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By DANIEL TINDER - 8 Years Ago
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Somehow, over the winter, the suspension of my '55 Bird has begun to creak & groan. It's only noticeable at very slow speed over uneven terrain (or while manually depressing the springs while parked). Oddly enough, the noises coincidently began emanating from front AND rear simultaneously, BUT only diagonally! When the right front & left rear are depressed/bounced, the creak/groan is quite audible, but NOT when depressing the left front & right rear.
The (apparently) original springs & A-arm bushings have 125K miles on them (90K by me), but all the ball-jt., etc. nipples have always been routinely lubed. The car handles normally, and the suspension is silent at road speeds. Inspection while raised on jacks/ramps reveals nothing unusual, but I don't have the strength working alone to depress the suspension and thus track down the source of the noise while under the car. I would likely have to find a local shop with a mechanic's pit, so I could move around (with a stethoscope?) while someone above bounces the Rt. front or Lt. rear of the car.
Now, while the noise is not all that annoying (I suppose I still might likely go to the trouble of locating/applying lube to the source should it continue), I worry that ignoring it might lead to some component seizing, with resulting damage/complications down the road. Has anyone experience/solved a similar problem?
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By MoonShadow - 8 Years Ago
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Back in the day we had a product called Rubber Lube that was sprayed on the suspension bushings. It would usually quiet them right down. Some people said that it made them worse when it wore off but I don't know. I would try a spray like PB Blaster or WD-40. If you want you can spray one joint area at a time and then bounce the car and when the noise stops you will have found the dry spot. Once you know you can check the bushing out for wear or any other problems. May just need the lube.
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By slumlord444 - 8 Years Ago
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PB Blaster and WD40 are for metal. Most suspension parts a re rubber and I would use spray Silicone on rubber.
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By MoonShadow - 8 Years Ago
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Silicone is even better but the other oil are a little better to seep in and find the squeaks.
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By ian57tbird - 8 Years Ago
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WD40 and alike is not good for rubber over a long period of time. Rubber grease is best if it is apart, or maybe as suggested silicon spray when it is all assembled.
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Rubber bushings are not bearings. The rubber flexes to provide the range of motion for the components, which means no lubrication is required. If lubrication is required, then it would seem that something is simply worn. Given that they are 62 years old, with 125K, I'm thinking it's time for an overhaul, with US made components, if available.
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By stlroken II - 8 Years Ago
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Daniel
I had a similar type problem that I had asked about on the forum several months ago and got a lot helpful ideas but was still unable to find the problem after replacing lots of parts ( which was probably a good idea anyway) I finally took it to a race car chassis shop where they could raise the car but still keep weight on the wheels because I couldn't get the noise when it was jacked up. They found the grease zerk on the left front ball joint was not taking grease(even though it looked like it was ?? ) They changed the zerk and greased it up and never another noise. I hope this helps.
Jim Dahl
Washington Ia
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By DANIEL TINDER - 8 Years Ago
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Thanks Jim, but I always check to make certain old grease (and fresh following) is being extruded from the joint when I lube a zerk.
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