irritating squeaking from front right fender area
 

I have a very loud squeaking when I push down on the passenger side front fender. It is just a squeak squeak very loud sound. I have greased everything I can find to grease. I have sprayed WD40 on everything that moves to no avail. On shop told me that it sounds like it is coming from the spring. He said that the front springs should have a rubber cushion on the tops of them that prevents them from squeaking. So my question is are there suppose to be the rubber cushion on the front springs.

Any suggestions on what to grease or what to do to stop the squeaking will be appreciated. PS everything is new in the suspension area.

thanks
alan

if you don't have these Coil Spring Insulators installed it's most likely your problem, takes one per side on top of the spring.


https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/..._wcB&gclsrc=aw.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/wc...2_pri_larg.jpg



Frank

Those isolators go on the lower control arms. Front springs have a pigtail on top that engages a hole on the upper spring mount.

The ones I posted actually go on the back coil springs, I don't think the factory used insulators on the front.

You are correct, the front spring gets indexed, there is a spot in the upper frame as well as the A arm.




Frank

upper control arm bushings ??

I had the same squeak and discovered it was the top shock mount rubber, I needed to tighten down the shock top nut a few extra turns and squeak stopped. I do have coil overs thou, but the shocks mount the same.

When I worked on the grease rack at the local Pontiac dealer in 1970 we would occasionally get a car with the same symptoms you're describing. The fix would be to take a siphon gun connected to some ATF in a container, and spray it up and over the upper, and lower spring seats. This application would silence it for awhile, eventually as the car was operated during rainy periods it would wash off from water splashed up from the tires. Of course it's messy, and will drip for a day or two wherever you park the car.

There is a rubber washer that is supposed to be between the top of the spring, and the frame seat when the spring is installed at the factory. Many people don't put them back in when replacing springs, or if you don't use a little bit of tape to hold it in place they slip out, or aren't seated properly when the spring is pushed up into the frame pocket.

I use a couple wraps of electrical tape to hold them in place when I change springs. The washers are made of a piece of rubber that is about the same as a piece of inner tube, and I'm sure if you cut one from an old inner tube, and taped it as the spring was installed it would work as well as the factory part.

Those are the 2 things I know that will help with a squeaking spring, hope that helps you silence it whichever way you decide to try.

The parts place lists them for $17 per pair, https://www.ebay.com/itm/35214771368...8aAoh_EALw_wcB

Front spring insulators were not installed during regular production GTO's or any other 60's A Body GM far as I know. That's not to say the OP might not benefit from them.

If the sound is coming from the front end due to the spring, I would say it's from improper indexing rather than insulators. Possibly something like Ozzmann suggested.



Frank

Front coil indexing.
1964-68 check coil end at upper spring seat.
1969 and later check coil end at lower control arm.

loosen up the saddle brackets on your front sway bar see if it changes

I spent a week looking for the metal can of bolts someone must have stashed in the car!!! Never found it so I turned up the radio. It amazingly stopped. I think?
At first this seems funny. Then you realize you have an old can and stuff squeaks. A lot. My rule is simple... If it grinds or sounds "bad" I find it. If it is rhythmic from something turning or spinning I investigate it. If it only happens when things go bump... I ignore it!

Given that it is an old car, Id check for cracks in the frame. I had a similar issue and even after replacing everything you could replace, it was still there. After welding this up, all was good.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Wv...V68=w1200-h380

Youd be surprised how bad some of those factory welds can be.

I have found that sometimes its from the fender and the wheel well where there bolted together around the tire at the outer lip . Did you check for loose bolts in this area. The sound might be body related .. Something else to check.

Still trying to get my head around how your suggestion of rear spring isolators is going to solve a front end squeek, but I digress. I run aftermarket front control arms which have a polyurethane insulator in the lower control arms.

Since one shop told him the springs should have "rubber cushions" on top of them, I suspected they were talking about the rear springs.

At the end of his post he wrote "So my question is are there suppose to be the rubber cushion on the front springs", my thoughts were no.

When you posted there should be and mentioned the pigtail, that's when I reconsidered and commented they may not be indexed.



Frank

Lots of potential causes for a front end squeek. If it was a Ford product the most likely suspect is the upped control arm bushings. If you spray some WD40 or silicone into the bushings, don't over-look the sway bar support bushings. I had a slight squeek in my front end which turned out to be a couple loose fender well bolts the paint shop forgot to tighten, the center ones installed up from below.

Don't feed your cat all day, then lock the cat in the garage with the car overnight.

Leave a roll of dental floss around for the cat ;)

Jon

Many good thoughts have already been posted. Cracked frames, loose inner fenders, springs, etc.

ALL rubber or Polyurethane bushings are suspect, INCLUDING the body bushings, sway-bar bushings and end-links, shock bushings, control-arm bushings.

Potentially, the wear-indicators on the disc brake pads--pushing on the fender may also be rocking the vehicle back and forth somewhat.



Drive the car up on ramps, have someone else push on the fender, YOU need to crawl under/beside the car and try to pinpoint the squeak.

X2! Spray some silicone on it see if it goes away

well I did spray wd40 up on the top of the spring and the squeak did go away for about 5 seconds. So I took the spring out, not an easy job, and looked for anything out of place, nothing. Looked for where the spring might be rubbing but did not see anything. I did not use the rubber cushion I bought because it was way too small. I think only the back spring have the rubber cushions. So I taped a very thing piece of rubber to the top of the spring and then put grease on top of the rubber. Put it all back together and it did not squeak. Job well done. The next day I took the car for a drive. Well as soon as I pulled out of the driveway and turned left I heard a pop. Went back to the garage and the squeak was back. So what is going on and what did I do wrong??
Thanks agian