creaking suspension

'92 Civic

Take a guess- cornering and under accel/decel the front right wheel
area creaks like a big old door. Worn bushings, bend arm, cost, anyone?

In article . com>,
wrote:

> '92 Civic
>
> Take a guess- cornering and under accel/decel the front right wheel
> area creaks like a big old door. Worn bushings, bend arm, cost, anyone?

Check the struts. Happened to me once.

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wrote in
ups.com:

> '92 Civic
>
> Take a guess- cornering and under accel/decel the front right wheel
> area creaks like a big old door. Worn bushings, bend arm, cost, anyone?
>


Most likely the springs moving in their seats, which are rusty. Take the
car for a long drive (an hour or more) down bumpy roads, which will wear
off the rust. If the noise does NOT disappear after that, then you've got
possible shock absorber problems.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks repliers. Bringing it in this weekend.

TeGGeR, you gonna post your rides page to the group?

TeGGeR=AE wrote:
> wrote in
> ups.com:
>
> > '92 Civic
> >
> > Take a guess- cornering and under accel/decel the front right wheel
> > area creaks like a big old door. Worn bushings, bend arm, cost,
anyone?
> >
>
>
> Most likely the springs moving in their seats, which are rusty. Take
the
> car for a long drive (an hour or more) down bumpy roads, which will
wear
> off the rust. If the noise does NOT disappear after that, then you've
got
> possible shock absorber problems.
>
> --
> TeGGeR=AE
>=20
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

I think this problem might be the ball joints

I'm reading this board today to get some insight into this same problem.

My 1998 Honda Accord 180,000 m. 4 cyl. SE started to creak when it bounced
up over a slow speed washboard or in and out of my drive, etc.

It was a very pronounced squeak similar to a wet thumb rubbing on a ballon
for example.
When I took it to Honda dealership, they "spent quite a bit of time
diagnosing it" and came to the conclusion that it was the struts and wanted
$700 to do both sides.
This morning I was to get it done but called it off.
I discovered the problem over the weekend and it wasn't the struts at all!
I was cleaning up the engine compartment and supported myself while leaning
over into the space with one hand on the radiator. The radiator floats but
the hole is sloppy. There is a bolted on support that holds the grommet.
That's were the squeaking was coming from. I had cleaned this rubber and
applied a perservative many times.
To test the idea, I put a cardboard sleeve I fashioned into the space.
Driving around the neighborhood revealed Squeak was gone.

today I took the car back out there, explained to the dealer I did not want
their $700 struts.

HondaMan22 wrote:
>
> I'm reading this board today to get some insight into this same problem.
>
> My 1998 Honda Accord 180,000 m. 4 cyl. SE started to creak when it bounced
> up over a slow speed washboard or in and out of my drive, etc.
>
> It was a very pronounced squeak similar to a wet thumb rubbing on a ballon
> for example.
> When I took it to Honda dealership, they "spent quite a bit of time
> diagnosing it" and came to the conclusion that it was the struts and wanted
> $700 to do both sides.
> This morning I was to get it done but called it off.
> I discovered the problem over the weekend and it wasn't the struts at all!
> I was cleaning up the engine compartment and supported myself while leaning
> over into the space with one hand on the radiator. The radiator floats but
> the hole is sloppy. There is a bolted on support that holds the grommet.
> That's were the squeaking was coming from. I had cleaned this rubber and
> applied a perservative many times.
> To test the idea, I put a cardboard sleeve I fashioned into the space.
> Driving around the neighborhood revealed Squeak was gone.
>
> today I took the car back out there, explained to the dealer I did not want
> their $700 struts.



Good move on your part. Dealerships use service as their main profit center.

Sometimes a suspension squeak can be worn bushings and squirting some
conventional brake fluid on 'em can get you some extra mileage before replacement.

JT

In article >,
says...
> HondaMan22 wrote:

> > I'm reading this board today to get some insight into this same problem.
> >
> > My 1998 Honda Accord 180,000 m. 4 cyl. SE started to creak when it bounced
> > up over a slow speed washboard or in and out of my drive, etc.
> >
> > It was a very pronounced squeak similar to a wet thumb rubbing on a ballon
> > for example.
> > When I took it to Honda dealership, they "spent quite a bit of time
> > diagnosing it" and came to the conclusion that it was the struts and wanted
> > $700 to do both sides.
> > This morning I was to get it done but called it off.
> > I discovered the problem over the weekend and it wasn't the struts at all!
> > I was cleaning up the engine compartment and supported myself while leaning
> > over into the space with one hand on the radiator. The radiator floats but
> > the hole is sloppy. There is a bolted on support that holds the grommet.
> > That's were the squeaking was coming from. I had cleaned this rubber and
> > applied a perservative many times.
> > To test the idea, I put a cardboard sleeve I fashioned into the space.
> > Driving around the neighborhood revealed Squeak was gone.
> >
> > today I took the car back out there, explained to the dealer I did not want
> > their $700 struts.
>
>
>
> Good move on your part. Dealerships use service as their main profit center.
>
> Sometimes a suspension squeak can be worn bushings and squirting some
> conventional brake fluid on 'em can get you some extra mileage before replacement.

