Hey guys, after doing a massive overhaul of my suspension I have noticed a NEW creaking sound coming from the suspension when weight shifts to the front (braking).
I replaced a bulk of the suspension components including: Control arms and bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, and stabilizer bar ends. The struts were also replaced a couple months back though springs were not. I have double checked that all components were torqued properly with vehicle weight on them and everything seems to be up to spec.

It's not a very loud noise per say, but it is a new one and that is a little alarming to me as a amateur mechanic who has just began to learn this stuff. The only thing that I can think of is perhaps the rear control arm bushing (contacting subframe) is squeaking against the subframe mount area ? Other than that, the only other piece that I can come up with is perhaps the ARB bushings - they weren't in "new" condition, but they weren't falling apart or cracked either and so I re-used them.

I've tried to reproduce the noise with the vehicle being stationary and have had no luck in doing so....ie. bouncing front fender, looking for play in the wheel (lifted), etc.
Unfortunately, troubleshooting seems to be my weakness right now, so any input or ideas about what it could be would be awesome.

 

how long ago did you replace everything? if its not crazy loud, i would just wait a week or two before worrying. could just be a bushing breaking in or the like

 

Just finished today actually - though after driving it around town, I have discovered ANOTHER noise that is more disturbing.....seems to be a clunking that matches wheel rotation....ie. as wheel goes around, clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk.... had to get a case of beer to console myself while I try to figure out WTF is going on :/

 

and yeah, I WAS kind of thinking the same thing in regards to new bushings breaking in..... well, I was hoping that was the cause at least, though now I'm skeptical

 

Did you make sure to tighten the control arms with the car on the ground?

 

yep, everything was snugged up to about 20-25 ft lbs (small 3/8" drive wrench "snug") and then I put it on ramps to torque it down to spec with vehicle weight. Though at this point, I'm ready to take it all apart and do it over just to put my mind at ease!! :P

 

Truthfully, I'm more concerned with the odd clunking noise that I hear....it sounds like something is clunking once per wheel rotation though I can't seem to figure out what the source is. creaking sounds I can understand would come from rubber bushings somewhere in the suspension system - but THIS?! man, no damn clue......

**interestingly, it seems to go away after reaching speeds of 30+ mph, not sure if that makes any sense or not **

 

What could cause such a noise ? I cant think of what would be moving in rotation with the wheel and hitting any other parts..

 

What is clunking, front or rear?

 

The wheel itself and the rotor. What condition are the rotors in and are you positively sure you reassembled everything having to do with the wheel snuggly?

 

Clunking?

Axles.

 

Wheels bearings possible or maybe something isn't seated properly...

 

Actually, I hadn't taken apart any of the wheel/hub components for the suspension. HOWEVER, today I decided to take apart the hub and inspect the cv to make sure it was seated properly and I found the hub nut to be almost.....loose! ie. I barely had to put any force onto it to unscrew it from the axle. according to factory spec, that's supposed to be around 230 ftlb which is WAAY more than it was tightened to.
After discovering this, I'm starting to wonder if the cv was just pulling out from it's seat. Also, I noted that someone before me owning it, had replaced the CV with one from an ABS model maxima instead of the non-ABS that I have. (it has the pickup ring on it)

So now, im debating just ordering a Raxles CV to make sure that rinky POS one that's in it isn't the problem.

 

I DID also consider bad bearings, however they weren't bad before the suspension project so I doubt they went bad just sitting on jackstands. Actually, if I didn't need a shop press (so im told) I'd just replace the damn bearings while im in there....

 

to James: its all in drivers side front.

 

If it were wheel bearings it would be more of a groaning noise that got louder the faster the car went.

 

More than likely the axle/cv sliding in and out especially as you turned the opposing side of the axle. (If it were the left axle then it would want to pull out every time you turned right)

If you go the Raxle route expect to pay a lil more than at the auto parts store. I have Raxle axles but have to return my drivers side because for some microscopic reason it won't full engage when in gear. (Car acts like it isn't gear "won't move") So I swapped in non ABS axle and car rolls. Gotta have him swap out my bad axle. Other than that I love them.

 

Just got off the phone with Raxles and ran into a slight issue. My car already has a crappy O'Reilly CV axle in it and isnt acceptable as a core to raxles since they only accept OEM cores. All in all I was quoted 199.00 for drivers side.......debating whether to buy or not.
In the meantime, I'm going to have my mechanic buddy come by and see if we can't figure out where the problem truly lies.

