I have searched previous threads for an answer to my problem but everyone else has a clunking, not a creaking noise.

It seems whenever I turn at all and go over any bump there is a creak in my front suspension. Im no mechanic so it might not be the suspension. I really only hear it in the drivers side but I'm always driving so it might be on the other side also.

Ive notices this for a few months, but a mechanic couldnt figure it out because it didnt happen all the time, but now its getting worse and worse.

Any ideas???

Could it be the strut?
I bought new H-Tech's so I might as well replace the struts while I'm at it...

 

my wifes 01 has done this since purchase-my 02 has never done it
Hers is OEM-i'm running progress/illuminas
Both vehicles handle very well (mines way better tho)
we just live with it-plus its her car so whatever haha

Sorry that didnt answer your question but hopefully offers some relief thats its not just you...

 

I'll bet it's the stabilizer bushings (the bushings, not the links). Try disconnecting one link (takes pressure off bar) and see if it goes away. If you replace them, be sure to use OEM ones. If it's not that, it's probably strut related.

 

check the rubber insulator around the spring it might have slide off and it could very well be the spring rubbing the strut housing

 

is it at full turn. if so there is the bolt on the spindle the hits the LCA that has a plastic cap on it. That could be it. I know I have one that feel off.
part # 40038C

 

i wish i knew before i did all the suspension stuff... but you cant win em all

ill be sure to check all that stuff when they get put in

didnt even think of all that stuff....

thanks! keep throwin out suggestions guys! ill write them all down when i do the suspension!!!

 

any luck yet?

 

My car does it when its cold, or if I'm slowly going over a large bump like a major pothole.

 

I havent put the suspension in yet. i'm waiting for my struts which will come in on wednesday. so next weekend ill know..

my car started when it was cold, but now it does it all the time. just slowly got worse!

 

i have same problem, put on new struts and it didn't go away. i think its front sway bar links. will install some new ones and report back.

 

Same problem, over bumps it seems like passenger side creaks or makes a sound as if the wheel is loose, and at full wheel lock it grinds. I thought it was a wheel bearing issue don't know for sure yet but it is annoying. Keeping the music up is the only remedy I have for the moment Lol

 

Anyone have any suggestions for me....I'm getting consistent "clunk" that is most noticeable when going over bumps at slow speeds (speed bumps reproduce the symptom every time) Kinda sounds as if there is some play somewhere, like something isnt tightened down.

And now the "creak"...again, most noticeable at slow speeds. Note sure if it happens more often with the wheel turned.

I'm getting struts/springs installed (112k miles) sometime next week and I'm guessing that will solve the "clunk". your thoughts?

 

i'm getting a clunk too.. interested in suggestion

 

take a can WD-40, and spray it at the top of the spring. What happens is the rubber either worn out, or slid off between the strut mount and the spring. I have the same exact problem. happened after car was on the lift when I was replacing lower ball joints and bushings. ( i did relace them all with ES bushings).

Does it squek when its wet outside? I bet not.

WD-40 is not a fix, just temp. or to find the problem..

Does anyone know if the strut mounts from tirerack.com come with the rubber peice that goes between the spring and the strut mount?????

 

I lose sleep at night (LOL) trying to figure out what that noise coming from my front end is.

 

same here and for me i think its even wierd i think its from my door but mine is creek and like the orignal poster said over slow bump and i hear it only on the driver side will look into all what you guys wrote and report back tommrow

 

My '97 does the creak sound, too. Sounds like a bedspring. Only happens when going very slowly over bumps, or when taking sharp turns at a decent speed (when the body rolls/flexes). Sounds more like on my passenger side. It did it before any of my suspension work (new struts, strut mounts (twice), endlinks, inner & outer tie rod ends, drive axles). Stock SE springs are still on, but have the isolators properly positioned. Only things I haven't replaced/checked are swaybar and Lower control arm bushings. I think I'm leaning to the above poster's suggestion of swaybar bushings. I'll try to find some and see if that cures it.
I also get a hollow "clunk" or "thump" when going slow over rough road. This was before all the front end stuff, too. I'm thinking it may be a ball joint, because that is what it sounds like. But mine have no perceptable play or deformities. My wife's 2000 I30 has the same sound. We are both at approx the same mileage (130,000). Her suspension is completely stock, with exception of drive axles and outer tie rod ends (we just purchased her car, and I'm still going over it. Man, compared to mine, her car rides like a boat; a big, comfortable, quiet boat).

Dave

 

I get the creak too. It's only when I have the wheel turned all the way or almost all the way. It's not strut/spring related because the noise still happened after I did the coilovers. So IDK what it is, it's annoyingly loud though.

 

Thought I'd chime in my $0.02.

I get this very loud creak when I turn the wheel completely to the left (when making a sharp or k-turn). It almost sounds like two metal parts are touching each other.

I replaced the sway bar bushings and the end links about a year ago, so I doubt it's that.

 

Hmm, thanks for the info. I'll look into that. How bad of a job is that to do? And about how much do the parts run?

 

The parts were all OEM and cost under $100. Labor was done by me.

Next thing I'm looking into is replacing the ball joints with Moog.

 

Let me jump in because I'm having a similar problem.
2 days ago, I went to BigO'Tires to fix a flat tire (which I just bought and made me wonder... why me, with other thousands of cars running out there in my town...oh well), and they also did some diagnosis on drive terrain.

Before going into to what they found, last October I hit a curb so hard w/ driver side front wheel (5-10mph) and ever since my car's been making a creaking sound whenever I turn the wheel. I took my car to another garage shortly after and they told me it was the strut mount. I have then replace the front struts and mounts a month ago and the noise went away for a while.

Then I came back from a 2300-mile road trip and my Max is making the same noise again. Then came the flat tire and BigO's diagnosis: inner tie rod. They explained the mechanism a bit but I didn't fully understand. I'm trying to locate a page on the electronic service manual. So I don't know if repalcing it would fix the problem but first thing first, I gotta get the part. I'll keep you guys posted once it's replaced.

 

This is the correct diagnosis.

 

if you guys changed the struts and did not put that orange strut gasket back that's why is making that noice. the new struts do not come with new gaskets. l brokeup one of them and put the struts without it and was making that squiking noice. they cost 20 bucks at nissan.