HarryD

Car is making a squeaking/creaking sound, front-right passenger wheel area while driving over rough roads, speed bumps, braking, etc.

To troubleshoot, I started to jack her up and found this SAME sound coming from the front, passenger side wheel well area whilst jacking... Pardon the rain and note that the car never made noise when jacking up before today (and the jack isn't making that loud noise). Noise starts at 0:18 as I jack her up [and 1:00 when lowering]!


Any ideas?

HarryD

Update:

1. Removed wheel, jacked up/down multiple times == NO NOISE
2. Checked all the bolts to the shocks/A-arms == NO NOISE
3. Re-installed wheel, jacked up/down == NOISE
4. In the engine bay, leaning on/off the strut tower or quarter panel == NOISE

It appears the shock needs to be loaded with the tire/weight of the car for the noise to occur, and it occurs just at the start of suspension travel. I was hoping the sway bar end link nuts would be loose (and a quick fix), but they were tight. I did tighten all of the shock to A-arm to shock tower bolts -- none were inherently loose, but I did get a half turn out of one or two of them.

Shock has roughly ~30k miles on it, and while I have hit a few potholes and bottomed out on a speed bump once or twice over the years, the suspension does not bounce up and down (or leak) like my previous old blown shocks...

Any ideas before I start throwing parts at it?

HarryD

Surprised there was no response to this. Car is literally undrivable, and sounds like someone pounding away on cheap mattress springs at a seedy motel in a bad part of town.

Here's a video of my driving in a parking garage:

• 0:20 seconds no throttle, steering left and right
• 1:10 braking and the noise is LOUD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adLb...=youtu.be&t=70

Per my previous post:

• Suspension bolts right
• Subframe bolts tight
• Lug nuts tight

What should I do next?

Grilla

Do you have an ETD? The bracket on mine made a similar noise when it rubs against the fuse box bracket. It was really difficult to diagnose.

Other things to try: apply downward force on your engine and/or try to rock it. Maybe it's your engine mounts.

s2000Junky

Sounds like bushings somewhere in the upper /lower control arm, could be the damper itself, could even be the steering rack/tie rod ends. Those are the areas to key in on. Id start with the easiest thing first, which is to loosen up the lower shock bolt and see if that bushing is binding/creating the noise. Systematically try and pinpoint where its coming from. We cant do that from behind the computer.

HarryD

Thanks for replying guys!

• No ETD, 100% stock
• I replaced both engine mounts ~50k miles ago with OEM. Last ones burst an orange, bloody color. I can push down on the engine without noise
• Pushing down on the passenger strut tower from the engine compartment causes the creaking

Last night I loosened the top shock bolts, and the noise was still there. I will try the lower bolt now.

Problem is, I can't get the noise to happen when the car is in the air and the wheel is off and I'm going nuts...

Soviet

This sounds very familiar to my car that has poly swaybar bushings. When the bushings aren't lubricated it makes a ton of noise at any point of suspension travel. Is there anything aftermarket on the car?

HarryD

I know right?! It's 100% stock. I rebuilt the struts/shocks last year with OEM springs, OEM rubber bushings, and OEM struts.

P.S. Was hoping you'd reply -- I'm the guy in the yellow who came by to look at your taillights. Hope you're recovering well!

HarryD

Grasping at straws -- gonna make an educated guess it's the ball joint from similar videos:

Not excited this bet is gonna cost me $67:
Honda Automotive Parts

Soviet

I remember you! I just had surgery again to get my hardware removed but things seem to be going well... Good lucky with this.