98 GS300 Bad front end creaking/squeeking when turning and parked
08-19-14, 02:20 PM
#1
98 GS300 Bad front end creaking/squeeking when turning and parked
I've been having a front end squeaking problem on my 98 GS300 w/97k and its become more evident after long drives when the car is nice and warm lately. Within the 1-1/12 yr I've replaced the following:
- LBJ - moog
- Tie Rods - moog
- no.2 LCA bushings (yesterday)- PSB/ADUS
I can replicate it when parked and turning the wheel far left and far right. I don't have any play in the steering at all when driving and everything feels tight, also no popping in any of the ball joints. Last time I checked everything looked good, but will have a second look this week to verify nothing is excessively worn or damaged. I also have reviewed the threads regarding the squeaking noise and seems to be coming from the driver side primarily. I was thinking the steering rack bushing perhaps. I have also read it could be the steering rack as well starting to wear out, but there's no steering play. I'll be checking the PS fluid in the morning too.
Also selling the car relatively soon so I'm not looking to dump money into the car unless it is a safety issue then I'll address it properly.
On youtube I did find a video of another GS that seems to have the same squeaking issues as me. Thanks for all the suggestions!
- LBJ - moog
- Tie Rods - moog
- no.2 LCA bushings (yesterday)- PSB/ADUS
I can replicate it when parked and turning the wheel far left and far right. I don't have any play in the steering at all when driving and everything feels tight, also no popping in any of the ball joints. Last time I checked everything looked good, but will have a second look this week to verify nothing is excessively worn or damaged. I also have reviewed the threads regarding the squeaking noise and seems to be coming from the driver side primarily. I was thinking the steering rack bushing perhaps. I have also read it could be the steering rack as well starting to wear out, but there's no steering play. I'll be checking the PS fluid in the morning too.
Also selling the car relatively soon so I'm not looking to dump money into the car unless it is a safety issue then I'll address it properly.
On youtube I did find a video of another GS that seems to have the same squeaking issues as me. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Last edited by hatteroo; 08-19-14 at 02:30 PM.
08-20-14, 11:38 AM
#3
Got home late today so I couldn't put it on a lift today, but I could hear the same squeaking if the car rocked back and forth a little. I did the normal test of pressing on one corner to check your strut is rebounding and there wasn't any squeaking then.
08-20-14, 01:08 PM
#4
Not the strut bearing either now that I think about it because I had coilovers w/ RCAs on the car earlier in the year and it started to make the same noise. I removed the coilovers and it still made that noise. A few months ago I removed the RCAs and the noise went away significantly. This noise only happens when I'm driving slow and turning in either direction.
What parts move through bushings? Maybe I could grease them up?
What parts move through bushings? Maybe I could grease them up?
08-24-14, 02:56 PM
#5
well i lubed up the steering rack bushing, sway bar bushings, upper control arm bushings and its still making that noise after an hour worth of driving. It was golden up until then. I really doubt its anything on the strut assembly because I remember it making the same noise (actually worse) after I had my coilovers on the car. I've replaced the tie rods before and not entirely sure if I replaced the ball joints or not since I can't find any reciepts or online reciepts to verify, but the boots around the ball joints look good and they're not leaking grease or broken. I guess I could grease up the ball joints as a quick check to see if its that then get them replaced once verified.
09-12-14, 10:24 AM
#7
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I'm having the same problem but mines squeaks and creaks while turning driving straight or even getting in and out of the car I've had the control arm changed and now the mechanic is telling me I may need to change the struts but I'm not so sure he knows what he's talking about because he said oh I'm sure it's the control arm but obviously it wasn't
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10-11-14, 02:32 PM
#10
Pole Position
Any solutions here? I do observe the same problem on my gs 430...new lbj's, uca's, tie rod ends, steering rack bushings, struts...still creaking when driving slow with high steering angle and a slight play with creaking sound when i move the steering wheel 2 in left/right in park. but mine is not as loud as shown in that video
10-12-14, 05:48 PM
#11
All you guys who had everything on your front end replaced & still get that knocking/clunking sound. Once you replace the rack& pinion it'll all go away. For some strange reasons the racks get weak & over time wear out. & please don't do what I've done. & buy a use rack because it'll only serve as temporary & you be replacing it again
10-24-14, 04:07 PM
#12
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I had these creaking noises immediately after replacing the following; upper & lower control arms (#1 & 2 lowers), inner & outer tie rods, ball joints, rotors & pads all around, and lastly springs & shocks.
