Creaking noise from front passenger side wheel

[GoPaul]

Just noticed tonight when driving slowly over a couple of speed bumbs that my front drivers side wheel/suspension is creaking.

When out of the car I tested by pushing it around and noticed it is defiitely only the one side. I replaced the stock springs 2 months ago with Eibach lowering springs and have never noticed a problem until today - only thing I can attribute it to is that last night when driving home I hit a pot hole with the same wheel.

Any suggestions to resolve the issue? have I done any damage? (the pot hole while it felt pretty hard wasn't real bad or anything) can I take it somewhere for a free inspection?

[LimaCharlie]

There are threads on this site with people asking the same question you have. Clunking and creaking noises in the front suspension area seem to be the nature of these cars sometimes. The general conclusion is the noise is coming from the top mount area.
Search for these threads and you'll get your information.

[GoPaul]

ok, seems the gremlins that were there have decided to leave - woke up this a.m and decided to take it for a wash (thinking that there might be some dirt on the underside causing the problem and the wash would get rid of it) anyway seems to have corrected itself overnight - not one creak this morning

[wrbear]

Originally Posted by GoPaul

ok, seems the gremlins that were there have decided to leave - woke up this a.m and decided to take it for a wash (thinking that there might be some dirt on the underside causing the problem and the wash would get rid of it) anyway seems to have corrected itself overnight - not one creak this morning

You seem to be in my neck-o-the-woods. Do you park outside?

[GoPaul]

no, garage when at home but generally outside on the Bechtel roof when at work! - we do have lots of road construction on these back roads in Katy though. Seems to be good now though so all is well.

[wrbear]

Originally Posted by GoPaul

no, garage when at home but generally outside on the Bechtel roof when at work! - we do have lots of road construction on these back roads in Katy though. Seems to be good now though so all is well.

The reason I asked is because there is high humidity this morning. BECHTEL!!!!! I know you!!!! I have had creaks in some of my cars because of the bushings. The sounds would sometimes go away on those humid days. The fan belt on my SR5 is making whistling sounds right now at start up. I'm thinking the moisture is helping the belt slip a little. Back in the day....I would work around my 69 Chevelle with a little oil can and lightly lube all of the creaks I could find. True car nut here!

[GoPaul]

just got the car back - I have a bad front right strut. WIll take it to the dealer in the morning and hope that warranty covers it.

2 things:
- I have had lowering springs installed - could these have caused a proble,m with the strut?
- If they replace the strut, will it come with a "stock" spring or do they automatically just switch the spring over from the old to the new?

[GoPaul]

ok, so took it to the dealer today - I will bullet list this for easiness.

- Nothing wrong with the strut - it seems that the lowering spring was rubbing against it.
- Suspension warranty voided by aftermarket springs (glad I kept my stock ones - may need them again in the future, service guy effectively told me this also).
- They are putting it back together again, hopefully will solve the issue.
- No charge.

He advised me that when installing lowering springs it is actually a good idea to replace the whole suspension (stock struts not designed for performance springs?) - anyone else had any kind of issue like this or did you replace your struts also?

[SkunkJunk420]

Anybody? Come on need info myself!

[GoPaul]

Originally Posted by SkunkJunk420

Anybody? Come on need info myself!

more details here, used a different thread under the "suspension" group.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130757

I'm still waiting on Eibach to get back to me - I've chased thema few times but they keep telling me their Technical dept are looking at it. I'll post back when/IF I hear from them.

[CyberDan]

What's the deal with this? Is the bottom spring rung that sits closest to the bottom of the strut frame too big, and causing it to rub the strut? Is this why eibachs are so much cheaper?

I've got this same issue creaking up on me, I'm noticing it more and more. I'm about to make a switch to pfadt springs.

[GoPaul]

Originally Posted by CyberDan

What's the deal with this? Is the bottom spring rung that sits closest to the bottom of the strut frame too big, and causing it to rub the strut? Is this why eibachs are so much cheaper?

I've got this same issue creaking up on me, I'm noticing it more and more. I'm about to make a switch to pfadt springs.

If you have a chance click on my journal - it will let you know how I resolved the issue. In a nutshell though, we jacked the car back up again and loosened off the struts, put some grease on the rub spots then re-sat the coils. I did this back in Feb and have had no further issues. I just think when we installed them originally we didn't quite sit them right. I have no issues with Eibachs and how they handle and they also make the car look alot meaner. Hope this helps.