Squeaky Suspension.

[Footprint]

The front left suspension of my '82 2.0l aircool squeaks. The usual cause being the upper wishbone bushes I'm told, so I changed them, albeit that when I had it apart they didn't seem loose/worn/knackered.

Result; no change in the noise at all, not even a teeny weeny difference, nothing.

So to my question; what might the cause of the noise be? Lower wishbone bush perhaps? Anti-roll bar bushes maybe? Does the shock have rubber mounts? Doesn't sound like ball joints or a mechanical noise, definately has a 'rubbery' sort of squeak about it.

Whaddya think?

[kevtherev]

pretty much answered it yourself mate..

any chance of someone rocking the van while you "cock" an ear to the old joints?

[Footprint]

pretty much answered it yourself mate..

I have? Err... would you mind reminding me where I went right?

any chance of someone rocking the van while you ""cock"" an ear to the old joints?

Tried that, also took the spring off and moved the suspension around - can't reproduce the noise, so I wondered if anyone else had encountered a similar noise.

[sunny]

Im having the same, under steering.

I live in Milton Keynes and if you didnt know there are over 300 roundabouts here......??!! very noisy trips to the shops.

I have just put a post on with a few bits that were picked up on my last MOT, that I need to get sorted and hopefuly will sort out these noises.

List of advisories

Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)
Nearside Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)
Offside Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)
Nearside outer track rod end joint cover split/missing
Offside outer track rod end joint cover split/missing

Hope this will sort out the problems that we are having??

[HarryMann]

Nearside Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)
Offside Rear wheel bearing has slight play (2.6.2)

T25 rear bearing setup a bit strange, they develop movement in vertical plane but not lateral - usually the hub not bearings, if gets worse quickly then needs sorting. Keep eye on it, a lot of MOT testers know that abit of moevment is OK on these, as a new set of bearing often won't sort it.

Squeaking

Could still be top bushes

Did you have the suspension fully jacked up (weight on wheel) when you tightened the through-bolt?
Did you use VW bushes?

Check the front radius rod bushes (that set the caster)

Drop the roll-bar right off and see what happens... (still driveable, just don't whizz a round too much)

[CovKid]

Its not unusual for wishbone bushes to still squeak even after being replaced - just thought I'd add that one.

[kevtherev]

silicone spray?

[Footprint]

Did you have the suspension fully jacked up (weight on wheel) when you tightened the through-bolt?
Did you use VW bushes?

Yes, despite there being no mention of that in the manual it seemed sensible to me. Bushes came from JK - seemed a good fit, didn't seem cheap 'n nasty.

Check the front radius rod bushes (that set the caster)

Never considered them - will have a peek.

Drop the roll-bar right off and see what happens

I think that's my next move.

silicone spray?

I gave the suspect bits a smear with rubber grease when I was initially looking for the cause of the noise - which I couldn't find and so I searched the internerd and found that the upper bushes are often the culprit.

Although reading the above replies it seems they may still be the problem, what is it about the non-VW bushes that isn't so hot?
Despite that feeling I'm not suspecting the upper bushes as the originals weren't obviously worn, and the suspension noise hasn't changed one teeny bit since changing them!

[kevtherev]

There's a lot of big jobs here if you can't locate it before surgery.

so no noise when the van is jumped on?
round corners

just bumps?

[kevtherev]

found this...
squeak squeak

[Footprint]

found this...
squeak squeak

Hmmmmm... interesting - and quite a read, thanks Kev!

[CovKid]

Thats why I said its not unusual for the squeak to still be there even after replacement. What about powerflex bushes?