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Thu Aug 14, 2003 10:34 am

I seem to have developed a problem in my rear suspension...every little bump in the road and there's a creaking noise coming from the back. I've managed to isolate the noise a bit...it's not the shocks but appears to be coming from the higher up in the wheel well.

I think this is where the torsion bars are...does this mean the torsion bars are on their last legs? Has anyone had a similar problem?

Fri Aug 15, 2003 6:29 am

the torsion bars are to the front of the rear wheels, so if you are hearing the noise toward the top of the wheel well, they likely aren't your problem. the culprit may be the bushing in the top eye of the shock. try squirting a little white lithium grease, or a penetrating lube like wd 40 (check label first to make sure it is not harmful to rubber) into the bushing.

Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:36 am

I have an horendous squeak coming from the right front suspension. I have been trying to isolate it for over a month. I packed a whole tube of grease in the front axle beam. I found 5 grease points. Are there any more than that and I might just be missing one? I had the whole front end jacked up also when I hit the grease points. It just constantly squeaks as I drive, unless im on a smooth road. I even greased all point were I thought it might be rubbing, but nothing seems to work.

The squeak I had on the left front side went away after I greased it up!

There arent any grease points on the rear is there?

"Keep It Greasy So It'll Go Down Easy" Frank Zappa

Mon Aug 18, 2003 6:11 am

After some further investigation I've found the squeaking is indeed coming from somewhere in the torsion bars. At least the noise seems to be coming from behind the torsion bar cover plate.

I was reading in Bentley that there are some rubber bushings back in there. Could these be worn out and causing the squeaking? Or do they just need a bit of lubrication? Can I lubricate them without running the whole procedure on taking off the spring plates (which looks like a huge undertaking)?

Mon Aug 18, 2003 10:52 pm

In general grease and oil are harmful to rubber.

You can take off the cover plate and use talc to lubricate the bushings without having to deal with the spring plate.

Fri Aug 22, 2003 7:31 pm

ratwell wrote: In general grease and oil are harmful to rubber.

You can take off the cover plate and use talc to lubricate the bushings without having to deal with the spring plate.

If you have a shiny spot on that cover plate, you will need to replace those rubber bushings, in which case the torsion bar is being allowed too much lateral movement.
Colin