Front end noises......

[vortex2450]

Well I know I've posted my fair share of threads about front end suspension noises but then again who hasn't?

Anyways, I've noticed that after going auto-crossing a little while ago I can hear parts in my front end making noises.

The noise isn't loud "thunks" and are not felt through the wheel or body. They sound like binding noises, noticeable mainly when driving slow, evident when going over bumps/holes but still audible at speed on the highway when I hit little bumps/dips. The biggest catalyst for these noises is turning and bumps.

I've replaced a lot of stuff in the front suspension so this is becoming annoying to have to keep dealing with them.

Work I've done so far in order of occurrence.
- New P/S rack
- New outer/inner tie rods
- New end links
- New (mid-grade) LCA's
- Adjustable strut mounts & bearings (Ingalls)
- ALSFB's



Now I looked at the LCA's and one has it's boot torn up from the dust shield but I can't get any play in the wheels. The motor mounts are stock but aren't in terrible shape. I also looked to see if i joined the "broken" subframe club but I didn't see anything obvious there.

What else am I missing?

-Josh

 

[jlunde15]

your strut tension bar bushings are probably compressed...check them (better to replace them if you have your control arms off anyway) and then consider wheel bearings while you have everything off.

 

[TopGunnYFZ]

Strut rods?

 

[intimdatr]

Is everything tight?

 

[rubydist]

well, the al subframe bushings increase nvh, so you are going to hear stuff now that you didn't hear prior to installing them just cause they now get transmitted into the cabin.

my experience is that typically, the low speed noises you hear during bumps or turning are the rubber bushings in the suspension moving - lca inner bushings, strut rod bushings, and strut mounts are the most common sources of these noises in my experience.

sometimes you can eliminate them for a time with a liberal application of KY on the various rubber parts, but I can think of a lot better uses for it....

 

[Eric VerValin]

Those adjustable mounts don't make any noise from my experience. They just don't have anywhere to go like a 'rubber' mount does. I had a noise that sounds similar to what your describing, and it was the rear strut rod "nut" that wasn't quite tight enough. Had to squish that bushing a little more there in the LCA, noise went away.