1998 SQUEAK FROM REAR SUSPENSION WHEN COLD

You may want to just lubricate all the rubber parts of the suspension and see if it helps.

I get a squeaking from the driver's side rear, but when it's hot.

DSCOTTJONESCHC said:

And another oddity...when cold (I mean really cold, below 20F) there is a huge squeaking noise (rubber on metal?) from the rear suspension...any thoughts on how to correct are appreciated!
Thanks,
Scott
ps: due to work, had to introduce the SL to the northeast from florida...and I think she is complaining!

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Hi DSCOTTJONESSCH and welcome aboard the R129 boards.

My guess would be the 'squeaking noise' is coming from bushings. It makes sense that during really cold temperatures rubber hardens and contracts therefore creating the 'sqeaking noise' is what my initial suspicion would be.

You may wish to first try and lubricate the rear suspension bushings as RKH has mentioned. If you decide to try this, it is important to use a silicone based lubricant and do not use any petroleum or oil based lubricants as it deteriorates and eats through rubber. Good luck and keep us posted!

Best Regards. :thumbsup:

chriswufgator said:

I get a squeaking from the driver's side rear, but when it's hot.

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But Chris, you were sitting on THAT side.

RKH said:

But Chris, you were sitting on THAT side.

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LOL. Could be. My car is telling me it's time to lose a few pounds

Seriously, though, when the "creak" gets going after it's warm, there can be nobody in the car, and you can hear it if you push down on the fender. Something under there is noisy, dunno what it is. Like a creak/groan/pop kind of sound. Might be those subframe bolts everybody says cause this problem, I should get them checked. Hard to get to without a lift. It only does it when the car is warm and you've been driving for awhile.

This may be a good excuse to get my two free cats at the dealer...they just sent me TSB saying the cats on the 1999-2002 cars are defective somehow and they will warranty replacement until 2011 or 100k. I will try and blame the popping on the cats and see if they fall for it. Then after that's done, I'll fix whatever's really the problem...hehehe

chriswufgator said:

Seriously, though, when the "creak" gets going after it's warm, there can be nobody in the car, and you can hear it if you push down on the fender. Something under there is noisy, dunno what it is. Like a creak/groan/pop kind of sound. Might be those subframe bolts everybody says cause this problem, I should get them checked. Hard to get to without a lift. It only does it when the car is warm and you've been driving for awhile.

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Chris,
I have the same issue with the squeak when warm/hot. There are no lub points on the rear suspension. My indy says, after a drive, the bushings may squeak a little.

I found a really effective DYI solution. Turn the radio up to "made in Japan" and the squeak goes away!

RoadKing said:

I found a really effective DYI solution. Turn the radio up to "made in Japan" and the squeak goes away!

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LOL!

Yup, that's usually what I do too...when you crank up the radio, the creaking mysteriously goes away... :rotfl:

Things (especially metal) expands when they get hotter, so the rubber bushings may get tighter against the suspension parts ?

Hi,
I get squeaks hot or cold but only when one side of the car hits a small (or large) irregularity in the road - could be a manhole cover, a small bump in one side of the road, whatever. When I go over the increasing numbers of speed bumps straight-on, no squeak.

It's very hard to know where the squeaks are coming from but it sounds like an old French car.... (eeek!) What's this stuff about sub-frame bolts?