Creaky rear end....

[Hodgey]

Hello all....
Firstly, I have to give a huge thank you to Chuck Moreland who, even over a weekend, responded very positively and swiftly to my email querying my creaking rear end (no comments please.....)

History: I changed the rear spring plate bushings in Feb this year, about 3k miles ago for the neatrix type from ER.[LIST]
I installed them as described with no lube other than hand soap to aid insertion and cover plate fitting.
I also changed the way bar bushings at the same time.

I have since had a loud creaking noise in the car when I go over a bump in the road which wasn't apparent during the first month of change out I recall.

I emailed back and forth with Chuck and followed his guidance re using WD40 on the sway bar bushings -noise still there.

I also sprayed a little on the spring plate bushings (I know, not supposed to) and the noise still remains.

It's as though the noise is coming from the wheel/shock absorber area......has anyone had this issue?

Thanks in advance

Neil

[DRACO A5OG]

Hmm, I have Neatrix for several years now. NO Creaks.

Try removing the plates and turning the bushings 180 degrees, clean the covers/plates and see if that helps.

Did you replace the suspension arm bushings attached to the chassis?

Jim

Are you certain it is not coming from the front A arm bushings? Can you hear it when you push down on the rear bumpers?

[Hodgey]

Hello Jim
I did not change the suspension arm bushings attached to the chassis. What I may do is spray them with WD40 and see if the noise goes away. I am in a process of elimination right now.

I hear the noise when I push down on the rear bumpers. I have even put the car on a jack stand under the torsion bar cover and used a floor jack under the trailing arm to simulate road bump conditions and the noise is definitely at the rear end in the wheel/shock absorber area.

How do you rotate the bushes 180 degrees? I glued them to the spring plates when I installed them as per directions that came with them.

Neil

[DRACO A5OG]

Hmmm, glued? Really.

Steve Alarcon did mine and they were not gluded ( if they were, it did not hold ). In fact when I aligned the car and re-indexed my T-bars. My bushings rotated freely. I did not plan on rotating but felt it would be better to have her ride on a fresh surface.

I and Steve may be wrong but mine are not glued

Try this, disconnect the struts and sway bar. This way the only things under load would be the T-bar bushing and the suspension arm bushings. This way you can take out the strut and sway bar out of the equation.

I feel you brother, when my front A-arms were creaking, it was really embarrasing. Peops looking at me like "freakin junk car"

[Hodgey]

[QUOTE=DRACO A5OG;6265733]Hmmm, glued? Really.


"Try this, disconnect the struts and sway bar. This way the only things under load would be the T-bar bushing and the suspension arm bushings. This way you can take out the strut and sway bar out of the equation."


This is my next ploy.....maybe tomorrow night. I need to isolate the noise and go from there.

Thing is, as I drive along, after about 15-20 minutes over enough bumps, the noise goes away?!?!?! ?!!??!!?

I will report back!!!!!!

Neil

[Chuck Moreland]

Originally Posted by Hodgey

Hello Jim
I hear the noise when I push down on the rear bumpers. I have even put the car on a jack stand under the torsion bar cover and used a floor jack under the trailing arm to simulate road bump conditions and the noise is definitely at the rear end in the wheel/shock absorber area.

Neil

Hmm, the spring plate bushings are well ahead of the wheel /shock absorber.

Since you can reproduce the noise by bouncing the bumper, have a friend do this while you get your ears right down there to try and isolate the sound. Put your ear right next to anything you suspect.

use your hands to try and feel vibration in various parts.

Check the torque on every single nut and bolt in the suspension. Loose fasteners are one of the most common causes of suspension noises.

While you are down there carefully inspect the sway bar mounts, looking for any cracks. Cracks here can squeak. You may have to take the sway bar bushing and bracket off to get a full inspection. On the 87 the likely failure on these is the are around the bolts/weld nuts. You can see this area better with the bar off. While the sway bar is disconnected, repeat the bouncing to see if the noise persists.

Also take a good look around for anything rubbing. Specifically check the shocks over their entire length. Are they too close to the sheet metal, or perhaps an oil line? Have any of the lower rubber bushings on the shock popped out?

[Hodgey]

Thanks Chuck
I will drop off the sway bar and shock bolt this evening and retry.

I will report on the findings as I go.


Jim and Chuck, many thanks for the input

Neil

[Brorag]

when my rear end starts creaking, the best cure is most often a wee dram of Lagavulin ...................

[Hodgey]

Okay, so tonight I took all the advice, and here's what I did, all on the passenger side:

I tried each of these both on a jackstand under the torsion bar using the floor jack under the trailing arm to move it and also with the car on the ground and (alternately) me and the wife bouncing the car from the rear bumper while the other one listened both in the car and out of it (she is a keeper );

1 I removed the sway bar at the drop link bolt = still squeaks
2 I removed the sway bar at the bushing and bracket = still squeaks
3 I removed the shock absorber bottom bolt from the trailing arm = still squeaks
4 I put WD40 on the trailing arm bushing in between the torsion tubes = still squeaks
5 I squirted WD 40 on the spring plate bushings = Still squeaks
6 Checked the torque on all the torsion bar bushing cover platebolts, all in order = still squeaks

Finally I laid under the car with it on the floor jack and with a screw driver to the ear trick on the spring plate bushing area I began to pump up the floor jack (not a pretty sight).

Sure enough, the spring plate bushings are the culprit I am afraid to report....
.so I now have a choice to make......do I try to lace it with lubricant, wait for it to go away as the bushes flow or change them out for more rubber or upgrade to the polybronze type?

Still, I am a very happy ER customer...with customer care and service the like that Chuck has provided, I won't be going any where else when the time comes that is fo' sho'!!!

Decisions decisions.....
Neil

[DRACO A5OG]

Damn. Sorry to read that.

Can you post a pic of the bushing if you have not put everything back together yet?

[Hodgey]

Jim
I can take a picture of the bushing and the torsion bar end tonight : I did not remove the spring plate bushing cover though, but you can see it's not concentric.

I can put up with the squeak for a while yet before I tear it all down again: maybe a nice winter project over a weekend in November

Neil