temp fix for squeaking front suspension?
 

85 coupe, 155k miles. My front suspension has just started squeaking. You can push on either fender and make the sound. I know its time for a full suspension refresh and I am working on that parts list. Besides the sway bar bushings and tie rods, I suspect most or all is original. Amazing it still handles pretty well but what do I know!

In the meantime, I am planning a 1400 mile road trip to a Pcar event in 2 weeks. No time to replace everything before I leave. Is the car safe with this squeaking which I assume is likely t bar metal rubbing? Any way to really inspect it? Any temp fix before I just replace all the bushings, ball joints, strut inserts, etc and do it right? Thanks in advance.

Probably right about the torsions rubbing. Might be worth considering a torsion bar upgrade when you do your refresh? Then no worries.:D

I had this issue and just sprayed aerosol lithium grease into the spaces. End of story

This should work, until it washes out again. It's totally safe to drive this way, most likely a rubber bushing is shot and causing the squeak. I have the same issue on my SC, that's a winter project.

they harden when getting old. makes em squeak. time to change em.

John Walker posted some kind of a fix in one of these threads that involved welding a bit of steel somewhere at the end of the control arm to center the torsion bar inside the tube (apparently, due to fatigued bushings, the torsion bar sags, contacting the interior of the control arm tube causing the squeak).
I looked for the post but couldn't find it; also, I'm not sure exactly where the "shim" should be placed or welded to cure the problem.
Maybe someone else can chime in with the fix... He seemed to indicate it was a pretty good, lasting fix.

While mad respect to JW, anything added to the main spring for the suspension is a band aid. Fix the cause of the sagging and it wont squeek. I replaced all the rubber with Rebel Racing mounts. Problem solved.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Through this info and more searching, I have an action plan now. Because my rubber a arm bushings are worn, the steel torsion bar adjuster cap has worn into the softer aluminum cross member. This allows the torsion bar to contact the inside of the a arm which is bad. Its unlikely lube will help since you cannot lube inside the tube really.

My temp fix is similar to the JW fix. In lieu of welding, I plan to just put some steel shim stock betwen the bottom of the adjuster cap and the cross member to raise it slightly and prevent the torsion bar from rubbing. I don't think I even need to JB weld it in since friction alone should hold it. There should be no fwd/aft loading to push it out.

Clearly this is temporary but I think it will buy me enough time/clearance to make my road trip then I can fix it properly with all new parts over the winter.

here are a few threads I finally found that have some more detail.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/842479-front-cross-member-wear.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/813002-front-suspension-clunk-2.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/706409-front-suspension-creak.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/891816-omg-f-king-squeak.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/412129-bushings-shot-110k-85-carrera.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/557322-suspension-squeak.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/933153-greasing-front-end-squeaks-have-i-done-bad.html

Let us know how that works out... I may do that on my '88 to hold things in check for a little while longer.

I wanted to post an update. I pulled out each torsion bar and found where it was rubbing slightly and causing the squeak. I cleaned it up to remove the small ridge, regreased and reinstalled with the rub spot facing up. I then shimmed the adjuster cap using a piece of stainless hose clamp - no epoxy or welding required. I just completed a 1500 mile road trip and it worked great. Squeak is gone and shim is still in place. Now its time to plan the full refresh. I would not recommend this as a long term fix but it worked for me.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1510623414.jpg

It is a bit time consuming but not that dif....Elephant has the proper stuff and I went against the grain...I used original shore hardened rubber (factory spec from E) and kept the original torsion bars and the car handle great....no squeaks from rubber (damn most poly) and the original set up was actually quite good.
I did increase the sway bar diam to 22mm front and 20 rear but it is excellent on the road.
Bottom line....how much time on the track...how much on the street.

Great photo.... thanks for the update!
Nice to see your 1400 mile trip wasn't plagued with squeaks the whole way.

The squeak is annoying and some say it sounds like a goose in the fender. More worrisome to me however was metal on metal rubbing of the torsion bar which could eventually lead to a failure. I even got scared to drive it without understanding the extent of the rubbing. After the temp fix, I at least know what is going on and made it a bit better while I sort out how to fix it properly.

BTW, a shameless plug for the PCA Palooza event in the Ozarks. Once again the event was incredible - 327 Porsches from 356s to a 918 and GT3RS.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1510684724.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1510684724.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1510684724.JPG

Looks like a nice time....my torsion bars were compromised by rust...not terribly bad but if the bars are pitted/worn that's where a crack will develop...if clean they should last indefinitely.
I bought a used pair in the stock grade and oiled/greased them to keep that from happening again.
The car was always in a dry climate too....the only 'rusty' element I've ever found.