front struts squeak and creak?

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Zen_master
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front struts squeak and creak?

Postby Zen_master » Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:21 pm

Recently had a rust proofing and underbody spray service performed on my R51. It seems ever since then the vehicle has squeaked and creaked constantly. It sounds like a hoop ride going through the bank teller lane. I had it looked at by a shop. They said it appears to be stemming from the front strut bushings. They suggested replacing the entire front assemblies for $600+. They did say nothing is wrong with it mechanically and it's not a safety issued, just an annoying sound. Curious if anyone else has experienced a similar issue and if maybe a liberal dousing of spray lube might resolve the problem.


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ShipFixer
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby ShipFixer » Wed Jun 24, 2020 10:26 pm

Could be struts - but the front body mounts can make those same sounds.

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palmerwmd
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby palmerwmd » Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:47 pm

I have the same issue..
I suspect the Bushings as well.
But I dont know for sure which bushings though.. dont really have a shop around here that I trust other than the local Nissan dealer and they are hard to get an appt with ( and not cheap)

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ShipFixer
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby ShipFixer » Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:18 am

The only bushings in the front struts are in the bottom of the strut/shock tower itself. The other end, the "strut mount," is a metal and rubber (or polyurethane, if you went that way like I did) sandwich at the top of the arch above the wheel well. That part won't make noise. The bushing in the strut "could" make noises like this because it is a simple bushing and its motion correlates to it. But it rarely is. It is constantly rotating when the car is in motion, unlikely to seize, and constantly self-polishing. Also, if you look at it, there is a lot of space between the metal outer bushing shell in the strut and the LCA, so the odds of something getting trapped in there or a secondary noise source is limited. It's also the only thing that is normally replaced or disassembled in the whole suspension assembly.

Stuff that is correlated to strut movement and "sounds like a bad strut" includes but is not limited to LCA bushings, UCA bushings, sway bar bushings, sway bar links, and the most common (at least on the forums)...the front two body mounts. The second most seems to be the sway bar bushings, where a really old bushing may allow some contact between the bar and the vehicle, aside from allowing rotation through the rubber. I have had LCA bushings so badly seized to the carrier bolts that I had to sawzall through them, and they looked like a single piece of metal in the cut. But they never made noise, the rubber apparently twists enough to accomodate suspension motion even at the outside pivots.

One of my front most body mounts are bad so I can tell you exactly what the noise sounds like. When I go slow over a speed bump with my window down, it sounds like a groaning, crunching noise, like rusty metal breaking free or something. Yeah...I checked my struts first even though it's not them (they're new, aside from other things). I also checked tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc.

For cost, quick-struts with the springs pre-installed cost something like $120 each on Amazon if you're inclined. Would be direct OEM replacement with none of the improvements that come with better shocks like Bilsteins, but you do not need a strut compressor so the job would be very easy to do in a driveway with a decent jack and some hand tools. I would at a minimum Google the body mount issue first across all of the F-Alpha truck platforms, and maybe change the sway bar bushings for $20 or so first.

silverarrow27
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby silverarrow27 » Fri Jun 26, 2020 12:09 pm

My Pathy squeeks too when driving. This thing drives like an old pirate ship! Going to have to investigate the body mounts on mine.

TooMuchControl
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby TooMuchControl » Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:47 pm

Ball joints.

They squeak when worn out. Front is very noticeable.

Go into a drive thru, open the window and turn the steering wheel as you go through. Somehow the narrow space against a wall echoes noises very well, you can hear creaks very easily.
If you hear a creak when turning, could be them.

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Zen_master
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby Zen_master » Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:56 am

Anyone think it could be the added friction from the increased viscosity of the rust proofing spray? The sound became noticeable almost immediately (day or two later) after the truck was in to be rust proofed. If so, wondering if a liberal dousing of a light weight oil like WD-40 or equivalent lube would minimize the sound.

TooMuchControl
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby TooMuchControl » Sat Jul 04, 2020 3:00 pm

Have to be careful with rubber. Some parts don't like certain lubricants. It could make it worse. :shock:

I would think a white lithium grease might be fine, as you can spray it into crevices. I've used it for other squeaks.

I think certain rubber it needs to be silicone based.

Go to NAPA (call them up) and see what they recommend? They've probably got the right stuff for every application.

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Zen_master
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby Zen_master » Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:31 pm

Strut mounting plate was the problem necessitating full replacement.

TooMuchControl
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby TooMuchControl » Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:53 pm

LOL. I actually remembered this post!
Excellent that you followed up - much appreciated.

I wonder why the strut mounts weren't just swapped out? Was the whole assembly affected by those mounts?

CRC11007
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby CRC11007 » Mon Dec 19, 2022 5:03 pm

I had an annoying front end squeak as well. Turned out the hood latch was the source. I wrapped some electrical tape around the metal hoop on the hood, latched it tight, and squeak disappeared. Good luck!

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palmerwmd
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 23, 2022 4:21 pm

Zen_master wrote:
Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:31 pm
Strut mounting plate was the problem necessitating full replacement.
thank you for the follow up for the community

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palmerwmd
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Re: front struts squeak and creak?

Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 23, 2022 4:21 pm

CRC11007 wrote:
Mon Dec 19, 2022 5:03 pm
I had an annoying front end squeak as well. Turned out the hood latch was the source. I wrapped some electrical tape around the metal hoop on the hood, latched it tight, and squeak disappeared. Good luck!
thats a good one! :D


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