07 S550: Squeaking/creaking noise
Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 8:26 am
I have no idea how long this has been a thing but I don't think the entire time I've owned it. But I can only hear it when a window is down and really the sound reflects off of a hard surface. Anyway there is a weird squeak sound when I turn the wheel even slightly as well as jounce the car slightly. Front passenger side. Intuitively it seemed like a dry ball joint but there are a lot of joints and it could also be a bushing or some other weird thing so I had to isolate the noise. Also it is kind of embarrassing. Sort of reminds me of a 90s Ford Ranger/Explorer when they get that dry front end sound when steering.
Drove it up on ramps and tried to bounce the car while using my automotive stethoscope on various joints. I localized it to the main lower ball joint on the main lower control arm (the one the strut attaches to). Makes sense as this is probably the joint that sees the highest load.
I don't feel any play but it sounds super dry. Ended up buying this: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/pe ... or-needle/
It just snaps into the end of a grease gun hose. Stick it right through the boot (das boot) and fill the boot with some grease. I did that and it didn't change anything even though I saw the boot visibly expand. When I had the car in the air for my oil change, I noticed the joint does not make noise unloaded. Not too surprising. But I decided to inject more grease into the boot and expanded it pretty significantly. Maybe too much (perfect). When I finished the oil change and put the car down, the sound is now gone.
The theory is the joint moving around unloaded allowed some grease to flow to the actual ball area so I'm hoping this is more or less permanently cured. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
In case I have to revisit, here's a Mevotech on Rockauto for $100: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 01&jsn=529
And here's a really expensive aftermarket one on FCP Euro for $321, the only one they currently offer: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/merced ... escription
Mine might be aluminum and the Rockauto ones seem to be steel though. I should check with a magnet.
So I think it is worth trying to preserve the ball joint if all that's wrong with it currently is that it's dry. If only it was greaseable...
Doesn't look too terrible to do either. Would need to support knuckle to avoid further drop or strain on the front arm (thrust arm?). Would also need a suitable press to get the joint out of the knuckle but mostly seems like a standard type job. Removing the bolt at the subframe does not look like it requires removal of any nonsense at all (looking at you, STS).
Drove it up on ramps and tried to bounce the car while using my automotive stethoscope on various joints. I localized it to the main lower ball joint on the main lower control arm (the one the strut attaches to). Makes sense as this is probably the joint that sees the highest load.
I don't feel any play but it sounds super dry. Ended up buying this: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/pe ... or-needle/
It just snaps into the end of a grease gun hose. Stick it right through the boot (das boot) and fill the boot with some grease. I did that and it didn't change anything even though I saw the boot visibly expand. When I had the car in the air for my oil change, I noticed the joint does not make noise unloaded. Not too surprising. But I decided to inject more grease into the boot and expanded it pretty significantly. Maybe too much (perfect). When I finished the oil change and put the car down, the sound is now gone.
The theory is the joint moving around unloaded allowed some grease to flow to the actual ball area so I'm hoping this is more or less permanently cured. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
In case I have to revisit, here's a Mevotech on Rockauto for $100: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 01&jsn=529
And here's a really expensive aftermarket one on FCP Euro for $321, the only one they currently offer: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/merced ... escription
Mine might be aluminum and the Rockauto ones seem to be steel though. I should check with a magnet.
So I think it is worth trying to preserve the ball joint if all that's wrong with it currently is that it's dry. If only it was greaseable...
Doesn't look too terrible to do either. Would need to support knuckle to avoid further drop or strain on the front arm (thrust arm?). Would also need a suitable press to get the joint out of the knuckle but mostly seems like a standard type job. Removing the bolt at the subframe does not look like it requires removal of any nonsense at all (looking at you, STS).