Front suspension creaking and groaning

I have a 2001 C4 MT coupe that has developed an annoying creaking a groaning sound from the front suspension. The noise generally only appears have the car has warmed up and been driven a few miles but is quite noticeable inside and outside the vehicle. The noise is not present during turning but is most obvious during low speed rolling in a parking lot or street driving. When I place my hands directly above the wheel and press I can replicate the noise on either side. Quick search revealed that some people have had trouble with the sway bar connections loosening over time. I've check all the sway bar bolts and they are torqued to spec. Unfortunately I can't replicate the noise once I have the car on stands so I can't narrow down the location. I suppose my next step is buying some ramps so I can load the suspension while I'm under it. Any suggestions other than ramps? Thanks, Shawn

FWIW, I had a squeaking issue with my 2001 that I noticed when driving over speedbumps. I took it into the local dealer and according to the service records they tightened the front and rear sway bar links, top and bottom mounts, and the top strut mounts. They also lubricated the top mounts and around the springs. Something in there must have taken care of the noise -- it hasn't reoccurred in over a year.

The noise is coming from one of the rubber suspension bushings. It's not harmful, just annoying. It often appears after having the shocks and/or springs changed, though it can just appear from normal wear. To fix it, you need to reset the bushing in the housing. You can put a tiny bit of petroleum jelly on it and it'll never squeak again.

I had the same problem. My mechanic replaced the lower control arms and the noise went away. It then happen on the rears about 3 months later. Same thing, they replaced the lower control arms and the noise disappeared. I have a '00 C4.

I've tracked the vibration down to the control arms so I'm afraid I may be in the same boat as path. Do you recall the pricing on the parts?

In your original post you didn't mention any vibration... Is there just noise or vibration too?

This isn't a vibration you'd feel in the suspension or anything like that. All noise is caused by vibration of some sort. I'm stating that the source of the noise (vibration) is coming from the control arm.

I just wanted to ressurect this thread. I think I might be in the same boat as you Shawn. -- What was the problem? (Control Arms, Bushings?) -- What was the fix? (Replace parts, clean & spray Wurth?) -- How much was the dent? (DIY, Mechanic?)

Which rubber suspension bushings do you put the petroleum jelly on to make the squeeking stop?

I replied via PM before I saw this...the noise went away on its own (I believe due to warm weather). Lubricating the bushing had no effect. The deal said it was a pretty common problem. If the noise comes back with the cold weather I'm just going to replace the control arm. You should be able to talk your dealer down to about $265/arm. Should be a DIY if you're quite handy, but most people would be better off letting the dealer handle it. I believe you'll need to realign the car after your replace it also... Shawn

Thanks. I'll first try some Wurth. If not start looking into the control arm DIY...

FWIW - On my car, Wurth cured the problem for a few days, but with the Silver State coming up I got the dealer to change out the control arm. Two months and 5000 miles since then without any annoying squeaking.

Was this done under warranty? How much was the total bill?

No, I paid it myself. I don't recall how much, but certainly more then the $265 quoted above - I think maybe $500?

My number was for the part cost of one arm only...it's also with a good relationship with the dealer although I think Suncoast quoted me the same... S.

i did this early this year. left front lower control arm. part is $300 (from local p-car dealer), labor (.5 hour) $50. never have noise since. and the handling improved a little. the front-end used to be "wondoning" a bit.

I got rid of my creaking for now at least. I popped the cap on my front struts (covers the strut bearing) and sprayed WD-40 all over it. Also, tightened the three bolts that hold the top of the strut to the chassis and sprayed WD-40 all over the spring, shock body, and any part of the exposed strut without having to put the car on a lift or remove the wheels.

Hopefully that will work. For me, it only cured the problem for a few days, so keep a close eye on it.

Is there some reason why you used WD40 instead of a conventional adhesive lubricant? I read this on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40 ), and so I ended up ordering Wurth HHS 2000 from Amazon: "While its uses are many and varied, WD-40 should not be used as a general-purpose lubricant, as it dries very quickly and collects dust. This can result in serious damage to machinery and equipment designed for use with heavy oils when they are lubricated with lightweight WD-40." Anyway, I'm not an expert ...

Actually I used one of those new hybrid silicon-based lubricants that I bought at Home Depot. I forgot what it was called so I just said WD-40. I used up the rest of the can and thru it away but it came in a blue can and sort of smells like coconut sun tan lotion; it dries instantly and is supposed to stay put longer.

Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Multi-U...8&s=automotive

I thought I should resurrect this thread once again: I had the same symptoms as above -- creaking front suspension noise when car is warmed up. I sprayed Wurth HHS 2000 on almost all bushings and joints I could find up there ... but that did not help. I took it to the dealer this morning and he calls me back saying that both the front "ball joints" are bad. He says it will need a special order from Germany. $400 for each side, + Labor + re-alignment = $1,600 total. Ouch! My car is out of warranty, so this will be out of pocket. What do you guys think? I'm a little suspicious of the dealers advice -- could he be faking the problems for more work? Moreover, if I don't fix the problem for a few thousand miles, will there be additional damage to the car? I'm also losing faith in my 996 being a reliable daily driver. TIA

Sounds odd - I'd expect grinding instead of creaking from bad ball joints. I'm sure it's worth getting a second opinion. As for daily driving the Pcar, I got some good advice from a different board (Flyertalk) that Pcars are reliable, just not cheap to maintain. I try really hard to keep that sense of perspective...

I had a good discussion with the Tech and he basically convinced me that he knew what he was talking about. We went under the car and he showed me the exact cause of the problem. Could someone tell me the part number for item 17 below? It seems the ball joint at the red circle has lost it's grease and is the source of the creaking. The tech said that parts will have to be specially ordered from Germany. I just want to call around and make sure that is the case ... so if you know the part number, please let me know. TIA

I think you guys are on the right track. I'd say you have a noisy ball joint, just dried out and noisy from age. Replacing the control arm replaces the ball joint and the noise goes away. You can always upgrade and go to GT3 arms for additional camber, but I think that's quite a bit more dough.

exact my problem. call suncoast porsche tell them you need "lower control arm" it's a common part. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks for your comments ... are you sure that "Replacing the control arm replaces the ball joint and the noise goes away" ...? My dealer tells me he does have control arms but repair parts for this work will have to be specially ordered from Germany. Any thoughts? (He actually refered to item #18 as the control arm.)

Item 17 is the lower control arm.

had same prob - it was the control arm - shortly after my 01 c4 purchase in may. took it to dealer and it was actually not covered by cpo but the selling dealer(stoddard, 400mi away) stepped up and paid for it. i was with tech when we test drove and he got out of car to bounce the front end. it made the groaning noise and he at that point determined it was the control arm. and yes, replacing the control arms also neccessitated an alignment. stoddard paid for the whole thing. phew...so you might wanna try the bounce test... if you get groan, it's prob the same prob as me. i have 35k on the clock. been groan free since. hope this helps.

My car is creaking again but it sounds/feels like it is coming from the middle-front of the car which would agree with the posts I have seen before mentioning the swaybar bushings needing replacement. I inspected them before and they looked fine but I have gone ahead and ordered 2 new ones and will be replacing them soon. Question: Is there a simple way to replace these or do I have to put the whole bar off the car like on my 944?