squeeking from suspension (cold outside?)

[tbomb]

i noticed yesterday, at VERY low speeds (i.e.: at a traffic light inching forward or maybe a few mph) that i would hear a squeeking/creaking noise coming from the passenger side of the truck when going over bumps in the road. i dont know what the noise is coming from, or maybe if its just due to the extreme cold here (the high today was like 17, but it was as cold as negative digits in the morning.)

i also noticed, that theres another squeek too. ya know when youre coming to a stop and all the weight of the vehicle shifts forward?...well, when the vehicle actually stops, and the weight balances back out, and the rear of the truck drops back down, thats exactly when i hear another squeek.

im hoping that this is just cold weather related, because its really annoying, and prolly gonna be a ***** to diagnose. my truck just passed state inspection 5 days ago, so i dunno - maybe they missed something?...maybe they didnt do a thorough inspection?...maybe its just nothing and itll go away.

suggestions? thoughts?

thanks.

 

[jimbo74]

sounds like the rubber bushings or the shocks themselves.... rubber is more supple at warmer temps and very stiff at lower temps

 

[tbomb]

the shocks are only about 6 weeks old. does anything need to be replaced, or will it just go away when it warms up.

 

[JDraper]

Don't sweat it (no pun intended ), it's the cold weather. It makes all the bushings stiff and they rub and squeak. It'll most likely disappear when the temp goes up.

 

[Jason_25]

It could be the ball joints, the shocks (not likely if they're new), or the swaybar.


On my truck it was the lower right ball joint. It was replaced and with the 15 degree weather today, my truck doesn't make a single sound.

 

[IgotTwo]

If it is just a rubber bushing due to the cold and it’s really bugging you:
Don't laugh - put concentrated car wash on it.

I was going nuts with a lower control arm squeak on my daughter’s Malibu. It’s a common problem on these cars. (even after, I had the upgraded replacement)
I searched around for a “lubricant fix” and found a suggestion to use concentrated car wash.
I sprayed it about a month ago and still no squeak.
Why I don’t know…but I’m not going to argue.

 

[tbomb]

cool, thanks guys. i noticed that it didnt really do it today, but that doesnt mean im out of the clear. right now, im thinking its just the cold weather, since my truck just passed state inspection. ill keep an eye open for the ball joint issue though. its supossed to hit 40 next week (if we're lucky), so i should know, pretty much, for sure by then.

 

[97BlackX5.0]

i have a 97 and it is sqeaking exactly the same but only from the left side it seems.... i thought it was the sway bar bushing at first... but i think it is the ball joint. this problem makes me think back to one we had with a 95 mercury grand marquis... it has a similar front end suspension system... with the a arms and rack and pinion.... well it had the same squeaking even when the car was just sitting there. i sprayed the heck out of it with wd and lots of other stuff... we finally took it into a garage and they told us that since the ball joints dont have grease fittings they will dry out especially if you get water in them... well they got some kind of needle and put grease right through the boot on the ball joints... it got rid of the squeaking all together... so im going to try that with my explorer....just thought it might help before you go pulling ball joints out... i hear its a pain because you have to take the torsion bar out...