Suddenly squeaky SC front end

gslater · 03-15-2002, 08:29 AM

My '80 SC, which has been a fairly quiet car, suddenly started squeaking in the front end two days ago. From inside the cabin, one would think that the squeaking is emanating from somewhere under the dash, but when I got out of the car last night, I could tell the sound was definitely coming from somewhere around the front suspension stuff. Pushing down on either the left or right fender makes the noise, although it seems a bit stronger on the left side.

I'm going to have a look later today at the usual shocks/t-bars/bushings kind of stuff for anything that's radically altered, but I don't get why this kind of squeak would just suddenly appear. As in, if bushings were bad, I'd think that would be a slow, gradually appearing problem. Not the kind of sudden problem I'm seeing (hearing, really). Can shocks (I've got the Bilsteins) suddenly do this?

Any suggestions about what could get so noisy so fast?

jason1guy · 03-15-2002, 08:40 AM

check your sway bar bushings.

Jason
81 SC

island911 · 03-15-2002, 09:13 AM

push ont the cornners of the hood; to see if the hood is the pig.
The little adjuster can be out of adjustment, allowing the hood to move (and squeak) more than it should.

gslater · 03-15-2002, 09:26 AM

Yeah, I had a friend whose 911 had a noisy hood like that, so I checked for that yesterday. It's definitely not the hood, and this is much louder than what I think the hood could produce.

Jdub · 03-15-2002, 09:32 AM

If something happens suddenly that is cause for concern. It is not something in the brake pad is it? Does it squeak with wheel rotation? Over bumps?

Did the weather clear up and stop raining? Water is a great lubricant ("the universal solvent") and so might have been masking any number of sounds.

If no change in weather, and car dry, I would find the reason pretty quick. Chirping, squeaking and the like are sounds metal makes against metal when it oughtn't. Lift the front end and have a good look around:
= Strut inserts firmly in?
= Sag indicating broken T-bar?
= Rock wheel: extra loose?
= Pop trunk: exposed metal scrapes where upper nut sits?
= Pop trunk while driving (low speed): any change?

John

gslater · 03-15-2002, 09:37 AM

"Clear up"? "Stop raining"? What are these strange words you speak? This is Portland. It's March.

It only seems to make noise when there's up/down motion in the front, so I can rule out wheel rotation issues. I also don't like the fact that it just showed up. I guess an old tired bushing could have finally just disintegrated into nothingness. I'm a little more curious about a failure mode of the shocks similar to what I'm hearing. I believe my 104K mile car has the original Bilsteins, and this might be the justification to replace them. I just don't know why the shocks would suddenly get noisy like that.

CEO · 03-15-2002, 09:58 AM

I had the same problem with my 81SC. One day the front end just started squeeking over bumps and stuff and when I pushed down on the front I noticed it comming from the suspension. So I took it to my friends shop and put it on the lift and with his expertise and 25 years of know how we pulled out the front torsion bars. The lube had worn thin on the top and was making a metal to metal contact in the housing. So I lubed them back up and put then in a never a sound was heard. I will almost swear that this is what your problem is. If you have any questions please let me know.
Regards Ken

Jdub · 03-15-2002, 10:07 AM

Greg, you're KILLING me over here! Yup, it's Seattle and we expect snow today (true!).

Ken has a really good point, but the fix is new bushings as grease is only a temporary fix for this situation. Consider also the cost of a new A-arm.

John

Gunter · Gunter's Garage

Had the same on my 1980 SC, also with Bilstein's. At first, I suspected the new Weltmeister bushings on the control arm. But it turned out to be the flanbloc retaining bolt which had come loose almost two turns. The Haynes manual refers to it as flanbloc, it may be called something else. Anyway, it's the assembly that holds up your control arm to the body. After retightening, no more squeaks. If you have access to a pit, go underneath while someone presses down on the front. You will find soon enough what makes the sound.