Rear end creaking
 

I recently finished some brake work on my car. I had all four tires off and replaced the pads.

I had a good chance to take a look at the suspension in the rear and everything seemed fine.

Now that I have everything put back together I have a healthy creak coming from the rear of the vehicle when I push down on the trunk. I believe it is coming from the driver's side rear.

Any ideas? This sound wasn't there before I pulled off the tires and brakes.

Car is 1985 300D.

"Sway bar link" is what I'm thinking. Cheap fix:)

How often do these break? I literally remember replacing them when I got the car a year and a half ago. I had a good look at them and they appeared in pretty good condition.

I also have rebuilt CVJ axles on the rear, but I don't think those would make that noise.

Let the parking / foot brake off and see if it still does it,often the foot/parking brake shoes are the source of creaks and most often heard as you exit the vehicle when parked on a slight incline.
As the suspension compresses the wheels attempt to turn slightly and the shoes if not set on hard will 'creak'.

This creak can also occur with the front ends brakes,if you sit in traffic at a standstill and then let pedal pressure off a very small amount the front pads will creak against the discs surface and sound like an old wooden galleon creaking over the waves,the car will maybe move a few mm at the most when this occurs if at all.

when you picked up the car to get the tires off, you fully extended the suspension. it's possible the swaybar links got swung all the way over, and now they are bound a bit. it's also possible the shocks were stretched to the limit,and are now squeeky. give it a few miles and see if it goes away. the bushings should the shocks won't...

Cool thanks for the tips.

I was hearing it all last night very faintly from the driver's seat while driving.

If I sit on the trunk and bounce up and down the noise is very prominent. I'll crawl under and take a look and see if something is out of place after I am done eating lunch.

A squeak you say, like rubber boots squeaking?

EDIT - sorry you said a creak - oh well same sort of thing...

No more like bed spring creaks.

Sorry I was just thinking if you have replaced the axles then maybe the boots are a bit tight and that is causing the creaking. It might be worth a quick check before you take anything else apart again. Get someone else to bounce the back whilst you have a look.

another thing I've found to make creaks on these cars is the muffler. stretched or damaged rubber lets it dangle just right, and it creaks against things.

Yah, I would think they would last more than a year and a half.

[xQUOTE=vstech;2623076]when you picked up the car to get the tires off, you fully extended the suspension. it's possible the swaybar links got swung all the way over, and now they are bound a bit. it's also possible the shocks were stretched to the limit,and are now squeeky. give it a few miles and see if it goes away. the bushings should the shocks won't...[/QUOTE]

Vs,

How many miles do you think i should drive before i start replacing parts?

i just drove into town which is about 15 miles and the creaky is even louder :(

how do your control arms look? a couple of mine are shot and they squeak somethin awful

hmm. by now, if it is the sway bar bushings, it should be quiet. get under there, and have someone push on the back and see if you can isolate the noise. it helps to have a can of wd40 or the like to spray on things to see what gets quiet, just a little spray, don't soak it. check the muffler, as it's to simplest and cheapest thing to fix. next the bushings etc. if everything gets sprayed, and the noise persists, it's the shocks.