Strange creaking/squeaking noise in frontend..what is it?

[SyberTiger]

Everytime I go over a small bump in the road I hear a creak noise as the front end bounces. The noise is obvious when you slowly go over a speed bump. As the front end rolls off the bump and makes a little bounce I hear a slight creaking or maybe squeaking noise. Anyone have any idea what it is? Clearly it has something to do with the suspension. I thought the front end had no lubrication points so I'm wondering what it is and how to make it go away. I have 82,000 miles on my 2002 FWD X.

 

[abarkl]

Use the forum search option and Sway Bar bushings.

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

Get a needle grease adaptor for your grease gun, and pump a little grease in the space between the bushing and the bar. Had to do this on my Durango a couple times (it lasts about a year), and just recently did it on the Explorer when it started to creak and groan.

I used waterproof marine grade grease just for the durability factor, but any old grease would work.

 

[SyberTiger]

What is the cost of sway bar bushings and how hard are they to change out? Is there a proceedure posted somewhere or special tools needed? Maybe I should just put some new ones in there....

 

[dannyb420]

they are cheap, paid $125 for them and to have them installed, removed the noise.

 

[buddychan]

You may not even need to replace the bushings, if they are still in good shape. Just grease it up first and see if the noise goes away.

 

[SyberTiger]

Problem solved! No more creaking noise...

I sprayed the sway bar bushings with DuPont Performance spray lubricant. It is advertised as a "Dry Mulit-Use Lubricant with Teflon Fluoropolymer - A Better Way to Lubricate, No Oily or Greasy Film".

Will have to see how long the creaking stays away.

 

[jhovabta]

Help

I have the same problem. I am sorry, but I am not exactly sure where to spray the lubricant. Please expand?

2004 Limited

 

[dannyb420]

You could probably use a lithium grease spray. Replacnig them is not too expensive

 

[Donner]

Welcome! Looking for the locations to lubricate...

 

[Donner]

Front end...

Corrections please, if these are not the right areas to lube: The round objects next to the bolts.

 

[jp450]

I just (a few hours ago) added greese fittings to my brackets. I was getting sick of the squeeking and the way I was fixing it was by spraying the bushings with a spray lubracant. I found that this would only work for a few months and if it was rainy even shorter. I was going to just remove the bushings, clean them and reapply greese but then I got the idea of adding greese zerks.

After cleaning them I put the bushing back into the bracket and with a drill press drilled a hole between the "r" and the "d" in ford that is stamped into the bracket, right through the bushing. With a dremmell tool I made a groove around the inside of the bushing up to the split. I figure that this will allow the greese to flow around the sway bar. Then I made little grooves outward to allow the greese to move sideways. Taped the hole and screwed in the zerk. When reinstalling the assembly make sure the hole in the bushilg lines up with the greese fitting. I gave them a shot of greese and it works great. Now all I have to do is shoot some fresh greese into the fitting when they start to squeek again... It only took me about an hour to do both sides.

 

[jeffmaaske]

Could you post a picture with the zirc that you installed?