My friend wrote this and he is too indolent to make his own Username so I told him i’d post his GQ.
Boy says:
I have a 93 beretta with 54,000 miles on it and today after driving down a really bumpy road with several potholes I noticed my front suspension started to make a “creaking” noise, for lack of a better word. It went away after I drove for a while. When i got home I took the front tires off and didn’t notice anything wrong. The shocks weren’t leaking or anything and nothing was broken. Could it just have been the shocks fading because of the rough road? Or could it be something I should look into more?
Was it more of a whining, like squeaking brake shoes? If so, could have been dirt on the shocks’ hydraulics mechanism that got in there b/c they were extended more than usual to cover the ground over a larger pothole. The dirt probably got worked out of there as you continued to drive. I had an old pickup that would do this whenever I drove to the lake on a dirt road - it went away after I got back on the paved road.
There are too many possible causes to say. Unlikely to be fading, that would just result in more bouncing, not creaking.
Could be just a lack of lubrication. In fact, that is the most likely thing. Rubber bushes creak if not lubricated. In fact they often creak even if they are. In some cars it’s pretty hard to eliminate creaking at all.
If it’s creaking and not metal-on-metal, and if it’s not a knocking sound, there’s probably little if anything wrong.
But overall, hard to say on the basis of the information given.
It wasn’t like squeaking brake shoes…was just a creaking sound that sounded like something was loose, even though I didn’t find anything. It only happened when the car’s weight would shift back and fourth though that’s why i think it was the suspension. Over the past few weeks I’ve also had a popping sound from the right from whenever the car’s weight was put on it (turns, ect) could this be related? from=front. that one guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, if they were lubricated that wouldn’t make it come and go
Sounds like ball joints. A ball joint is basically a ball & socket that connects the steering knuckle to the control arm, allowing the suspension to move at the same time the wheels steer. Have your bud take his car to a trustworthy mechanic to check it over. They’re not cheap (around 300 big ones) but they’re necessary.
In my younger days, the front end of my T-Bird creaked for weeks but I ignored it (turned the radio up). One day, driving home from work, the ball joint gave, the suspension dropped and I lost control of the car doing upwards of 65mph. Luckily no one was hurt but had there been more traffic I may not be doling out my advice today. Get it checked out … soon.