dealership or not?

[jakegday]

hello. im having a problem with my car and i dont know if i should take it to the dealership or not. ive never taken a car to one, and am wondering if me not having a catalytic converter was gonna raise an issue? can anyone make any guesses on this??

the problem with my car, it chirps when i hit bumps, or when i go down a fairly bumpy street, its chirps/squeaks constantly. it also makes kinda a crunching sound when i back out of my apartment parking stall sometimes. within the past couple months i have replaced both CV shafts, both front struts (with quick struts so everything there is new), both front wheel bearings, and ive had an alignment. after me and the shop that did the alignment couldnt find it, im wanting to go to the dealership....
the only thing i did myself was the struts, and the shop looked at those and said they're fine, i didnt do anything wrong..... and both the cv shafts and bearings were done by a very well respected shop that works on GM vehicles only, so im confident they are installed properly

i'd go to the shop that did the shafts and bearings, but since my cars completely drivable i may have to wait like a week or 2. price doesnt matter im just worried about not having a cat....

[doctorhrdware]

We need more info on the car, milage and the type like is it a se. But it may be that the a frame bushing could be bad?

[richtazz]

I agree that it sounds like a lower control arm bushing to me, but it could also be ball joints, a broken stabilizer bar, engine mounts, etc... so it's hard to diagnose without hands on.

[jakegday]

thank you for the input but im just concerned about the catalytic converter/dealership issue at this point

anyways its a 2001 gt, 91000 miles

[richtazz]

as long as they aren't working on the exhaust, the missing cat is none of their business. If you're that worried, take it back to the other shop and mention the above suggestions, as they are all common problems on your model car.

[CrazyHorst]

This may sound wild but check the heatshielding under the car at the center of the underbody. I had a similar issue...sounded exactly like suspension/steering/etc. But either the rivets lost tension or corrosion took their toll and they are loose.

Personally I would not worry about the lack of a cat unless you are going to try to get them to resolve driveability issues or any post-cat O2 codes you may have.

[jakegday]

i took it in today, the cat was not an issue. i didnt mention it, they didnt mention it.

it was a control arm bushing. i couldnt believe it was something that simple. those things can cause some BAD noises when they go

[richtazz]

glad to hear you got it resolved, thanks for the follow up.