The left front end of my car (96 Accord; 140K) making squeaking sound. The sound is coming while driving. When I switch off the engine and coming out of the car it creates the sound. If the engine is off and I am pushing the left front end the car creates the sound. However, if I push any other corner there is no sound. The sound is coming only from left front end. No matter whether the car is in motion or the engine is switch off.


Six months back I changed all the tie rods, left upper ball joint. I tried to pin point from where the sound is coming and it seems the sound is coming from the lower half and back side of the left front wheel.

I showed one mechanic and he could not pin point the source of the squeaking. He said there is no play on my wheel when he tried to push my wheel holding at 3 and 9 o clock positions. So he told the ball joints are fine. However, he told me may be the squeaking sound is coming from the left upper ball joint.

That ball joint I replaced from TyrePlus six months back. So I took the car to the shop. One mechanic looked at my car lifting it and told me that the ball joint they put actually squeaking. So they would replace it without any charge to me but they could not do that day. Next day I took my car to the shop, another set of manager and mechanic were there and I told them the story. My car was taken into the garage and they do some research. The manager came back and told me that it is not the ball joint but the control arm bushing that are actually squeaking. He gave me a quote to replace the bushing. I found that the money I paid should cover both the ball joint and control arm. I told him why your shop did not replace the control arm also. He said sorry and reduced $100 from the quote. That time I declined to do the job. I checked with nearby TyrePlus shops and noticed that whatever money I paid for only ball joint was more than those shops charge for ball joint with control arm. So I called the shop and I found on phone the first manager and I told him the story. The manager told me his shop will replace the old ball joint with a controlled armed ball joint and also align the car with no cost to me. So another day I took my car to the shop when this manager was there. So he said he would do what he promised to me. I saw one mechanic replaced the old ball joint with a new ball joint with controlled arm. Then I saw he was taking it for test drive. However, immediately he brought my car back to the garage and removed the new ball joint and put the old one. Then he did some alignment and gave my car back to me. The mechanic told me when he put the new ball joint with control arm he heard the squeaking noise. So he thought the old ball joint was not the reason. The manager told me that I was actually given an adjustable ball joint and for that reason I found that the price was more than a ordinary (i.e., non-adjustable) ball joint with control arm.

Fact is that when I was given the car by TyrePlus there was no squeaking. No squeaking remained for 15-20 days. Now the squeaking has come back again. Again the car is squeaking while I drive it. When the engine is off and I push the left front end it squeaks. So I want to pin point what is the source of this squeaking.

Previously I posted the issue in this forum. Some people suggested that it may be the sway bar bushing. I want to know is there any way to confirm that the squeaking is actually coming from sway bar bushing.

If the squeaking is due to brake pad (I replaced 6 months back) then do you feel that my car would squeak if I push the left front end when engine is off.

Kindly give me some idea about this squeaking. This is really driving me crazy.

Thank you.

 

The sway bar (#1) sits inside a couple rubber bushings (#2). You should be able to squeeze some grease into those bushings 'cause they're just exposed. Maybe unbolt the brackets (#3) & slide the bushing side-to-side to get grease all the way through.


Or... you may have to get a friend to help. Lay down & reach into the balljoints or the swaybar bushings. Hold onto them while your friend bounces the car. Carefully at first so you don't get pinched inside anything. You may be able to tell by feel when you're actually holding the component that's making the noise.

 

Thank you JimBlake for reading the long story and then giving reply.

As the car squeaks even when the engine is off so do you think of any other source for this squeaking? So my question is besides sway bar bushing do you think any other part can make this squeaking noise when engine is off.

 

ANYTHING that flexes when you bounce the suspension.

Upper & lower ball joints
Steering tie-rod ball joints (including the inner ones inside the rack boots)
Inboard pivot-bushings on either upper or lower control arms
Rubber mounting bushings at the outboard ends of the sway bar (#5,6,7)
Rubber mounting bushings at the forward ends of the radius rods (#14,15)
Maybe even the top & bottom of the springs rubbing in the spring perches??

 

Rob, did you ever figure out what was making the squeak? I have a 96 Accord with the same symptoms.

 

I think with all those possibilities, you have to check them out. There's no reason to think the same thing is making noise on 2 different cars.

 

Crawl under the car and take the sway bar bushing off and put some sort of silicon grease on the bushings and then bolt them back up, see if the squeak went away. The total job should take you no more than 15 minutes and it will require exactly 1 wrench.