To Junk about creaking.

[Paul Higg]

Junk, I tried your suggestion today about the sway bar and the moly grease and it is still making the same exact noise. I noticed on my test drive tonight that when I go over a speed bump at say 2 or 3 MPH, no noise, but if I go over it at 8 MPH CREAK!!! And it sounds mostly like it is coming from the front end.

Any other suggestions as I am about to put this car to sleep, maybe a couple of bullets, wait, no, how about this, THERMITE!!

Seriously, this is P*****G me OFF!

Could it be some other bushings? Front leaf spring bushings? It SOUNDS like it is rubber and it also SOUNDS like an old wooden sailing ship with the boards creaking BIG time.

Paul :W ;help :bashmadmadmadad

 

[Hib Halverson]

Check the tighness of the bolts holding the torque beam to the trans and to the axle.

Also check the tighness of the two braces, behind the front cross member which run between the front cross member and the frame.

 

[Paul Higg]

Aha! That MIGHT be it because my Vette mechanic had to remove those braces a while back to get access.

This is driving me crazy. It is so loud and annoying I just want to part it out! ad

Thanks. I will try that.

 

[John Robinson]

Arithitis of the suspension

I was told by a mechanic that I had known for 40 years when I bought my Corvette that if I started to have noise in the front end to check these bushings out for the source.

I hope this is some help to you.:cool

 

[Paul Higg]

Thanks John. Are those the A frame bushings? I had them replaced last summer with brand new high performance poly bushings. Only thing is it never creaked till it got below 40º. Now that it is 30º I am fixin' to burn, shoot, grind, wreck, destroy, kill, crush, drop off a cliff, and any other nasty thing I can think of doing to this car.

Now I know what sounds the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria made coming to the New World. I am pulling my hair out. However, I haven't had a chance to try Hib's suggestions yet. Been too but with holiday stuff.

Hib, if you are reading this, can you send me a photo of "the torque beam to the trans and to the axle?" If you can I would really appreciate it. Also Hib, if I put the car on jack stands then tighten the cross member brace bolts would there be a possibility of preloading on it which might not solve the problem?

Thanks to all.

Anyone wanna buy a 94/95 LT1, coupe with 94+ on the clock, immaculate, for say ONE BUCK!?!?!?! ARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

 

[minifridge1138]

I'd buy that for a dollar.
I might even go as high as $5 if you negotiate well.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find the problem.
I've heard of some problems with C3s if you tighten the suspension/sway bar bolts with the wheels off the ground.

Have you checked the shocks and springs?

If you know of any large/empty parking lots with speed bumps, you could try going over them with just 1 side of the car. Maybe you can narrow it down to driver or passenger side.

Good Luck!

 

[Paul Higg]

Mini,

I tried the speed bump trick, it seems like it is coming from all FOUR corners and sometimes directly below our seats!

What springs? I do not have coil springs if that is what you mean.

How in the world would I loosen/tighten the sway bar bolts WITHOUT it off the ground? I would have to shrink myself! otfl

 

[John Robinson]

Thanks John. Are those the A frame bushings? I had them replaced last summer with brand new high performance poly bushings. Only thing is it never creaked till it got below 40º. Now that it is 30º I am fixin' to burn, shoot, grind, wreck, destroy, kill, crush, drop off a cliff, and any other nasty thing I can think of doing to this car.

Now I know what sounds the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria made coming to the New World. I am pulling my hair out. However, I haven't had a chance to try Hib's suggestions yet. Been too but with holiday stuff.

Hib, if you are reading this, can you send me a photo of "the torque beam to the trans and to the axle?" If you can I would really appreciate it. Also Hib, if I put the car on jack stands then tighten the cross member brace bolts would there be a possibility of preloading on it which might not solve the problem?

Thanks to all.

Anyone wanna buy a 94/95 LT1, coupe with 94+ on the clock, immaculate, for say ONE BUCK!?!?!?! ARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

By last summer do you mean 2008 or 2007? The reason I ask is if it was this past summer and this is the first cold weather since you replaced the rubber bushings with poly you may be experiencing why GM used Rubber instead of poly. Cold weather can do strange things with materials. The poly are probable much more durable but like some of the high end brake linings they may have a tendency to get noisy under certain conditions.

You might try to lubricate them.

