normal or not, Monday I will find out.

If you learn anything about yours, please let me know.

Anthony

 

[gdsqdcr]

Steve

I just picked up my car from the shop. They were able to reproduce the noise while driving, but not while it was on the lift. They are unable to determine what is causing the noise. rant

They said all my tie rod, bushings, mounts, suspension components are fine ....

Any other suggestions?

Anthony

 

[bflosho]

I'm leaning towards RIshos diagnosis of what's wrong w/ mine. Especially after doing a search on the strut bearings, there were more than a couple posts about creaking front ends when the weather got cooler even after replacing tie rods ball joints etc. although since your on the west coast I don't know if that could be an issue for you. There was a post by spdatt saying to spray some lithium grease up and around the top of the strut tower and bushings as a temp.fix. I'm waiting for trhis crappy rainy weather we're having up here to hold off long enough to jack it up and get some grease up and around there to see if that silences it. I need to try that before I go and replace the SFB's since the only syptom that resembles bad sfbs is the creaking- I'm not getting any clunking during shifts or when braking and no excessive motor movement. Man I wish the previous owner would have held on to the maintenece and repair records so I could know when things were replaced. I called a dealer and found out the recall was performed but they could'nt tell me when.
I'll let you know if the grease does the trick, tomorrow looks good
Steve

 

[bflosho]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that my car would'nt reproduce the sound on the lift either only on pavement

 

[gdsqdcr]

Very much like mine. My is only reproducable on the ground.
Mine is consistent with a 'load' change. i.e. give it gas, let off (clunk heard and felt), give it gas again (clunk heard and felt). It feels as if it is coming straight through the floorboard.

Question?
Should the front swaybar move at all in the bushings that hold it to the body of the car? It looks as if mine may be moving slightly.

Anthony

 

[bflosho]

I'm not really sure, I jacked mine up and looked at the sway bar and I really didnt see any substantial wear marks but I suppose that a little movement may happen since it doesnt look like those bushings are meant to be super torqued down.
As far as my creaking front end goes I put some dura **** around the top strut bushings to see if that creaking would go away and just as simple as that its gone, no need for the new SFB'S just yet.Thanks RI SHO that saved me some time,money, and alot of aggravation hail I guess I should have payed a little more attn. to that shotimes article.