Buddy of mine has the same explorer i do and has what i believe is a common prob.

[Germ]

So a coworker of mine has a 1999 explorer same color as mine (sometimes its so bad he thinks mine is his when he leaves lol)

Anyway he has a problem that i cannot express enough on how many ford trucks have this problem...a creaking suspension and it sounds horrible (i also feel mine is on the way to creaksville too)

What is the main part that cause the creaking? is it the springs? my moms 98 had the same problem at one point and it was about $2k for a new rebuilt suspension...Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Sogsnakebite]

Mine did it very badly i just washed then lubed everything possible underneath also due to some sealed ball joints i had to needle tip lube thru the boots, creaking went away.


My neighbours old Toyota was the same very loud squeaky annoying, fixed his too

 

[spacecadebt]

Start by replacing your sway bar bushings. They are cheap, easey to replace and usually the culprit when it comes to creaky suspension.

If you do replace them make sure to lube them up

 

[Hartman]

Test sway bar bushings and end links by spraying with WD40 and seeing if the squeak goes away momentarily.

If not those, then balljoints.

 

[jl102284]

I would say its probably the ball joints, possibly tie rod ends. If it has 100k miles on it and those have never been changed it might be a good idea to replace all of them.

 

[August_explorer]

my ball joints are doing the same thing the either need to be greased or replaced, and the problem occurs when the vehicle is bouncing and turning either direction..

 

[alohamonte]

I've found that the balljoints last maybe 50-60k before they're toast and start affecting alignment. prob start making noise after 40k miles.

you can use a needle fitting and grease through the boot for a short while but you will need to replace eventually. when mine went last summer i used Moog replacements that come with grease zerks so now i can lube them on a normal basis (with oil change).