Hey all
Everytime i turn hard left i hear this loud creaking noise.. now it only happens when i turn left.. is this serious or something not to worry bout . let me know thanks

Klee215

 

Do you mean if you turn the wheel at full turn? If so, it could be that "rubber stopper" worn down on that side. Or maybe CV joint? By any chance, is your CV boot ripped?

 

sound like the noise from the power steering pump when you turn to the left all the way

 

would that make a loud creaking noise? I hear a little bit of a hiss from the ps pump when i turn my wheel all the way, but never any creaking...the only thing i can think of is the CV boot is torn causing it to click...

 

i think somebody told me it might be the strut mounts.. not sure though but yes at full turn going reverse or forward only turning the wheel to the left. the noise is really loud.

 

calm down people.....look for the simple answer first before we get all riled up about PS pumps and strut mounts.....

I will give you 100-1 odds that the following is correct:

If it is ONLY when turned hard over, your steering bump stop has worn though. It's just a little plastic cap, and when it wears through, the metal end of the bump stop contacts the metal on the lower control arm, causing the noise.

It's well known. You can get a replacement for about 2 bucks at the dealer or do what I did and switch to the steering bumpstop off of an XTerra, which has a metal collar around it and thicker plastic (i.e. it will last longer). Since I parallel park alot, I wore through 3 OEM bump stop caps in 3 years.

Now, go look at the left side bump stop on your car and see if the end of it has worn through....FTW

 

also you need to be more specific. Is this when the wheel is turned all the way over to the maximum (like when exiting a parallel parking spot), or just when you're making a hard turn on the street?

If the former, see my explanation above.

If the latter, it's something else.

 

I have the same exact problem and it is driving me nuts. Every time i make a sharp turn to the right i get the same sound from my driver rear wheel. I thought it could be the bearing but the wheel feels tight when i jacked it up. PLESE HELP

 

only when i turn the wheel all the way to the max..
thanks for all the info people

 

ok now the stupid question of the day:

Where is the the bumpstop located?? and can i install new one myself??

 

could be the wheel bearing take it to a shop

 

Yes, I believe you can. Ask Irish, I think he had replaced one before on his Max.

 

ok, went out and took some pics in the dark for you guys.

this one, the bump stop is right in the middle of the pic. The plastic cap for it is the silver hexagonal thing you see.



this one, is where the bump stop hits the LCA when turned all the way. If the plastic cap wears through, it's metal-to-metal contact. I also put some heavy machine grease on the contact point to cut down on the friction between the stop and the cap.

 

Thanks, Irish. Yeah, that's why I try not to turn my front wheels fully turned to the max. I did it once, and I did not like that sound and wierd feeling on the steering wheel when I did it. Our turning radius on our cars $uck. On another note, your CV boots look good. Did you just replaced them recently? Mine are starting to soften up, and I have to keep an eye out for them not ripping.

 

re: the boots....see:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=482615

 

this is weird considering that I had noises from these plastic caps...it wasn't until I took them off then the noises stopped...but then again I put some grease on the actual steering stops on the LCA's...

 

I am having a creaking/moaning noise from my front driver side wheel area. It only makes the sound after I have driven the car for atleast 20+ mins. I can usually hear it at low speeds when I am slowing down to a stop, and it is more pronounced when i am turning to the right (thus shifting more weight to the driver side) I am thinking it is wheel bearing, but i jacked the car up and tried to 'wiggle' the wheel but it feels solid. All the CV joints/boots look to be in good shape also. Any suggestions? I'm still leaning toward it being wheel bearing but just wanted to check on here. Could it be the bump stops? It makes the sound even when the car is going straight.. or just barely turned to the right. Does it have to occur only when wheel is fully turned/locked to be the bumpstops?