squeaky noise in 72 porsche

[alexrhoads]

Hi I am an owner of a 72 911T Porsche. Lately on the front left hand side of the car when ever you are doing little adjustments with the steering wheel or going over bumps a squeak appears. If you sit on the body panel right above the front left wheel and bounce the car up and down it starts squeaking like crazy also. I think it might be a bushing problem but i am not sure. Does anyone know what it might be..

[RSTarga]

Roll bar bushings, Maybe the suspension has plastic bushings instead of rubber. Have they ever been replaced?

[dtxscott]

Mine is doing the same thing and it is front a-arm bushings.

You can find replacements with our host. Installation can be somewhat tricky but Elephant Racing has a video to guide you through.

[alexrhoads]

yea I have replaced them once but this car was passed down to me from my dad..im only 17 so I don't know to much about the car yet. and yea if i get under the car and spray all of the connections it will go away for a little, but its just getting annoying now. So if dtxscott is right would you want to go with solid bushings or rubber??

[dtxscott]

I'm planning on the polybronze from Elephant Racing

- They are easier to install
- Better A-arm control
- They can be lubricated

They are a little spendy but all feedback I've heard has been positive.

[tobluforu]

Rebel racing has some good ones as well, spendy as well.

[Grady Clay]

Originally Posted by alexrhoads

yea I have replaced them once but this car was passed down to me from my dad..im only 17 so I don't know to much about the car yet.
….

alexrhoads,
Welcome to the Pelican 911 Technical Forum
You will find a lot of help here.


Your “…passed down to me from my dad.” implies that he has ‘passed on’.
I’m very sorry. Every 17-year old needs a dad.
I’m sure you will be a worthy caretaker of a very special 911.
There is a lot to learn. This is the place.

It is proper form to post flattering images of your 911.

“The Squeak”:
You have eight ‘joints’ in the Left Front.
If original Porsche, few squeak.
The usual culprit is the rubber bushing that supports the sway bar as it goes through the inner fender.
If the rubber joints for the A-arm have been replaced, these two are common ‘squeakers’ as they probably needed lubrication.

The critical joints are the ball joint and the tie rod end.
These are sealed greased ball-&-socket joints and squeaking is a sign of no grease – bad and sign of a potential impending failure.
A failure of the ball joint or tie rod end can put the 911 out of control.
A ‘test’ for these are to add some lube past the boot and the steel ‘pin’ with a syringe.
Warm 90W transmission oil works well.
If the squeak stops, replace the ball joint and the rod end joints ASAP.
Don’t assume the lubrication ‘solved the problem’, it didn’t – it just made the squeak go away for a while.

Squeaks at other joints are annoying and a sign of needing attention.
These rubber joints (‘Flanblocks’ in Porsche-speak) can be replaced with original rubber or can be changed to more rigid bearings.
These aftermarket bearings are described here.

The good news is that the squeak is an indication that your 40-year old suspension may need to be brought back to new (or better).
This is also something you should do to both the front and rear to maintain ‘balance’.

There is a lot to this and it isn’t inexpensive.

The ‘handling’ of your 911 depends on the suspension operating as designed – with proper shock absorbers and current tires.
There are also some ‘support’ and other components that need periodic renewing.
These include wheel bearings, CV joints, brakes and more.

All of this is relatively simple DIY and has been well documented here.
Some searching will find lots of info.
Post links and ask questions.

Where are you located?
There may be close-by Pelicans and PCA members who can give 1st-hand advice and help.

Again, WELCOME

Best,
Grady

[RSTarga]

I'd go back to the elephant rubber bushings, closest to stock

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by tobluforu

Rebel racing has some good ones as well, spendy as well.

But they are cheaper than PolyBronze and do not require you to get down and shoot grease into them, lest you get metal to metal contact.

They are lighter than PB too.


A-arm Bearings disassembled view 1 by Max_911_fahrer, on Flickr

[alexrhoads]

thanks everyone just took the car to a Porsche only shop and basically told them i need this fixed! but soon after i got the car back im starting to see a lot more oil leaks. looks like it comes from behind the heat ex-changer. When i take a right turn and power out of it the whole cabin fills up with oil smoke..not to pleasant if you have your girl friend in the car hahaha by the way the car has a 71 oil tank on it because the 72 one looks like a gas tank and idiots would put gas in it..

[Flieger]

Did they do an oil change with synthetic oil?

[alexrhoads]

it has 10W 40 in it i believe. I just did the oil myself 4 days ago

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by alexrhoads

When i take a right turn and power out of it the whole cabin fills up with oil smoke(

Symptom of over-filled w/oil.

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by Grady Clay

You have eight ‘joints’ in the Left Front.
If original Porsche, few squeak.

Okay Grady, I'm stumped. I try to read all of your posts diligently, as you present detailed and useful information in such a kind and helpful tone.

I count:

2 Flanblocks/A-arm bushings
1 Ball joint
1 Tie-rod end
1 Upper strut bushing
1 Sway bar bushing through body (under, in my case - 3.2 Carrera)
1 Sway bar end bushing

Which leaves me with seven 'joints' -- what am I missing? It's something obvious, probably, but it's bugging me like having a song stuck in my head.

Thanks in advance.

[Grady Clay]

Originally Posted by Flat Six

Okay Grady, I'm stumped. I try to read all of your posts diligently, as you present detailed and useful information in such a kind and helpful tone.

I count:

2 Flanblocks/A-arm bushings
1 Ball joint
1 Tie-rod end
1 Upper strut bushing
1 Sway bar bushing through body (under, in my case - 3.2 Carrera)
1 Sway bar end bushing

Which leaves me with seven 'joints' -- what am I missing? It's something obvious, probably, but it's bugging me like having a song stuck in my head.

Thanks in advance.

2 Flanblocks/A-arm bushings
1 Ball joint
1 Tie-rod end
1 Upper strut bushing
1 Sway bar bushing through body (under, in my case - 3.2 Carrera)
2 Sway bar end bushing for the drop link through '73

Best,
Grady

[Flat Six]

Originally Posted by Grady Clay

2 Sway bar end bushing for the drop link through '73

Best,
Grady

D'oh!

Thanks, Grady!

Dale