Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension I can't tell what it is.

And yes I have searched and tried reading up on it. My suspension creaks and sometimes clunks. I believe it is the front left a-arm. Readin around I noticed that when a bushing goes out on it it will move around and cause it to creak. Example, when I am backing out of the driveway it will creak when the car goes off the curb. Like a level change... It creaks when the travel on the spring/shock changes. Are my assumptions correct? Other than that, I believe I had read that if something on the sway bar is loose, it might produce similar sounds? I wanna know what it is before I start ordering parts for it and such. Also, I didn't buy my car new and I don't have a list of mods on the car cuz I bought it from a used dealership. I noticed that my springs are red, I am pretty sure that the stockies aren't red. I looked for a brand marking on em but to no avail. I know this is a far-fetched question but does anyone have any ideas what these could be? The car looks like it has been lowered a lil bit. The car also still rides on the stock SVT struts... I plan on changing to some Koni Yellows in the future but I can't afford to put down 700 on them quite yet. Anyhows...any help on any of this would be greatly appreciated.

Aight...since there was sooo much response to my last post on this matter - - I figured out a lil bit more about the problem. It seems to make the creaking noise when I take right turns or even cut the wheel to the right when not moving (tho it isn't as loud.) The noise is definitely associated with the wheel turning right. I am considering the possibility that it might even be the strut itself. Anyone else know much about the suspension and could at least give me a little bit of help on this? It would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like the springs may be B&G. Does the car sit lower than most that you see. There were two options from B&G: a 1.6" drop and the 2.25" drop called the Autobahn Series. My B&G 1.6" drop springs have no markings on them except for maybe model #'s. I cant remember for sure if they even had those.
Secondly, my bet as far as the noises would be the strut mount/bearing rings. They take a lot of beating especially with lowered springs on factory struts. When you turn the wheel to the right does it sound like grinding roller skate wheels? If not, then you have to start thinking about other things like Power steering and the like. There aren't a tremendous amount of moving parts down there so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where the noises are coming from. Have a friend turn the wheel over and see if you can pinpoint the noise origin and then get back to us with more information.

From your second post it sounds AT FIRST like a wheel bearing going out. Does the noise come from the left side of the car when you are turning right?? But then I've also never heard a bad wheel bearing when sitting still and turning the wheel. Maybe RAY can chime in about this...He's had more experience with the wheel bearing issues than I have.

Sounds like it might be the tie-rod end, or worn bushings on the control arm or perhaps the ball joint is suspect.

Jack the suspect side up and grab the wheel at 9 and 3 oclock. push/pull? any movement? there shouldn't be. if there is it could be control arm bushings, etc.

Grab the wheel at 12 and 6, and push/pull. any movement indicates a failed/failing wheel bearing.

Thanks a lot for actually chiming in, it is most appreciated. Aight, so I will do that lil test later on today...just got home from work and I need to get some sleep. Just a few more observations: My rotors are warped and while driving around 80mph I get a vibration, which is more prominant when I turn the wheel to the left. I attributed this to the rotors. But I also noticed when going about 70mph+ , along with the vibration, I can actually hear a slight squeak coming from the suspension. It wouldn't suprise me if at least some of the bushings are worn out because the car has 116k on it. I bought the car 3,000 miles ago so there is no telling if the previous owner ever replaced the bushings or not. Thanks for the advice, I will run the 9-3 and 12-6 tests tomorrow and report back. -Scott

Alright, I did the tests that you reccomended. Absolutely no play in the wheel in both tests. So would it be safe to assume that my strut is worn out? Either that or I believe you also had mentioned the tie rod ends... Any ideas?