 

[Paul Higg]

Thanks John, I had them replaced summer of 2008. I had it done, I don't have the tools to do it myself. I can see your point about the cold weather and poly bushings. I wouldn't have a clue as to go about lubricating them though.
:bash

 

[G Winter]

I was thinking the same thing as John. I machine some diff plastics, delrin and poly. You would be amazed at the expansion and contraction rates on plastics with temp. changes. A 40 deg change can change the diameter as much as .005 . that could cause all kinds of noises. I would bet the poly bushings are engineered for normal summer temps.

Glenn

 

[Paul Higg]

Well, looks like I have to live with a wooden sailing ship creaking along the roads till summer. ad What a disappointment.
:confused

:W :W :W :W :W :bash :bash :bash :bash :bash

 

[blackxpress]

I'll be in Georgia the week after Christmas. I'll give you $1000 for it.

 

[Paul Higg]

Thanks for your generous offer blackxpress! But I think I'll keep it, it has a priceless built-in ego booster I can't seem to part with!

 

[John Robinson]

Thanks John, I had them replaced summer of 2008. I had it done, I don't have the tools to do it myself. I can see your point about the cold weather and poly bushings. I wouldn't have a clue as to go about lubricating them though.
:bash

Looking at the picture again of the bushings I noticed that the bushing is surrounded by a nice thick piece of aluminum. This got me to thinking about the possiblility of drilling and tapping the bushing housing and putting in a grease fitting. I am sure there are others out there with more engineering knowledge then me that could let us know if we would structurally weaken the upper a arm by doing this and also if it would work.;helphnoes

 

[Hib Halverson]

I guess I didn't pay close attention to everything in this thread, but reading it toady, i noted the part about polyurethane bushings. Even in fair weather some poly bushings squeak and in cold damp weather almost all of them do. I'm going to guess the noise is more likely coming from bushings rather than the torque beam but...the torque beam bolts are worth checking.

Sometimes modifying the bushings with a grease fitting helps but sometimes not.

Unfortunately, GM cursed us C4 types with two problems: 1) the stock rubber bushings are not serviced and 2) the Z51 lower arms are not serviced. This means the only choice you have as far as stock parts is a new set of base level front lower arms.

This problem forces many people in to urethane, which, because of the noise-in-cold-damp-weather problem is not a very attractive choice.

The only other choice is the Global West Del-A-Lum bushing...which is really not a bushing but a suspension bearing. I have Del-A-Lums on some of other vehicles but not on my C4. If I wanted to put aftermarket bushings on the car, that's what I'd use rather than polyurethane.

 

[Paul Higg]

[/COLOR]

Looking at the picture again of the bushings I noticed that the bushing is surrounded by a nice thick piece of aluminum. This got me to thinking about the possiblility of drilling and tapping the bushing housing and putting in a grease fitting. I am sure there are others out there with more engineering knowledge then me that could let us know if we would structurally weaken the upper a arm by doing this and also if it would work.;helphnoes

I WAS GOING TO ASK THAT EXACT QUESTION!!!!! But I thought the same thing, that it may weaken the A frame! Great minds think alike!!

 

[Paul Higg]

Hib, then what is your opinion on drilling and tapping for a zerk fitting to lube the poly's?

Will it weaken the A frame?

 

[John Robinson]

Partial Answer

Sometimes modifying the bushings with a grease fitting helps but sometimes not.


I think we have our answer from Hib. I guess the question now is do you have to remove the new bushings in order to drill and tap. I think if the drilling was done carefully and a flat bottom tap used it could be done with the parts on the car. It would seem to me that if the poly can expand and contract up to .005 with cold weather there would be room to lubricate the bushing with a molybdenum grease.

 

[Paul Higg]

I agree, I do not think it would even hurt the bushing to drill into it a smidge. You would have to make sure to vacuum out all the shavings. Drilling into aluminum is simple. Tapping is simple. Only thing I wonder about is if you'd have to drill two per bushing, one per side, and if it would weaken the A frame. But a grease fitting is a very small diameter hole and there is a lot of aluminum there.

Any ideas? Suggestions.

 

[John Robinson]

I agree, I do not think it would even hurt the bushing to drill into it a smidge. You would have to make sure to vacuum out all the shavings. Drilling into aluminum is simple. Tapping is simple. Only thing I wonder about is if you'd have to drill two per bushing, one per side, and if it would weaken the A frame. But a grease fitting is a very small diameter hole and there is a lot of aluminum there.

Any ideas? Suggestions.

Well if the bushing does contract as much as .005 then I think one fitting with a very fluid grease would work. In fact I think a synthetic oil under pressure would do the job very nicely. In your case you are not trying to take up space with grease like in the old days when tolerances were not as tight between bushing and there housings.