Brought the Lumina to a mechanic today

[tblake]

Yes i did believe it or not, concerning the body creak it makes going around corners. He drove it and went through all his normal checks on things like that, and said a noise like that would be hard to pinpoint. He assured me that its not a life threatening noise. However he did mention that it could be a strut bearing. I guess thats very possable. Just wanted your opinions. The car makes very very little noise when turning the wheels at dead stop, when turning corners not very sharp nothing is hardly heard. The noise seems the worst when turning very sharp into a parking spot, going very slow. Is it possably a stut bearing? whats your opinions?

[jeffcoslacker]

I suspect the upper mount/bearing for a plethora of strange scrunches, grunts and creaks in mine...most are very subtle, and temperature/condition dependant, so it never happens often enough to will me to do anything about it....

If you want to kinda verify that theory, take the dust cap off the top, and soak w/ WD-40 , then jack it enough to decompress the spring and bearing and spray it up from underneath, then road test...bet all your noises are gone for a day or so...

[Blue Bowtie]

Upper front strut mount plates are about $25. That would be the permanent fix. If you're already going to remove the upper covers, then raise the car just to spray on some rust preventive (WD40) you've got half the job done.

[tblake]

thanks for the replies guys, but i mentined upper strut bearings, and he didn seem like that was the case since it wasnt really doing it while standing still and just truning the wheels. He seemed to think more of it being the bearing down below since the spring doesnt turn. He turned the wheel side to side as i watched, and i noticed that the spring would sort of bind on one side, and try to turn with the strut. So, that why i was thinking maybe he could be right. Try it yourself, get a partner to turn your wheels while your car is running, and watch in the fender, look at the spring stayng stationary as the strut turns with the wheels. The mecahnic thought the noise could be coming from the lower strut bearing.

[richtazz]

Jeff's suggestion to lube them is to narrow it down, not fix it. If it stops creaking, then replace the mounts. No sense replacing them if they aren't the cause.

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by richtazz

Jeff's suggestion to lube them is to narrow it down, not fix it. If it stops creaking, then replace the mounts. No sense replacing them if they aren't the cause.

right.

Blake, the spring should not move, relative to the spindle...it will turn as an assembly...sometimes an upper will seize, and instead of turning as an assembly, the bottom turns and top stays put, winding the spring coil when the wheel is turned, that what you mean? That can make all kinds of scrunchy sounds and pops and pings...makes the steering feel heavy and try to come back to center too abruptly also...

[tblake]

no, mine seems to be a little different suspension than all of yours which is very odd. The spring stays stationary, and the strut inside turns. There (from what the mechanic said) is a bearing between the spring and bottom mounting bracket of the macphearson strut. in addition to upper strut bearings. he mentioned that the "lower strut bearings" could have a little dirt in them, or maybe a flat spot in one of the ball bearings causing the creak i hear, which is vey dependand on conditions (heat, moisture, speed). Does anything of what i said make sense or am i talking out of my ass?

[tblake]

so jeff, if wht your saying is correct, i could have an issue with a upper strut bearing binding. I know what i saw, and it was the strut "spindle" turning and the spring staying stationary. Maybe i'll try what you suggested and soak everything in wd40 and test drive it to see whats makeing the noise, I feel like such a dumbass when i give people rides in ym car, and when going to park it makes all the crunching noise, and the passenger says "your a mechanic, and your car makes noises like that?", although they are just kidding, they are right.