thekirsh035

This is a recent noise that squeaks every time i hit any sort of bump in the road....it comes from the front drivers side, and if i put weight on the fender and bounce the car you can hear the squeak...i brought it to the shop and had new strut mates installed...they told me that they were loose and that the noise must be coming from them..after the fix the noise was NOTchanged...they then told me it must be in the lower control arm and most likely the bushings..they also told me that the entire front end was safe and that nothing was essentially wrong with the car (i thought this was surprising because most garages usually tell you bs to get your $, but in this case they seemed uninterested)..they also said that the noise should only be taken care of if it bothers me bc saftey will not be compromised if i let it go...the car has 153k (its a 99) and i am wondering how much a lower control arm would cost and if it is worth the fix...also could it just be the bushings? does it make sense that it could be the bushings? would it be possible to lubricate them or quiet them if they are the problem?

any help would be great...thanks

dko

iTrader: (7)

front sway bar endlink, almost certainly

thekirsh035

alright thanks...is that a big deal to fix or is pretty straightforward?

thekirsh035

btw i crawled underneath the car this morning and the looks def like the link kit...the bushings are completely shot-thanks man

heynow

iTrader: (1)

yeeeeppppp, i had mine replaced and the noise stopped

dko

iTrader: (7)

you can replace just the bushings if those are worn. i'd recommend the polyurethane Energy Suspension bushings if you decide to. they are only a bit more than the stock bushings and will outlast your car.

more than likely, though, it's the ball joint that's worn. if the ball joint has popped out of the collar, you'll need to replace the swaybar endlinks, they are about $40 for a pair from the dealer. how long it takes depends on your skill level and how rusted your suspension is. it took me about an hour to do with handtools. before you buy a pair, check to see if you only need to replace one endlink. i only needed to change the driver's side, but i bought a pair by mistake.

if you're replacing the bushings you might as well change the endlinks and vice versa. it's worthwhile to spend $20 extra to make sure you won't have to do it again.