[Alderson]

Figure it would be best to make a new thread to get rid of the clutter of the possibility of it being the ball joint.

So,
Had this problem for about 3 weeks now, the front drivers side suspension has been squeaking rather bad recently and I can't seem to pinpoint it.
When turning the wheel stationary or when driving, it does a steady creaking noise (listen in videos)
When going over even the slightest of bumps, manhole covers, ect.. It squeaks (Again..in videos)

I've replaced the LCA balljoints with MOOG ones about a month 1/2 ago, and just replaced the squeaking side one again today after thinking it was the balljoint that was the issue, it wasn't.

I thought that I had it pinned down to the wheel hub/bearing, but I was informed that it wouldn't squeak when turning the wheel.

Any ideas?

3min video of driving around the block - Wind noise. There are a few stops and eventually a stop/reverse in the end of the video which really brings out the squeaking noise since there's no wind

Wheel turning, slow bumps - No wind noise

Stationary turning the wheel back and forth slightly

 

[Alderson]

Sounds like a rubber squeak to me.
I'd say sway bar bushings or links, but it sounds excessive for that seeing your not moving in the last video, although you have a lift so maybe that would affect sway bar parts more, IDK.

I was also thinking my sway bar end links since they are rusted to shit. The only thing that's making me lean more towards the wheel hub/ball joints is that's where I thought I could hear the noise coming from.

I'm going to either tomorrow or next weekend when I have more time, start to disassemble each of the parts, starting with the tie rod and then turn the hub back and forth to see if the squeak is still there. If it is, I'll take off the sway bar end link and turn the hub again..If it's still there, then it must be either the ball joints, or the CV axle.

 

[Alderson]

Well, I'm not sure if this is even the case, but worth a try.....I had step bars installed on my 12 GMC Sierra Crew Cab and shortly thereafter I had that same type squeaking sound with my truck.....sure as ****, it was my cab body mounts in which the step bar brackets bolted. I had to loosen them up and apply some silicone spray to stop the squeaking. It did it everywhere I drove for two days, it drove me nuts!
So if you've got step bars installed or recently installed some I suggest trying to loosen up the bolts and use some silicone spray on them...it maybe your issue!

No stepbars, it's definitely something with the front suspension. Thanks for the input anyways

 

[Alderson]

I don't know why you guys won't go invest $4.00 for an invaluable tool to track noises down. :roll:

When you touch the end of the probe to the offending part you won't be able to miss it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/mechanics- ... 69913.html

We don't have harborfreights in Canada, do we? :?
Next best thing I could find is Crappytire for $13

I'm just gunna disassemble the front drivers side, turning the wheel back and forth with each thing I take off till I narrow it down.

I'm also going to pick up some new sway bar end links from NAPA later this week.

Dumb question - Am I able to take off the sway bar end link while the vehicle is stationary on it's wheel and then jump on the bumper a little to see if it's the rotted end links that's causing the squeaking?

 

[Alderson]

So Cambodian Tire it is, I didn't look at your location. :lol: Isn't $15.00 or so better than hours of ripping things apart? :roll:

The sway bar links don't turn when the wheel is turning left to right so I doubt that is your problem.

The noise it is making in the stationary video is metal on rusty metal rotating. Upper or lower ball joint or tie rod end is my suspicion.

Upper ball joints were replaced with the RC upper control arms for the 7.5inch lift with the pressed in balljoints (MOOG) just over a month ago. The lower, I just replaced that on the weekend with another brand new MOOG one because that's what I thought was the problem.

Only reason I'm testing the sway bar is because they are rusted to shit, so I feel like with the bumps, it's causing the LCA to move which has the sway bar end links connected to it..Which is why I want to test those. That, and with my larger tires, it kind of moves the truck a little anyways when I turn the wheel when stationary... It's a long shot, but it's worth a shot anyways. End links are cheap and need to be replaced anyways.

If it's the wheel hub assembly, where would I put the stethoscope, on the CV axle?

 

[Alderson]

It's possible to take the knuckle off with the hub after disconnecting the control arm ball joints from it and then moving the CV Axle far enough of the way so that I can then put the knuckle back on without the CV axle in the hub, and then turn the knuckle assembly left and right to see if I can hear the squeaks still?

That would help eliminate the CV axle if it still squeaks without it being slotted in the hub.

 

[Alderson]

Yeah the tie rod ball joints seem like the boot is about to blow anyways. I'll be testing it out this weekend

 

[Alderson]

Yeah, I got airtools but ita a reall pain in the ass to jack up my my truck and get the wheel off since I've got a real sketchy way of doing it.

