Do Struts Squeak
Florence Rocle
I just looked at my wholesale cost for quality Monroe complete front struts and new rear shocks. The front strut assemblies are $155 each my cost. Rear shocks are $27 each. $364 for quality name brand parts, you bought some unknown no-name parts for less than half that amount. I think the cure will be to replace them with a name people know and trust.
thank you, kind people. I will try tour suggestions. I did tighten it all down with the van up on jack stands, so that very well might be the fix. It does sound like the top bearing/ mount is where the noise comes from.
I replaced my front struts and had a creaking sound from the passenger side.I tried loosening top nuts and driving lock to lock.This did not work.So I tried a few more things and nothing seemed to get rid of this noise.While waiting in parking lot to pick up my wife I said what the heck and sprayed some wd 40 from the passenger side wheel well up into the top of strut where coil meets rubber pad and guess what? Noise was gone completely 100%.
A squeak to your shocks is noticeable every bump and blipyou hit in the road. The squeak is likely coming from the shock itself, butcould also be the sign of a worn ball joint or bushing. Sometimes it can betough to know whether it is your shocks specifically, so it is important tokeep an eye out for these accompanying issues.
Every shock is going to have a piston in it holdinghydraulic fluid for stabilizing the car during bumps. A clear sign thatsomething is wrong is if there is some sort of leak. If you can see the piston,look for liquid or a visible crack or dent, and get it into a professionalASAP.
If you think your shocks are on the way out, or you hear asqueak that causes concern, take your car into KB Motorsports today. Our expertteam is ready to diagnose the problem, ensure a safe and swift solution andrepair with KB Motorsports.
If it is time to replace your shocks and struts, the time to do it is now. Our shop is offering an inspection, repair, and replacement on shocks and struts now for only $20 over cost until April 30, 2016.
Changed old shot struts for some medium milage used ones. Now getting clunking/knocking sounds in the front left wheel going over even the tinies bumps and road imperfections. Incidentally, left strut to knuckle bolts were the hardest to break loose.
Did you change the whole thing as a unit, mount, spring and strut? If you did I would guess the strut mount is bad. If not make sure to seat the end of spring in the little slot at bottom, also the two little holes in the top hat must face to the outside. Also did you make sure you torqued that nut on top of the strut with the car on the ground, off of the jack?
I found I had one bad lower balljoint on my left front when I did my strut swap. It causes an occasional clunk, primarily coming in and out of my driveway. It's easy to check, jack up that corner and push and pull on the wheel, or remove the wheel to check. Mine had noticable play.
if that's not the case I agree that the strut tops are the next likely culprit. Also make certain you put the spacer back in between the top hat and the spring perch, that sometimes gets left out and can cause clunking as well. Some models have one piece top hats and this may not apply
So I pulled the wheel, banged on everything with rubber mallet, pulled and greased sway-bar bushing, inspected ball joints, and doublechecked from below that two holes in topmount face outwards. Retorqued topmount nuts and strut piston rod nut. The only thing that made noise similar to what I hear when driving - is if I directly bang the coil spring, and seems to be coming from the top of the strut, so seems like you guys are right - should be a bad topmount.
I changed all four struts on my Legacy wagon and also changed the two strut mounts on the front. I also have one that is clanking, mine is the front right the one that I put the new strut mount on, I dont have any idea why, so I plan to buy a whole unit from wrecking yard and changing it out and see if it stops. I dont know if this sound was in the car before, as I had just bought it and had not really had it on the places where it clanks now. I think mine is bottoming out from a weak spring.
Did you check the big bushing at the back of the control arm? It will have two large bolts on it, if grease is leaking out then they are no good, and after they get dry from no grease they also will make noise.
One other thing to check is where the bottom ring of spring sets in the bottom flange, look to see if any part of the last coil of the spring is shiny if so that means it is rubbing or hitting on it. You can put a little grease there and tap the flange a little tighter to the spring. if that dont quite it then use a large screwdriver and pull the flange just a little away from the spot that is rubbing.
Hearing a metallic clunking noise when driving over bumps is a common reason for customer comebacks after having shocks or struts replaced. They are likely concerned that their new shocks or struts are bad. There are some easy steps you can take to put their minds at ease and take care of the noise.
There is most likely nothing wrong with the replacement shock or strut, but a metallic clunking noise typically indicates loose or worn mounting hardware. A loose mount can allow movement between the bolt and attaching parts, while a mount that is worn can cause the shock/strut to move up and down. When replacing shocks or struts, installing new mounts and mounting hardware is always recommended.
Closely examining the vehicle is required to find the source of the problem. Start by checking the components that attach the shock or strut to the vehicle. Remember that looks can be deceiving; a mounting or bushing can appear to be tight but allow movement when driving.
If the noise occurs while driving over bumps with a strut, then the upper mounting plate should be inspected and replaced if necessary. If the noise occurs while turning, then the upper bearing assembly should be inspected and/or replaced. When inspecting strut mounting hardware, many of these types of components can stretch or deform if over-torqued or if they have been loosened and retightened multiple times, resulting in a noise. If mounting hardware no longer holds their original torque, or if they are excessively worn, they should be replaced.
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Oh my gosh, I am going through this right now. It used to happen in cold weather only, but this past August it got worse and appeared in warm weather. It was like a squeaking, crunching noise similar to what you would think a worn shock/strut sounds like. I had all four shocks replaced, since they were 11 year old factory parts. The repair shop then informed me the upper ball joints and later, the lowers, were going bad. (The lowers did come apart before I got to repair them.) After replacing all those parts, the noise is still present and worse than ever. They lubricated the strut arm bushings and other parts and the noise went away for a couple of days, but came back this weekend. I can hear it when starting/stopping, going over dips/bumps, and it's reallly obvious on a slope like my driveway. It's rather irritating to spend all that money and the noise is still there, even if the other parts were worn. My Liberty still runs great and this is the first major issue I've had with it.
Joe D. Deaver
2005 Jeep Liberty
Rocky Mountain Package
Thanks. Wont help you, but you probably saved me hundreds. I guess I wont insist on having the struts (front shock absorbers?) replaced. Yep.. hear it on starting, stopping, when the front end bounces at very slow speed. I don't think I hear it at speed, like on a highway.