2001 Ford Explorer Suspension Squeak

I have a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport. I just recently bought this explorer a couple days ago and did not notice the squeak while test driving it. I am sure that it is something that can be fixed with some lube or silicone spray but i'm not exactly sure what is making it squeak in the first place. There is a squeak that comes from the back left side im guessing its suspension but I'm not sure. Its often when I hit bumps ot take sharp turns. Its a high pitch squeak and I'm not sure why it is doing it. The ride is a little rough but Explorer Sports are known for their rough ride. The squeak is not something that annoys me to the point of not driving it but I would like to get it fixed. Help!!! Thanks

2001 Ford Explorer Sport Mine
2005 Ford Explorer Mom
1995 Ford Explorer XLT Dad

spray lube on all bushings in front in most likely it is the sway bar endlinks

Also spray lube the torsion bar ends where they go
into the front A-arms. (Use the lithium spray lube.)

Tighten up the spare tire winch.

You might also check the tire jack access hatch in the left rear area. That has a tendency to rattle and squeak. I put some 1/8" foam weatherstripping on mine to quiet it.

a squeak wouldnt be end links...they rattle, right?

Have had a squeak in the left rear area for awhile now. HR57 can you post pics of where you installed the weather stripping?

Explorer01Sport, I also had a squeak like rusty bedsprings in the front drivers side area. Ended up being a bad lower ball joint.

ThePhoenix said:

a squeak wouldnt be end links...they rattle, right?

Click to expand...

bushings cant rattle if they are not tight enought they can squeak depending on the material mine have been doing this for a while i have sprayed them with wd-40 which helped for a while then came back and of course i know to use lithium based grease just didnt have any on had at the time

I have found that it's not the spare tire or jack access. When I grab the towing ring on the front and bounce the car up and down pretty hard the squeak reoccurs. I'm not 100% sure where I need to lube in order to stop this squeak, but kinda know the general area. If anyone could post a couple pictures of where the major problem spots are that would be awesome. Thanks Guys!

its the end links just spray every rubber piece in the wheel well

FYI-Sounds very similar to the problem I had. Ended up spraying parts individually as well as the entire front suspension on numerous occasions. The squeak would not go away. It was lower balljoints-since they are sealed no amount of cans of WD-40 or anything else would make the squeak go away. I am not saying it is your lower balljoints, but a possiblity to be aware of.

just dip your truck....


just kidding

my most annoying squeak were the leaf springs. I first power washed the whole suspensión, rode it a bit, then more washing, waitd for it to dry,

hitted all the suspensión rubber parts with silicon or teflon lube first to protect the plastics from environment and oils and to displace the water that could still be there,

then used some regular transmision oil in metal to metal (got some between leafsprings with a sirynge, and certain pins, then used spray on lithium grease in every moving part, bushing, got some in between the leafsprings to sort of "seal the oil" in there and weather proof it a bit,

also i used the silicon lube in top and in the sides of every body mount (helped to eliminate the squeaks and cracks when the body flexes like in ramps or diagonal bumps, etc),

lubed and tighten the spare tire winch, and after that... took it for a ride, tried to brake suddenly, sharp turned, bounced it around a bit, to get the lube all over the suspensión.

After this, i only needed to add a bit of lube to the mmmmm front leafsprings shackels?? mounts?? whatever.... and i do this like every 3 to 4 months, and keeps the x completely silent, it´s great to feel that new car clickity, crackly, squeaky free feeling. Also you could get an undecarriage wash and a normal lube in certain carwash places, and it also works, but they tend to use old oil mixed up with diesel to spray everything, and while it also protects you from rust and stuff, the agressive chemicals also dry up your rubber parts.

to locate an specific problem, have someone bounce down the truck, while you are under it, and touch mobile parts, you will "feel" the squeak.

This works great for me, but i´m not a continuous off road kind of guy, maybe if i did i would havve to do this more often. hope this helps.

i'm going to try coope's solution this evening. we have replaced the upper and lower ball joints and upper control arm,front shocks, and sway bar bushings. we still have a lot of squeaking going from the suspension and some noise when turning the steering wheel. we used to have this rattling going on in the rear. we found that it was a body mount bushing/shock mount bushing. repalced that and the rattle was gone.

2001 Explorer Sport noise

I have a 2001 Explorer and it squeaks so much that people turn around to see where the sound is coming from. I change my own oil frequently and while under the truck I found the problem. The rubber bushings ( the size of a donut) are all dry, cracking and falling apart. Have know idea what it would cost to replace them. I tried WD40 and it made the tuck quiet for maybe two days. All of the bushings need to be replaced. Hope a Ford mechanic on this site can give us more info as how expensive this repair may be.

there are plenty of do-it-yerself threads on this...and shops can vary..

which are you going to do...yourself or pay?

squeeky suspension 2001 Explorer Sport

I would like to replace the parts my self but need more information on how to do it and where to purchase the replacement rubber bushings.

Where do I find the site on replacing these rubber bushings that are causing my squeaks? I cant find anything on this subject. I have noticed other explorers on the road making the same noise. It must be a common problem.

GRNMACHINE said:

FYI-Sounds very similar to the problem I had. Ended up spraying parts individually as well as the entire front suspension on numerous occasions. The squeak would not go away. It was lower balljoints-since they are sealed no amount of cans of WD-40 or anything else would make the squeak go away. I am not saying it is your lower balljoints, but a possiblity to be aware of.

Click to expand...

By feeling for vibration while an assistant bounced the suspension, I identified one lower front ball joint as the likely source of my rusty bed springs squeak. The ball joint had a grease fitting, so I was able to lube it. No more squeak.

I never would have guessed ball joint had I not read it here!