Front End Noise?

[Lazzman]

I have been trying to figure out what the sounds and loose feelings in my front suspension are for some time now.

Last week I put in a brand new set of front shocks to replace the ones I put in a year earlier because I thought they were bad. Well it made no difference and I can still hear the noise when going over small bumps and such. Sounds & feels like the shocks are worn out but I know they are not.

Truck also makes a metal on metal howling type noise when going over speed bumps. As the front suspension compresses and expands up and down I hear the noise. Like an old creaky bed spring but with a much heavier metal sound.

I have been trying to isolate this problem for a long, long time. Dealerships are no help and just seem to clean out my pockets.

The upper and lower ball joints, control arms, bushings, end links and shocks are relatively new. The dealership replaced an inner tie rod end last November.

The only things that are original in the front suspension are the three remaining tie rod ends and the Torsion Bars and Pads.

I am putting my money on one of those as being the culprit, but how can I be sure without dumping serious money? I have 146k mi on my Explorer.

Man I need help.

 

[IZwack]

Try this, its quick and hopefully wont cost much $$:

-Remove the metal straps that hold the Anit-Sway Bar to the chassis
-Slide the rubber Bushings off to the side or towards the center
-Spray some lubricant in the area where the rubbber Bushings used to sit
-Reinstall the Rubber bushing and the metal straps

As for the lubricant, any will work but if you're into biking, there is a "dry" type of lubricant that feels more like wax once it dries. I would use that if you have it. If you dont, go with something thats a little thicker in viscosity (like Lithium grease or something). If you dont have anything thick, then just go with WD40 or Liquid Wrench or something

 

[UtahX]

Could be the front bushings, and that's a problem with almost all Xs.

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks Guys they do look really dry. What is a good lubricant to buy from the auto parts store for the bushings?

 

[ghh97eb]

I would also like to hear recommendations as to a good type of lube to use for this application (bushings). I'm trying to learn the "what's" and "hows" of things to lube dealing with the suspension, to get rid of a persistent squeak in the front end that seems to get louder when I back up. I strongly believe that lubing will fix this, as it has been raining alot around here the last few days and that seems to have made the squeak disappear (for now).

Lazzman, since you could see that the bushings on your Ex were dry, you obviously know what they look like. Could you please give me an idea what they look like and where they are located, specifically? I have a 97 Ex, so mine should look the same and be in the same location as yours. I don't know JACK about them, so pix or a diagram or something would be awesome, if you have one that you could post. :exp:

 

[IZwack]

I typicall use Mobil1's synthetic grease:

Just wipe off the excess once you have everything back together.

 

[Lazzman]

Crawl under the front bumper and look up for the black rubber bushings that the thick round bar is mounted in. There is one on each side, you can't miss em.

Better than lubing them yourself Engery suspentions just came out with bushings with grease fittings that can be lubed periodically. They look awesome and can be had for about $15

 

[ghh97eb]

Thanks alot for the info, Lazzman -- yeah, $15 sure is a nice price, plus getting grease fittings would be very helpful. I wonder if they are hard to install?

 

[Lazzman]

No way its easy.

Just undo the bolts, sometimes you might have to undo the stabilizer bar from the end links.

It is pretty easy, be careful thought the stabilizar bar is heavier than it looks.

Also make sure the bolts line up correctlym, mine didn't and I stripped the hell out of one. The dealership had to re-drill it and charged me a hefty sum for such minial work.

Also use lots of grease on the metal to Eurathane bushings, they squeek.