 

Out of curiosity, have you checked to see that the ABS sensor ring isnt hitting the Ball joint stud? When I inspected my CV, I noticed that it was an ABS model and the contacts had been grinding away on the ball joint stud..... There is definitely a clearance issue between the two versions of the CV.

Also, I was going to note that the clunking noise was only happening when I drove in a straight line and not while turning ( like I would assume a CV would do) - and that's why I'm kind of puzzled.

 

Yep, has happened to me before too. Quite often, aftermarket ball joints are taller (in the stud/threading) than OEM, making it much closer to the axle/ABS ring. It's of course magnified with a lowered car because the angle already makes the clearances tighter.

A couple of years ago when I re-did the front suspension on my blue Maxima I literally could NOT drive the car. It felt like the wheels were locked to the ground or something. If you gave it a ton of gas you could get it to move a few feet in a cacophony of groaning and squealing, and it wanted to burn up the clutch.

I had to cut some of the upper threads off the ball joint to create enough clearance. Wasn't too happy having to take it all apart again.

BTW - I thought Raxles were brand new? If not, what exactly is their advantage? Seems expensive for simple rebuilt OEM axles.

 

Well, they are new as far as the joints and housings themselves....not sure if the core is just to recoup costs ( likely) or if they're actually re-used. When I talked to him today, he DID say they manufacture them brand new...... It's a difference of 50$ though if you have a non-original part to exchange for the new one, he said they just toss Chinese cores in the dumpster. Sad thing is, there are almost ZERO made in USA parts manufacturers out there! I checked every major retailer and even local companies that make drivetrain parts ....they almost all just do rebuilds or buy Chinese

Along those lines - does anybody know of ANY alternatives to Raxles ? It's weird to me that there is only one company that people go to for quality parts..... not saying Raxles is a bad choice, because they were awesome - just curious really

 

Yeah, I did the SAME exact thing with my ball joint studs! Though I've gotta say, after pulling apart the steering knuckle today - the hole for the cotter pin was WAY too close to the top of the bolt so I swapped out the balljoints again and took a cutting wheel to the ABS ring on the CV and popped the ring off with a screwdriver......clearance is perfect ! This only works if you have a non-abs car of course ....but still. To me it seemed a better choice than weakening the ball joint stud.

 

Sadly, I've gotten REALLY fast at taking apart this car's front end.......though on the plus side, I've definitely learned a crapload through mistakes :P

 

ok, UPDATE !!!
I decided to pull apart the entire steering knuckle and strut assembly yesterday - just to check over everything and make sure it was tightened to spec and there weren't any faulty parts that could be making the clunking noise.
As it turned out, the strut to steering knuckle bolts weren't to spec and neither was the hub nut.......after re-tightening everything the noise was gone. I think what I had heard was the CV shaft pulling out from the transmission because of the loose hub nut and nothing more. I don't think people realize just how hard these hub nuts need to tightened.....it's pretty significant! (230 ft/lbs).
Since I replaced the drivers side ball joint yesterday and I have another spare brand new one ( came with my control arms), I think I'm going to play it safe and install the passenger side today and repeat the same checks I did on the drivers side. After all the loose parts I found, I'm doubtful the passenger side would be any different.

 

So the axle nut was loose? That's crazy. You had the cotter pin installed and everything?

OR was it not that it loosened after installation but that you never had it tight enough anyway? Yeah you really have to crank those down. I always use a long pipe as an extension to really get some leverage.

Hopefully you didn't damage your wheel bearings on that side driving around with all that play in the hub. Hopefully you only drove it a few miles?

 

Unfortunately it was loose for an unknown reason Cotter pin was installed and all that but whoever worked on this car before me must not have installed it to spec...Now it's got me kind of paranoid to check over EVERY bolt in the front end. I hate finding other people's mistakes !!

 

Well, I re-checked all the suspension bolts and everything was fine. On the plus side, almost all creaks and thunk noises are gone - except one It only seems to happen when cornering and it almost feels like the car shifts to the side ever so slightly.....cannot figure out where it's coming from though. If i didnt know better, id say it's the strut moving where the steering knuckle bolts contact it. I say this because my replacement struts I have came with that oval adjustment bolt hole on the top.....which I hate. I DID check it though and it was tightened to spec, so I'm not sure what else to look at.