Hey guys so I have a 1991 Lexus LS400. and recently I noticed that when i drive around from the drivers side there is a annoying rattling/squeaking noise when i drive it, especially. This especially happened during the summer. But now during the witner it hasnt happened so much (i live in NY state, cold winters) But recently i was doing some testing and i found out if i start driving the car hard, (pedal to the metal) and hard braking the squeeking noise comes back again! it sounds like its coming from the glove compartment, but i dont think it is. I've replaced my strusts, my mechanic thought it might solve the problem, but it didnt at all. (they needed replacing anyway so its alright.

any ideas?!?

 

Im not from the East Coast but i get the same creaking sound in the cold mornings from the driver side and rarely from the passenger side. After having checked the basic suspension parts including the shock absorber and the spring, mechanic saw that the strut mount was completely worn. Look it up via ebay if you prefer. It's a $60 part and might need changing depending on the mileage of your car...

Check that out first!

 

check lower and upper ball joints

 

Thanks for the tip. My car has this kind of sound to when it's cold outside when I starts to drive. Only hears it when I drove slowly over bumps but its irritating. May have to check to see if the strut mount are ok. But my car is a high mileage car so I think it can be time to change the mount any way. Does it take a lot of labor to change it?

Edit. My car has air suspension. Looks like I don't have any strut mounts in the same way as a car without air suspension according to T O Y O D I Y.com. Is this correct? Can the noise I here be from the air shooks them self or from the sway bar bushings? The squeaks stops when I have droved for a short distance.

 

Im not too familiar with air suspensions, however, my car did the same thing. Once it had been driven a short distance, it not longer made that sound until the following morning. The top might not be the same but yes like PD said, check the lower ball joints/upper control arms. In addition to the creaking sound, i had a clunking sound (metal to metal sound) when going over bumps. Labor was approximately 1.5-2 hrs of labor at my local indie shop. ($60 dollars)...but may vary obviously per location. Just shop around after you find the definite problem!

But before anything, get it checked by a professional mechanic.

 

Did a car inspection last week and they didn't find any problem with my suspension parts. They don't do the most rigorous control so I guess they could miss some minor problems.

 

Then possibly get a second opinion elsewhere. You may or may not want to mention an unusual sound from the passenger side so they pay extra close attention in that general area....

 

bump!


im gonna go to my mechanic tomorrow and tell him to fix the problem, but I might not be able to get it to squeak, cause its pretty cold up here in the NY, so if it doesnt squeak what should i tell him to look at? any other suggestions?

 

Agreed. Check those first.

 

thanks! i'll tell my mechanic too take a look i'll keep you guys updated!

 

Hey sorry for not keeping you guys updated, but I talked to my mechanic and he replaced the front sway bar bushings & tightened them up. Apparently this has solved the problem. I haven't heard any noise at all, but maybe once it starts getting warm it wont be the same.

 

Replaced all my sway bar bushings today and now my squeaking has stopped to. The front sway bar bushings was in really bad shape, totally worn-outed. The rear ones was not that bad but changed them anyway.