Hello, New Member With A Suspension Question Here.

[dc893]

I figured I would sign up here since I have been looking on this site for help with my cars for about 3 years now. Been a member on ClubLexus for just under a year. Seems like there are some very knowledgable people on here and I think I've seen some familiar names from ClubLexus as well.

I had a 1990 Celsior on factory air for two years when I was living in Japan . Now I have 1992 LS that I very much enjoy. Want to turn this into a VIP project someday as well.

I do have a question for anybody who might be knowledgable about the suspensions on these. It has had a creaking sound coming from the drivers side for months now. I've replaced the sway bar links with Moog ones and Raybestos lower ball joints. The noise is still there and has gotten much louder.

The noise happens when coming to a gentle stop, no noise at any other time. It has a creaking or crunching sound along with a squeek. Right now thinking the strut mount or maybe the strut bar bushing.

Would appreciate any input as this sound is quite annoying and embarrasing at stop lights and parking lots. Hope to talk to some new people who are also fans of these great cars.

[landar]

Welcome Chris! While I do not profess to know much about the suspension components, I do know that noises can be very difficult to track down.

From your description, it might also be a brake issue as you mention a 'gentle' stop. It could be a loose shim or pad that is acting up. It is a rather simple matter to pull the calipers out of the way and inspect the pads. You might apply some 'brake quiet'(or similar) to the back of the pads to see if that would help. Perhaps not a final solution but a step in pinpointing.

As far as the bushings/rubber components, you might try to 'lubricate' (with a vinyl protectant) different rubber components to see if it eliminates the noise temporarily. Again, not a permanent solution just an aid. But I would begin with the brake inspection.

[Garo_mcc]

+1 on the brakes being the issue

[steve2006]

Brake calliper slide pins can cause this, remove regrease refit or replace if too far gone.

[BentBrain]

I agree that the brakes may be the issue. If not, I would look at the upper control arms for squeaking. The bushings sometimes squeak and I find it is a good idea to lube them. The other components prone to failure and associated with braking would be strut bar bushings and upper ball joint( part of upper control arm assembly).

[1990BlackLS]

Upper control arms were the culprit for mine. Replaced both via aftermarket supplier and now quiet and better ride quality.

[Kennyr]

Strut bar bushings will drive u crazy with noise. Also the lower shock bushings that you just replace the whole shock to fix. They can make lots of creaking noise. Other than the upper control arms (that I changed for play in them) thats what Ive done to my suspension in 185k and 22 yrs. Heres a unrelated tip. If you have good brake pads that squeak take them out and rotate the outer and inner pads in the caliber. This has worked for me like magic in the past.

[dc893]

I have done both the lower ball joints with Raybestos. They are awesome and have a zerc fitting so you can grease them. I should be getting one upper control arm in the mail today. I hope that is the issue. It has gotten very loud. Last time I had a bad upper it gave the car a floating feeling at about 60MPH. The steering felt like I was going 100MPH