Creaky Rear Suspension

[david_hornet27]

Hi Everyone,

Have searched the forums with no success...

I have a (very) intermitent problem with my rear suspension. It has only happened twice in all the time I have had my MK4, both times when I have been involved in extremely heavy traffic jams which have taken an hour or more to get through while averaging a speed far less than walking pace. All of a sudden out of the blue the rear suspension gets very creaky and remains that way until the car is parked up and left for a while.

First time it appeared out of nowhere whilst queuing for the Blackwall tunnel(I live in the UK), that was 2000+ miles ago and after I parked up at the cinema and watched Avatar the car had returned to its normal silent self when I drove home. It has not happened since until last night when caught in traffic that meant it took me 3 hours to get from Reading to Windsor. (Usually a 20 minute journey). Stayed at a hotel overnight and when I drove home this morning the car was perfect again?!

Have recently had the car MOT'd and serviced at lexus and they didn't pick up anything on the rear suspension on their visual safety check, only that the front lower arms may need replacing before next service. I have also had a good look with the car on a ramp and can see nothing untoward.

Bit of a wierd one hey??? Any advice or theories would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks Guys in anticipation.

[Ross W.]

Check your sway-bar end links and any similar ball-joint type link on the hub or chassis side of the suspension. Could be you've got one that's run out of grease or had water intrusion. Not always readily visible and often intermittent.

[nc211]

My guess is that your rear sway bar bushings are getting hot by the exhaust as you sit in traffic, are drying out, and creaking against the rear sway bar. They're very cheap and easy to replace, maybe $25 bucks for both of them, and 30 minutes of your time. They're usually one of the first components to go.