Getting a creak from the front driver side of the car when going over bumps/bends slowly (like when parking etc). Also get it when driving over normal dips and rolls in roads at driving speed (40-50kmh).

Over the winter i put in spc camber arms and toe bolts in the rear. Kinetix upper control arms in the front. Rear end was squirrelly as hell and i couldn't drive anywhere near a straight line. Had it aligned at a local Kaltire to get it drive-able so i could drive it to a proper alignment shop 45 minutes away. Kal's did the best they could i suppose, but my front driver side UCA (the rod end/dust boot) was knocking the inner fender. So i took it to Dales to get it done properly like i wanted. After they aligned it, it started to creak. The arms have been on the car for..1-2 months max. There was no creaking before getting it aligned at Kal's or after. The creaking started after the alignment at Dale's and has been getting progressively worse.

Here is the alignment specs from Kals (April 5):

Front Left Front Right
Camber -0.4 (knocking) Camber -0.7
Caster 7.6 Caster 8.7
Toe 0" Toe 0"

Rear Left Rear Right
Camber-1.2 Camber -1.3
Toe 4/16" Toe 0"

This was fine by me as i was going take it to dales to get it done properly. I had 2 weeks of exams and then took it to ales.

This is the Dales alignment (done April 25):

Front Left Front Right
Camber -1.88 Camber -1.66
Caster 8.46 Caster 9.25
Toe 1/32" Toe 1/32"

Rear Left Rear Right
Camber-1.58 Camber -1.58
Toe 1/32" Toe 1/32"

The front camber was a bit much but as long as it doesnt knock i don't really care much. I can get tires to fit the front for less than $50 a pair. But for a daily driven car i think it was a good alignment.

Relevant Info

Lowered 1" front and rear on Eibach Pro-kit springs
SPC rear camber arms
SPC rear toe bolt
Kinetix front Upper Control Arms
18x10 rear on a 245/45/18 (oem)
18x9 front on a 225/45/18 (oem)


Any tips/ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

For most of us guys in the U.S.,we don't know KALS or DALES from a hole in the ground.
I find it interesting of how many times your story has been told.Not only with suspension
mods,but you name it,exhaust,intakes..whatever.
Trying to improve on something thats really not broken,then to screw it up.
In addition,taking a Z to a shop that may not be familiar with the particulars of the car.
From all that you described,I don't see how you can hold anyone responsible for what
you are experiencing.
Good luck in getting this sorted out.

 

Try reading it again. No blame is laid on anyone. And the arms were installed to fix the alignment and tire wear issues associated with lowering a car. I'm looking for tips to stop the creak.

Thanks for contributing.

 

Poly-urethane bushings need to be lubed periodically. Have you tried that? Lube up every poly bushing on your car and report back.

Energy Suspension makes a good grease. Just about any thick "chassis lube" would work, or you could try some spray silicone but I doubt it'd get down in between the bushing and surfaces. Unfortunately, you need to take things apart to lube them unless they have a grease zerk.

 

Thanks I appreciate the advice. Thankfully the kinetix arms do have grease zerks. I've been reading that a lithium based lube works best. Ill try to see if I can find any of the lube you recommended locally.

Thanks again.

 

I bought the energy suspension grease and a grease gun and jammed as much grease in as i could. And drove around for about 10 mins. So far id say that there was minimal if any difference. Perhaps its gonna take a couple days of driving to get the grease all the way around those bushings. But as of now, id say no difference. I will report back tomorrow evening with an update.

For now, does anyone have any ideas of what it could be? Or anything that might help.

Thanks

 

Have you looked at the spring top mount, to make sure its sat right? Creaking is usually rubber.

 

Very possible cause. I didn't think about it, because it usually happens on coilovers not OEM suspension. Check that area.

Another thing to do would be to put the car on a lift, remove the wheel, and put a jack under the brake rotor. Then, pump the jack up to compress the suspension. Keep going until you hear the sound. Being able to have your head down there while it's making the sound might make it a lot easier to pin-point.

Pay attention to the balance of the car on the lift, though. You may get to a point where the suspension won't compress any more without lifting the car. If possible, leave the rear wheels on the ground while doing this. Be careful when working under a car, of course.

 

Okay so yesterday it was still creaking a bit. But today the creak is completely gone. So i guess it just needed a few days to spread around the bushing. Just one question left though. How often should i be greasing the bushings? (besides the obvious, when they start creaking.)

Thanks to all who helped out.

 

lol. I jogged by my friend's Z while he went over some speed bumps at just the right speed to find a "clunk" on his car. (Sway bar end-link lower mounting point was loose)

 

So full of win!

 

The creaking has come back after a few days, but not anywhere near as severe. However it seems to be on the passenger side instead of the driver side this time. I am thinking maybe i didnt get enough grease in there so im going to do that again.

And ill try raising the wheel with the jack to see what else could make the noise.

One weird thing i did notice, and which is probably irrelevant. Is that there is no creaking at all when its raining and the roads are wet. The creaking only happens in the dry weather.

 

Could still be the shock tops, the rubber.

 

I have solved the problem, thanks to a great idea by a fellow member. The problem was the rod end that is covered by the dust boot. Its not lubed. So thanks to Deisel350, i lubed it up with some WURTH and the noise went away instantly. Its bliss.

Heres the thread.
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...ml#post9748827

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and help!

 

Glad you found it