Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting squeaking front end. what is it?????

Hi all. My 96 is starting to show it's age. Recently the front suspension squeaks when it flexes with regular driving and when I push on it up and down. I've isolated the noise at the lower wishbone pivot bushings on the car frame. The noise is getting really loud. What is involved in replacing these? Are any special tools needed? Can I do this myself or do I have to take it to a garage? Generally, what would the job cost? In your experience, is this a part that goes bad at 70K or is something else wrong? Can I just shoot it with some WD-40 and hope for it to go away? Thanks very much for your help. -Brian.

Is it clunking at all? If so, it's probably the control arm bushings. ~$130 each depending on where you go. PITA to install by yourself, you'd probably want to take it into the shop.

If done by the book, i've read the transaxle needs to be lifted off the subframe to clear some bolts.

Pull the wheels off and inspect these bushings. If your car has over 80k, they are probably gone anyway.

If you don't want to foot the bill for new arms, and know (or are) a crafty DIYer, then check out: http://www.contour.org/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=46;t=000522

Do the whole A-arms need to be replaced? Or can just the bushing be replaced? It looks as though the bushings slide out after taking the 2 mounting bolts off. Are they a press fit? Thanks.

Check the bushings on the sway bar. The right side bushing on my '96 SE was shot at around 70K. It looked like a 'C' instead of an 'O' and there was a sqeaking noise when the front end moved up and down. Maybe your car is having the same problem.

The dealership claimed that the only fix was to replace the whole bar with the bushings already in place. Something like $360 for the new bar without labor.

I took the car to a local shop where the mechanic replaced the bushings along with some other worn links that he found for $208 total.

Balljoints can be replaced with bolt on ones however bushings are not available separately and require A-arm replacement. This how-to simplifies removal:

http://www.contour.org/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=005174

Note: Corrected via edit 4/7 (previously stated bushings were available separately)

What a load of crap! That's the kind of b.s. that gives all dealers a bad name. Just read an article on dealer service in Toronto Star where a "good" dealer said "you lose the customers' trust and they are gone forever".

You were wise to go elsewhere and should pick another dealer in future.

p.s. Quote from Ford service manual "Stabilizer bar links (5k484) may be replaced individually".

Hey Horseydug, I see how these bushings can be removed by cutting the bolt etc.. as the posting describes. Is this a job I can do in my driveway without any special tools?? The A-arm will need to slide out of the frame to replace the bushings. It the strut under compression and do I need to remove it first? Do I need to disassemble anything prior to removing the A-arms?

Can someone give me a brief how-to on replacing these bushings??? Thanks.

Sorry Brian, I got mixed up on my prior post and have corrected it via edit.

Bushing replacement requires A-arm replacement since they are not available separately, and the left side is not an easy DIY driveway job. The link above provided by TheCiscoGuy and another I've read indicate members had difficulty in assembly (getting ball joint back into knuckle). To avoid dropping sub-frame, cutting bolts and revising orientation to have nuts on top with cotter pins is required. Dropping sub-frame is a job only an experienced Contour DIY type should tackle.

Compromise would be to do right side for learning experience and then decide.

Hope this helps.