Hi everyone, I'm just in the process of trying to track down the source of a squeak on my right-hand side front suspension.
It's begun to occur quite regularly when going over potholes or bumps, and especially road expansion joints of the type that are common on motorways.
The squeak CAN'T be replicated by pushing down on the car (maybe I've got weak during lockdown ).
I'm aware that this is often related to a worn nylon cup on the upper arm, but these were only replaced 10 months ago (250 miles ago) when I replaced the cones and knuckle joints. I smeared them with a bit of LM2 grease at the time.
Is it possible that the cup could have failed this quickly? The car has been sitting still for about 8 months due to other problems so maybe that smear of grease has hardened and dried out?
It's also just come to my attention that the shock absorber is very non-concentric (the photo makes my meaning clearer). The shock on the 'non-squeaky' side looks perfectly straight. The car is parked on the level.
Is this normal or could the two sleeves of the shock be rubbing on each other causing the squeak?
I realise I could answer my own question immediately by just swapping the shocks round and going for a drive but I'm away from home for a few days and have no access to tools! I guess I'm just a bit impatient to figure out what it is and to maybe order new shocks now if I need to, then I'll have them in time for next weekend! The shocks looked rusty and dirty when I got the car and that was 4 years and 12,000 miles ago, so they're probably pretty ancient.
By the way I've just greased all the nipples, it made no difference.
Thanks in advance,
Liam