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  #1  
Old 03-10-2014, 01:27 AM
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groaning & squeaking front end 1983 300SD

I thought I'd find all kinds of hits when I searched for topic keywords, but...not so much.

I've got a heavy groan/squeak from the front end that's markedly louder after driving a while. Coming to a stop, the front naturally sags a bit, and it's pretty predictable that I'm going to hear it then. Having a friend bounce the front a bit while I was underneath led me to hear it loudest from the bottom spring perches, so I thought I would soak them in cheap lube (eg WD40) to see if it went away for the moment. It definitely changed, but it's still there.

Jacking up a wheel and tweaking it right/left makes me even less certain about the source - seems like it could be coming from shocks, steering damper, or idler arm.

Is there been-there-done-that wisdom for this issue, before I start ordering suspect parts? (Yeah, I prolly need new shocks ANYWAY, since they're almost surely OE and pushing 300K miles old, but I still don't want to hear that noise again after going through another weekend session in the driveway.)

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  #2  
Old 03-10-2014, 04:18 AM
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Probably best to tell us which car...

...or stick information in your sig...

...generally speaking if you think it is a damper type thing (shock etc) then disconnect one end and see if it makes a difference - DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR THOUGH!!!! Bounce the vehicle up and down and see if that changes anything.

Adding lubrication (as you've done) often helps too.

A set of slip plates are ideal for these problems - two bits of wood and some axle grease - away you go
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Old 03-10-2014, 07:41 AM
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If pushing the front corners up and down vertically causes it to squeak my money is on LCA ball joints.
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  #4  
Old 03-10-2014, 09:14 AM
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IME, big squeak up front in a W123 is lower ball joint. If you unload the LBJ you can observe play. On W123, you would, I think support the corner at the LCA, taking the wheel off so you can see directly which joint has play.
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Old 03-12-2014, 03:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stretch View Post
Probably best to tell us which car...

...or stick information in your sig...

...generally speaking if you think it is a damper type thing (shock etc) then disconnect one end and see if it makes a difference - DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR THOUGH!!!! Bounce the vehicle up and down and see if that changes anything.

Adding lubrication (as you've done) often helps too.

A set of slip plates are ideal for these problems - two bits of wood and some axle grease - away you go
Thanks for the reminder to get on with my sig (check.) 300SD.

What would the slip-plates be for, though?

I've jacked it up and pushed, twisted, prodded, and can't tell where it's coming from, but I like your simple suggestion (I think) of removing one shock mounting point each side...just wish it weren't all coated with black oil.

That's another story.

I did notice a very slight play in the lower ball-joints, and they're looking quite exposed, though I haven't yet looked at the book to see if they're supposed to have boots - I'd think so, since without them, they look like they'd be great mortar-and-pestle emulators and wear themselves out really fast.

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Old 03-12-2014, 03:52 AM
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If the boots are dead on a ball joint then that would be my number one suspect.

(aside - slip plates =>

They're great - stick them under a wheel and you have situation where the weight is on the wheel just like in normal use. You can then bounce the car up and down and get a really good feel / you can really see how everything is working or not. It beats strapping yourself on the underside of the car and getting someone else to drive it for you!

Be careful with slip plates though - cars are surprisingly mobile on them - only ever do this on very level ground )
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  #7  
Old 03-12-2014, 07:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moon161 View Post
IME, big squeak up front in a W123 is lower ball joint. If you unload the LBJ you can observe play. On W123, you would, I think support the corner at the LCA, taking the wheel off so you can see directly which joint has play.
Agreed, inspect the lower ball joint boot, if you can, spray some lube in there, does the sound go away for a short time?
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Old 03-12-2014, 08:33 AM
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W126 -would be suspicious of control arms, guide rods, and don't forget to check those motor mounts while you are there.
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  #9  
Old 03-12-2014, 11:11 AM
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The sway bar pivot bushings can make a lot of squeaky noise, since bolted to the firewall. Simply spray silicone lubricant thru a straw between the rubber & round bar, which you can do in the wheel wells w/ wheel on.

The rubber bushings at the ends of the sway bar that attach it to the upper control arm were worn in my 85 300D, which made a clunky noise on bumps. Easy, cheap repair.
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  #10  
Old 03-12-2014, 07:20 PM
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WD 40 is far too light a lube or even much of a lube at all, don't bother with it. If you don't have boots, and there is rust visible the joints need replaced. Use some motor oil on the joint to see if the noise goes away just to make sure you don't have any other problems.

Badly rusted ball joints won't always be loose, rust grows and can bind the joint making it feel OK.

Shocks won't cause the noise you have.

Don't drive the car until you get this repaired, the lower ball joint is what holds each front corner up. This high load can lead to separation and much damage even at parking lot speeds.
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Old 03-12-2014, 07:29 PM
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In the past one of our Members had a groaning sound and sprayed WD-40 on the Lower Ball Joints and the sound went away; indicating the Ball Joints were the issue.
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  #12  
Old 03-13-2014, 05:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel911 View Post
In the past one of our Members had a groaning sound and sprayed WD-40 on the Lower Ball Joints and the sound went away; indicating the Ball Joints were the issue.
Yeah but did he fix 'em or just keep on spraying in the WD40?
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!
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  #13  
Old 03-13-2014, 01:11 PM
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I'm thinking maybe a WD-40-fed drip-irrigation system might be what's called for. If anything, my engine & suspension would get cleaner.

I had to abort my last attempt to diagnose (rain) but before I quit, I managed to squirt some far-too-expensive waxy-preservative lube into the lower ball joints - unhindered by any troublesome rubber boots. Joggling the frontend afterward was rewarded with the same squeaky sound, but I wasn't sure the lube had gotten in where needed yet. I moved on to try to get some of the same stuff into the sway-bar bushings, but it was probably too thick to make much of a change...and then came the rains.

There's a deep springy resonance to the squeak that suggests it's from two surfaces that are 'traveling' a longer distance with respect to each other than any ball-joint - ie one of the sway-bar bushings - so I will squirt some WD in there when the next opportunity arises.
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Old 03-13-2014, 02:34 PM
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have you ruled out the shocks yet? i just replaced mine. before i had terrible knocking, groaning, and old door creaky sounds over even slightly uneven ground. now its quiet as a mouse.
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Old 03-13-2014, 07:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pants View Post
but before I quit, I managed to squirt some far-too-expensive waxy-preservative lube into the lower ball joints -
Regular motor oil works fine! It needs to soak in not just lay on the top, wax stuff will be too thick.

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