squeeky suspension

[bjlboy]

i have a 1995 crown victoria lx with just over 50k miles on it. lately its been squeeking extremely loud when i turn the wheel and when i go over even the smallest bumps. the sound is coming from near the front drivers side wheel, most likely from the shocks. i've tried drenching it with wd-40 but that only seems to last for half a day, then the squeeking comes back. any thoughts/suggestions?

[way2old]

Look closely at the control arm bushings to see if they are dry or cracked. The upper has 2 bushings that can be seen from inside the engine compartment. The lower arms need to be looked at from under the vehicle. be sure you use stands before you crawl up under it. Also the ball joints are bad about drying out and causing the squeak. The factory joints are not greasable so they dry really badly. Good luck and let us know if there is anything else.

[senior Citizen]

I had a 97 Mercury Marquis with 126K miles on it that had the same problem. After replacing all four ball joints the noise was still there. Then I found out it was the upper control arm bushings on the drivers side. I dumped the Marquis and bought a new 2005 Crown Vic last month. No more noise

[bjlboy]

I had a 97 Mercury Marquis with 126K miles on it that had the same problem. After replacing all four ball joints the noise was still there. Then I found out it was the upper control arm bushings on the drivers side. I dumped the Marquis and bought a new 2005 Crown Vic last month. No more noise

haha, wow i wish i had the option of buying a new crown vic! so tell me, do i need to grease the upper control arm bushings or do i need to replace them completely? if so, how difficult is it to replace?

[way2old]

You can try spraying lubricant on the bushings to see if the noise goes away. If it does the only complete fix is replacement, or keep the spray lube handy. It is also possible the ball joints are dry and causing the squeak. If they are original joints, there is no provision for greasing them.

[bjlboy]

well i think i figured out what the problem was! last night, my car suddenly stopped squeaking. i thought that it was just out of luck, i couldnt have been more wrong! this morning, while i was making a 90 degree right turn after stopping at a stop sign, i heard a pop/snap and the front drivers side end of the car tilted towards the ground and i came to a grinding stop. turns out the lower ball bearing that connects the wheel to the chassis had given out and popped out. i'm guessing that all i need is to replace this bearing and get a front-end alignment and maybe take a look at the brake since part of the metal surrounding the brake pad was shredded. any thoughts on the situation?

[danielsaxxon]

I had this problem also and I could not find a cause either til one day I had my daughter push the car up and down while I was under it and discovered that the issue wasn't the suspension at all. It was the metal loop that hold the hood down. I opened the hood and put some grease on the loop and wha-lah the problem had gone away. once in a while it will return then I just lube it up again. Just thought I'd pass it on it may help someone in the future.

[pollenjesus]

I have a 2003 crown vic P71. I had this crazy squeaking noise in the front end that came and went. I would go over small bumps at slow speeds and it would make noise. I parked the car on the driveway and rocked it from side to side,... still made noise. I popped the hood to look under hood at conrol arms while someone shakes the car for me...noise gone. Close the hood and shake the car....noise comes back. Hmmm... grease the hood hinge and hood catch loop....noise gone. Seems that the hood catch was binding just enough to cause a squeak when the car was being rocked from side to side.

[dskap]

I have that squeeking problem too but it comes and goes. I just found out that it is the passenger side idler arm and I am having a real problem getting the 2 nuts off that hold it to the frame! #)&#%$&^!