I recall MasterKwan on this forum posting this...
"Biggest problem I see is people swap all these parts but, don't follow the basic procedure for pre-loading the bushings. On any joint with rubber bushings, you're supposed to preload the suspension to normal ride height before you tighten the bolts into place. That gets the bushings into their sweet spots. Most people have the car on stands, tighten everything up with the suspension at full droop so, when the suspension is actually loaded, the bushings are already pre-loaded wrong. When you then hit bumps while driving, the bushings get twisted beyond their normal operating range."
What I ended up doing was taking the car to the alignment shop and told the service manager about preloading (what MasterKwan said above) and the service manager thought I was crazy! He said he had been doing this kind of work for over 15yrs and this was the first he had heard of preloading....Long story short, I asked if he could backoff the the ball joints bolts (because this is where my noises were coming from) and re-torque to the bolts to specs. Low and behold the creaking noises were gone!!! That was two months ago, and to date....still no noises.
Please note, the car was on a lift that did not suspend the wheels when the the ball joint bolts were loosened and re-torqued. However, the initial front-end suspension work was done on a lift that suspended the wheels. I hope this helps.
The only problem right now with my 2003 GS430 (w/81k miles) is a vibration at freeway speeds of 65+mph. I was hoping replacing the parts above would have fixed this, but it didn't. All the parts replaced reduced the vibrations quite a bit (by 90%), however, I can still feel just a slight vibration in the steering wheel and my seat. I realize this vibration problem has been discussed in detail in other threads...but I'm at a lost.
.....diligently digging through our forum to remedy my problem. Any help on this issue would be gladly appreciated!
I recall MasterKwan on this forum posting this...
"Biggest problem I see is people swap all these parts but, don't follow the basic procedure for pre-loading the bushings. On any joint with rubber bushings, you're supposed to preload the suspension to normal ride height before you tighten the bolts into place. That gets the bushings into their sweet spots. Most people have the car on stands, tighten everything up with the suspension at full droop so, when the suspension is actually loaded, the bushings are already pre-loaded wrong. When you then hit bumps while driving, the bushings get twisted beyond their normal operating range."
What I ended up doing was taking the car to the alignment shop and told the service manager about preloading (what MasterKwan said above) and the service manager thought I was crazy! He said he had been doing this kind of work for over 15yrs and this was the first he had heard of preloading....Long story short, I asked if he could backoff the the ball joints bolts (because this is where my noises were coming from) and re-torque to the bolts to specs. Low and behold the creaking noises were gone!!! That was two months ago, and to date....still no noises.
Please note, the car was on a lift that did not suspend the wheels when the the ball joint bolts were loosened and re-torqued. However, the initial front-end suspension work was done on a lift that suspended the wheels. I hope this helps.
The only problem right now with my 2003 GS430 (w/81k miles) is a vibration at freeway speeds of 65+mph. I was hoping replacing the parts above would have fixed this, but it didn't. All the parts replaced reduced the vibrations quite a bit (by 90%), however, I can still feel just a slight vibration in the steering wheel and my seat. I realize this vibration problem has been discussed in detail in other threads...but I'm at a lost.
.....diligently digging through our forum to remedy my problem. Any help on this issue would be gladly appreciated!
10-30-14, 06:49 PM
#13
Sounds like mine did when the right ball joint on my car had a torn boot (even though almost new joint).
Unload the suspension, does it still do it? Does it at least change?
I would get a needle fitting for your grease gun and add some grease to ALL the unsealed boots.
I would get the front wheels off, and have someone turn wheel back and forth and be under it and feel each joint and see which one is creaking.
Unload the suspension, does it still do it? Does it at least change?
I would get a needle fitting for your grease gun and add some grease to ALL the unsealed boots.
I would get the front wheels off, and have someone turn wheel back and forth and be under it and feel each joint and see which one is creaking.
11-15-14, 06:46 PM
#14
this just started creaking on my gs4. its driving me mad.
no noise when off the ground. sound goes away for a little after putting it back on the ground.
so is this definitively the rack n pinion?
no noise when off the ground. sound goes away for a little after putting it back on the ground.
so is this definitively the rack n pinion?