SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!!!

[96fordexplorer*]

1996 Ford Explorer with those God awful squeaky springs. I plan on replacing all 4 shock absorbers here pretty soon but man those springs squeak when I drive and when I turn. They don't feel like they're bad so I don't want to replace them if I don't have to. Is there something I can spray to lubricate it such as WD40? Any ideas?

 

[SouthernJames]

I had the same problem when I first got mines thus lubricating the suspension at the body bushings,shocks, and other moving parts under there with something like WD40 will reduce such noise, though you need to do it every 3 to 6 months, but it will give you a good chance to look around under there, lastly also check for any grease/zerk fittings on your front portion of the suspension as you may need to refill such tooo.

Good Luck

 

[96fordexplorer*]

Awesome! That's what I was thinking as well use some WD40 and spray in there on the springs, linkages, etc., for them to move better. What kind of vehicle do you have? Also, If you would happen to know, what would make my vehicle lean to one side SLIGHTLY when parked? That would be shocks right?

 

[SouthernJames]

I have a 1999 Ford Explorer XLT, and that could be your torsion bar that's causing such lean

 

[96fordexplorer*]

Oh nice! Same generation! Hmm...well I am going to replace all 4 shock absorbers and if that doesn't fix it then I'll check the torsion bar but might check and replace it anyways since I want all new parts. Want it to last as long as possible, I love this truck man!

 

[SouthernJames]

These trucks sure are Gems that can last a long time with a little love put towards them thus sounds like a good soild plan of action, happy wrenching

 

[96fordexplorer*]

Thank you sir!!

 

[swshawaii]

Regular shocks will have little or no effect on lift or lean. If it leans towards the driver side, it's commonly known as the "Ranger lean". Cause is the driver side leaf spring and torsion bar weakening faster than the passenger side from the fuel tank, driver, and battery weight imbalance. Usual long term fix is replacing with new the leaf springs. Swapping leaf sides or de-arching flattened and weakened leafs can be a temporary solution. On some occasions, lowering the front passenger corner will help lift the rear driver side. Search "Ranger" or "Gangster" lean, it's a very common problem with many threads in this stock 1995-01 (Gen 2) sub forum. Another possible option would be Monroe load assist rear shocks with springs which give about 1" to 1-1/2" of rear lift that many have installed with good results. Search "Monroe 58617". GL

 

[96fordexplorer*]

So maybe I should lube the springs up for now and when I replace the shocks I can replace the springs as well...maybe that would help?

 

[Mbrooks420]

It’s the spring bushings and torsion bar pads most likely, as well as the sway bar bushings. I’d use something besides WD. WD is a solvent, and not a good lubricant. It would be good to clean the road grime out, but I’d oil it with so,eating better after.

 

[swshawaii]

* Good call on worn or dry sway bar frame bushings that can make an unbelievable amount of noise. Easy way to isolate squeaks is soaking individual parts with a WATER hose one part at a time and listening. Any lubricating penetrant will work although a short term solution. As Mbrooks also mentioned, leaf spring rubber bushings on both ends are very common wear parts that can cause a lot of noise. Replacing only leaf spring shackle and frame bushings can be very labor intensive depending on corrosion.

 

[koda2000]

There are many parts to the suspension that can squeak. I don't see how a torsion bar can squeak though. Are you sure the noise is coming from the rear? I had a small squeak coming from the rear and found it to be a dry, somewhat rusty rear sway bar end-link bushing. It could certainly also be a rear spring bushing. The loudest, worst squeak I had was coming from the front. That turned out to be a ball joint. The OE ball joint boots are known to rot away, then the grease is lost and water and dirt gets into them, hastening the ball joint wear. When I replace the upper/lower bj's on my '01 ST last spring (@ 190K) I was shocked at how worn out and how much play was in them. The truck demonstrated no drive-ability issues at all. I also had a squeak/groan on my '01 EB that was tracked down to my rear axle stabilizer (aka the 5th shock).

If you're going to spray WD40 (or whatever) on various parts to try to find the squeak, do one thing at a time and give it a day to soak in before moving on to the next suspect, otherwise you wont know what part(s) needs to be addressed.

FYI - Replacing shock absorbers will have no effect on your gangsta lean. Monroe rear shocks with helper springs (Load-Levelers) are probably the least expensive, easiest fix, rather than replacing the rear springs.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The torsion bars can squeak against the pads they ride on, especially in the earlier models before they were Kevlar. It’s the only place up front I can think my old Mounty could possibly squeak.

 

[96eb96]

Inspect tie rod and ball joints too. If they are metal on metal with no grease they could squeak when turning and jouncing. There should be no noise, mine is totally quiet.

 

[96eb96]

Also, the last line in my sig did wonders for my handling. Rides better than some newer SUVs! It is more on the firm and sporty side but almost no body roll.

 

[swshawaii]

Bonded Kevlar torsion key pads only used through 1997.

Torsion bar pads??
explorer forum torsion key pads - Google Search

 

[koda2000]

The torsion bars can squeak against the pads they ride on, especially in the earlier models before they were Kevlar. It’s the only place up front I can think my old Mounty could possibly squeak.

Okay, I concede on the torsion bar squeak on older models, but there are definitely other things that can squeak on the front.

ball joints
sway bar bushings
upper/lower control are bushings

 

[Mbrooks420]

Okay, I concede on the torsion bar squeak on older models, but there are definitely other things that can squeak on the front.

ball joints
sway bar bushings
upper/lower control are bushings

I had no sway bars, ball joints were all Moog replacements, and my control arm bushings had been replaced. In my case, it all but had to be the t bars. Over 150k of mudders, rampant abuse, and hauling the weight of a plow was just too much for them

 

[1998Exp]

For what it's worth: in a vehicle with body-on-frame construction like our 2nd gen's, there is another source of squeaks - body mounts or some body part rubbing against something that's attached to the frame. I was on a long cross-country ride when a loud squeak developed and drove me nuts. At each rest stop I'd crawl underneath and spray everything in sight with WD40 -- to no avail. Finally discovered that a lip of the sheet metal under the tail light was rubbing against the plastic cover of the rear bumper. A small piece of rubber pushed into that spot solved the problem.

 

[toypaseo]

I would consider spraying the rubber pieces with spray silicone spray...