Something I've been wondering: how long can bushings and struts
reasonably be expected to last before requiring replacement? I replaced
the front struts on my '90 CRX about 7 years ago, but the rears and the
bushings are original. The car has almost 125K miles on it, and recently
the handling has felt noticeably "looser", for lack of a better word,
particularly at higher speeds - not nearly as confidence-inspiring and
"on rails" as it used to be. Had an independent shop examine the front
suspension, rotate the tires, and perform an alignment, but they said
they didn't notice anything else amiss.

I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the diagnostic abilities of
the shop in question - I don't normally use them for much more than tire
rotation/flat repair, but for various reasons they're the one I wound up
at this time. What else should I be looking at? Are bushings and/or
struts the likely culprits when it comes to degraded handling on an
older car?

Dave

"Dave Garrett" > wrote
> Something I've been wondering: how long can bushings and
> struts
> reasonably be expected to last before requiring
> replacement? I replaced
> the front struts on my '90 CRX about 7 years ago, but the
> rears and the
> bushings are original. The car has almost 125K miles on
> it, and recently
> the handling has felt noticeably "looser", for lack of a
> better word,
> particularly at higher speeds - not nearly as
> confidence-inspiring and
> "on rails" as it used to be. Had an independent shop
> examine the front
> suspension, rotate the tires, and perform an alignment,
> but they said
> they didn't notice anything else amiss.
>
> I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the diagnostic
> abilities of
> the shop in question - I don't normally use them for much
> more than tire
> rotation/flat repair, but for various reasons they're the
> one I wound up
> at this time. What else should I be looking at? Are
> bushings and/or
> struts the likely culprits when it comes to degraded
> handling on an
> older car?

I have a 91 Civic LX, 177k miles. I replaced, for the first
time ever, the front suspension coil springs a few weeks
ago. I checked the dampers and believe they are fine. Since
your struts ( = coil spring and damper assemblies) are only
seven years old, it's hard for me to believe they are amiss,
especially if they were examined recently.

OTOH, cracked control arm bushings are very common with
older Hondas. You should be able to take the wheels off and
see these up close yourself. A dealership would surely
comment on cracked bushings if they were present. An
independent shop might not.

My Civic's front lower control arm bushings (the originals)
were badly cracked. In addition, upon disassembling the
stabilizer bar (an easy job), I found one of the two front
stabilizer bolts and its associated four "rubbers" badly
corroded.

In the last month, I have replaced all the front lower
control arm bushings and both front stabilizer bolts and
their eight "rubbers." I think handling is much better.

If your car has been driven in a corrosive climate (up North
or near the ocean), I would strongly consider replacing the
control arm bushings, for starters. This job is so labor
intensive that you should consider simply purchasing new
control arms (bushings are included).

Dave Garrett wrote:
>
> In article >,
> says...
> > HondaMan22 wrote:
>
> > > I'm reading this board today to get some insight into this same problem.
> > >
> > > My 1998 Honda Accord 180,000 m. 4 cyl. SE started to creak when it bounced
> > > up over a slow speed washboard or in and out of my drive, etc.
> > >
> > > It was a very pronounced squeak similar to a wet thumb rubbing on a ballon
> > > for example.
> > > When I took it to Honda dealership, they "spent quite a bit of time
> > > diagnosing it" and came to the conclusion that it was the struts and wanted
> > > $700 to do both sides.
> > > This morning I was to get it done but called it off.
> > > I discovered the problem over the weekend and it wasn't the struts at all!
> > > I was cleaning up the engine compartment and supported myself while leaning
> > > over into the space with one hand on the radiator. The radiator floats but
> > > the hole is sloppy. There is a bolted on support that holds the grommet.
> > > That's were the squeaking was coming from. I had cleaned this rubber and
> > > applied a perservative many times.
> > > To test the idea, I put a cardboard sleeve I fashioned into the space.
> > > Driving around the neighborhood revealed Squeak was gone.
> > >
> > > today I took the car back out there, explained to the dealer I did not want
> > > their $700 struts.
> >
> >
> >
> > Good move on your part. Dealerships use service as their main profit center.
> >
> > Sometimes a suspension squeak can be worn bushings and squirting some
> > conventional brake fluid on 'em can get you some extra mileage before replacement.
>
> Something I've been wondering: how long can bushings and struts
> reasonably be expected to last before requiring replacement? I replaced
> the front struts on my '90 CRX about 7 years ago, but the rears and the
> bushings are original. The car has almost 125K miles on it, and recently
> the handling has felt noticeably "looser", for lack of a better word,
> particularly at higher speeds - not nearly as confidence-inspiring and
> "on rails" as it used to be. Had an independent shop examine the front
> suspension, rotate the tires, and perform an alignment, but they said
> they didn't notice anything else amiss.
>


Off the cuff, I'd guess that your handling issue may be struts.
Bushings when they go bad exhibit audible signs.


> I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the diagnostic abilities of
> the shop in question - I don't normally use them for much more than tire
> rotation/flat repair, but for various reasons they're the one I wound up
> at this time. What else should I be looking at? Are bushings and/or
> struts the likely culprits when it comes to degraded handling on an
> older car?
>


If the struts are going, the car will bounce more. Press down hard on
the fenders on each corner of the car and see how long it takes the car
to stop moving after you release.

If it bounces more than once after release, the struts are going or gone..

JT