Bad Squeaks!

My 1990 Accord EX-R (an otherwise excellent car) squeaks badly when driving
or turning the steering wheel. I can feel the vibrations of the squeak
through the steering wheel and people on the street turn to hear it as well.
It's LOUD!

After having my mechanic spray lubricant in many suspension and steering
components, and replacing some control arm bushings I'm still left with a
very noisy car. Has anyone ever experienced this problem?

thanks,

Michael

to reply to me, remove the "z" at the beginning of the address

 

Check the brakes.

 

How's the power steering fluid level?

 

Good point!

Or the belt tension. A loose belt may squeal when turning, but not when
going straight. It will also have a tendency to squeak when starting up
from cold.

 

Thanks for your replies,

Tegger, would your suggestion apply to when the brakes are not being used?
When I turn or hit a small bump the noise is loud. When I apply the brakes
I don't always hear the squeal.



I just checked the power steering fluid and it's OK.

This sound is really a creaking rather than squeaking noise. It doesn't
begin until the car has begun rolling. It's not necessary to turn the
steering to hear it although turning the wheel can produce the sound. Also,
when you park the car, the creak
can continue for 20 to 40 seconds as the car settles. It's located on the
left side of the car.

Regarding belt tension - new belts were recently installed with a new
alternator, with no change in the creak sound.

Michael

 

Can you make the noise just by pushing down on the front bumper? May
need to check out the upper A arm bushings, but I've never encountered a
90 Accord with squeeks there. bob

 

Are you saying the squeak occurs even when the car is not moving? Does it
stop immediately if you shut the engine off while it's making the sound?

 

If I push down on the car (or lift the car) directly over the left shock I
hear a squeak, in the vicinity of the shock. If I push down on the front
bumper on the left side I hear a squeak as well.
Michael

 

The action of me getting out of the car (after turning off the ignition)
promotes this sound in a small, brief way. Seems like taking my weight off
the car prompts the sound. After I close the door and stand beside the car
I heard a quiet creaking on the left front side for 10 to 20 seconds.

It doesn't seem related to engine operation. Just rolling over bumps or
steering creates the creaking noise.

My mechanic is not sure what to look at next, by he's game to try.

Any suggestions gratefully accepted.

Michael

 

Aha! We're narrowing it down.

Two likely causes:
1) Balljoint seizing.
2) Suspension spring creaking in its bottom seat.

Tell your guy to spray some silicone lube on the spring all around right
where it meets the seat on the damper housing. Multiple applications may be
needed. Drive down a bumpy road for a while to help move the spring in its
seat to distribute the lube.

Don't be stingy with the lube, but DON'T get any overspray or drips on the
brakes!!!

If that does not help, pop the balljoint out of its hole in the lower
control arm, and try to wiggle it. Your mechanic should be able to tell
from that if it's sticking or not.

If it turns out to be the ball joint, George Macdonald recently posted his
own experience using a grease gun and needle attachment to add grease
through the boot:
http://tinyurl.com/arofe

 

A good shock absorber shouldn't let the squeaks persist for 10, 20
or 40 seconds. Probably the dead strut had destroyed a few rubber
components. The suspension is now rubbing on metal to metal. I'd
start inspecting the bushings, boots and any hidden areas for rips.

If you push down on the bumper and it bobs up and down more
than three times, the strut is worn

 

If you push down on the front of the car can you hear it? You might
have squeaky springs.

 

I tried this one first. However the strut comes back up and that's all. No
bounce.

 

I had the same problem on my 2001 civic a few weeks ago. But the squeaks
dissapeared after I made a 1000 km trip (140km on bumpy country road). I
still do not know what happened.

At the beginning, my car had the "groan, squeeze" sound come form the left
front suspension. When pushed left front size down, it made the noise.

After I posted the problem in the news group, I was told that a bush may be
wrong. I did my best to inspect all the bushing. But they all looked good.

Since it was really annoying, I called the dealer. What they could say was
to drop the car and let the machenics check it. I was afraid of getting a
big bill because the noise sometimes went off and I worried the mechanics
would change everything of the front suspesion. I gave up and waited the
noise getting a little bit louder and continuous.

Then I went to a long trip. Before the bumpy country road, I could still
hear the noise occasionally. I did not pay attention to it because the noise
is not loud and I could only hear it when the speed was lower than 60
km/hour. After the trip, I drove it in the city area, it disapeared!!! I
could not hear it any more.

That's my experience. I still do not know what happened. I hope it healed by
itself.

Henry

 

Maybe a lube job would help?

 

It's with the mechanic now - I passed along recommendations from the group!

 

Please update us when you get it back.

It's funny. This situation lab~rat describes is exactly what happened to me
several years ago after I was involved in a fender-bender. Since it was in
the body shop over Christmas, it took over a month to get the car back.

That month's inactivity caused exactly your sort of creaking in the right
front spring. A week of driving and it was gone, so I chalked it up to
corrosion between the spring and its seat. However, a few months later,
THIS happened:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/lowerballjoint/index.html

Were they related? I'll never know.

 

I just had my car done type C service at that time for a month. I guess that
all the suspension components were inspected.

When I was checking the joints, I found out that it is impossible to lube
them because almost all the joint are covered by the rubber (well sealed).
How to do a lube job?

My front suspension components were all changed in last year because of
leaking shocks in 2001 civic. I paid about CND$100 for the bushings that
were not covered by warranty. I guess they all suppose to be new for a year.

How about the the bushing of STABILISER BAR? Nobody mention it.

 

How to do a needle lube? I reckon this was already posted by someone. Here's
a direct link.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/msg/edf863a9dc55e7a1

Same link as above
http://snipurl.com/hcvh

 

Great! Thanks

Henry