Thats when I swapped out the balljoint on the weekend. My jackstand is a piece of 16/4 white oak under the frame

 

[Alderson]

Uploaded the wrong picture, but that wood stack under the drivers door there is what my jack sits on/in (I made a box for the jack)

Anyways, little update -
Took the tierod off the knuckle and let it hang loose, pushed down on the bumper and it still squeaked, so it's not the tie rod...
Used WD-40 on the control arm bushings and still squeaked, so it's not those...

I then had a 3rd party take a listen from under the truck when I pushed on the bumper and he even said that it sounded like it was coming from the CV axle joint or the wheel hub itself. I didn't tell him prior to this that I thought it was in that area.

 

[Alderson]

Does the wheel hub assembly center shaft hole that has the teeth for the CV axle end need to be greased? When I took it out on the weekend, there was no grease at all on it and I wasn't sure if it was suppose to be greased or not.
Also, the lower boot on the CV axel, the one closest to the hub. Can/should I remove the pressure clamp thats on it and spray some wd40 in there before putting the clamp back on?

 

[Alderson]

For me, I end up using WD-40 and the like more to identify the source rather than fix it. If I hit something with it, it works in, and the noise is gone? Now it's time to address the problem.

Thats what I was planning on doing, using wd-40 just to try to eliminate/find the squeak and then replace whatever part it is.

I'm almost certain that the squeak is getting louder. I might have to work in the dark tonight to try to find the problem before something potentially seizes up while I'm driving.

And even though the boot isnt broken in the CV Axle, could it not have gone rusty/bad over time anyways?

 

[Alderson]

Check your UCA bushings. If not greased before installing, that rubber compound when mounted and compressed can make a really annoying squeak similar to yours, including when turning the wheel (changing weight distribution on the UCAs) and articulating up and down over bumps. Sometimes a thin film of grease will do the trick. Just make sure your lube does not attack rubber/plastic.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think any grease was added to the bushings when we put them on.
I assume that if I remove the UCA from the frame to grease the bushings, then I'll have to get an allignment done?

 

[Alderson]

Im gunna pick up one of those stethoscopes tonight and try to pinpoint it first before I start dicking around with the allignment.

 

[Alderson]

How would I go about greasing the bushings? They're the rough country ones and they're only like 2 months old. Do I just grease the outter areas?

I might contact RC if it is the bushing and they're already squeaking because there's no grease nipples for them

 

[Alderson]

They make cognito UCAs for a 7.5inch lift? I think I've heard of it before but just want to make sure.
I might just swap the RC ones for the cognito ones if I find out that's the problem.

I would assume RC would send me a new pair of UCAs if these ones are already messed up after just 2~ months

 

[Alderson]

Im gunna rip the knuckle off tonight and see if I can push the UCA up/down to recreate the squeaking.
If that is it, I'll leave it alone till the weekend. Do you guys think I should just put the factory UCAs back in and then order cognitos?

 

[Alderson]

Well, congitos are awful handsome looking.

What's the cool factor rating on them?

I assume they're going to be more than $300 for the two?

 

[Alderson]

$600 US... I live in Canada, oh man.
I'll grease them up and hope it lasts for a good amount of time.

As for the grease.. can I use the multi-purpose grease that I use for my balljoints? At least for the time being until I get some better stuff.

 

[Alderson]

Alright thanks. One last question, where exactly am I greasing? Cause there's the metal washer, then the rubber, then another metal washer in the slot that it sits.
I'm not sure if the washers are able to be removed or not.. I clearly don't have a clue what I'm talking about, stop me

 

[Alderson]

Alright...So update -

Literally tore my entire suspension apart.
-Took the tie rod end out of the knuckle
-Disconnected the knuckle from the control arms and took that off
- Took off the sway bar end links
-Even went as far as to loosen/remove the bolts on the strut/shock

So...
After disconnecting the UCA, I yanked up and down on it..It was smooth as glass, no squeaks and there was no abnormal resistance (grinding)
Checked the CV Axle by rotating it and bending the knuckle in attempt to test it out, still nothing
Checked the hub by spinning it around, nothing
Loosened the top 3 nuts for the strut and removed the two bottom ones of the RC strut from the LCA and then yanked down on the LCA with a pry bar, no noise

I went ahead and greased up the sway bar end link because it's fairly rusty and I figure the plastic bushings might be a bit of the noise.

After reassembling everything, the noise is still slightly there, I can still here it, but just not as much as before.

Two concerns that I found, which might be the cause of the problem -
Sway bar angle/sway bar end link
rubber bushing for the strut

The sway bar angle and end link cause the endlink rod to rub against the sway bar
The rubber bushing for the 7.5inch RC lifted struts (I don't have the spacer for the front suspension lift) on the bottom is peeling out for whatever reason.