#21  
Old 07-31-2022, 11:03 AM
25stevem's Avatar
25stevem 25stevem is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 1,744
Default

I think your upper spring locating notch is just too far gone ( for many possible reasons ) to keep the spring held in place properly.

Your best bet at this point might be to see if some heater hose ( maybe 3/4” long ) can be forced onto
the end of the spring and then wheel bearing grease the hell out of that upper area where the end of the spring rides.

Even if you drive the car in the rain the grease should last all season.

This is a bad situation if the spring Is moving because the spring is many times harder then the frame steel that should holding it in place .

The movement of the spring will ware away what it rubs on super fast if you do not al least grease the pants off that area!!

__________________
I do stuff for reasons.

Last edited by 25stevem; 07-31-2022 at 11:09 AM.
  #22  
Old 07-31-2022, 12:31 PM
Sirrotica's Avatar
Sirrotica Sirrotica is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Catawba Ohio
Posts: 7,190
Default

Take the shock out, and see if the spring is seated on the seat on the inside of the frame, or if there is a problem with the seat. It could have a damaged upper seat, or a broken weld in that area.

The snap you heard could be the steering stop on the spindle, and lower A frame rubbing, that is unrelated to the squeak. Again harkening back to my days working on the grease rack at the Pontiac dealer. If the wheels were cut to the steering stops (turned fully to lock), and you traverse a driveway approach from the street to the end of the driveway, you many times hear a snap as the 2 stops slide across each other, and it can be quite loud. It sounds as if something broke in the front end. There is a fix to stop that snapping, you just lube the stops with grease.



The steering stop snap won't make any difference in your spring squeak, it may be just a coincidence that you heard that snap, and the squeak reappeared.

Again at this point, you need to make sure the upper end of the spring is seated correctly on the frame. It's very easy to miss the seat when you're putting it back together by yourself. I've done it too.

If you missed the seat, the rubber washer could have been cut by the edge of the spring seat, rendering it useless at this point, and the squeal is back.

If this is the case you want to pull it back apart, and when you re assemble it , stop when you raise the A arm back up, and look up through the shock hole to make certain the spring is fully seated, before you but the castle nut on the ball joint stud.

One other possibility that I can think of. Once, or twice time in the last 50 years of wrenching, I put a set of new shocks on a customers car, and it developed a squeak. The shock dust seal was squeaking, not the spring. I ended up getting another shock from the parts store, and replacing it to stop the squeak. That would answer why it possibly went away when you lubed the upper spring mount, enough WD 40 got on the shock shaft to temporarily stop the squeak. By the time you got the spring out, and back in the lube got dry again.

That is a long shot diagnosis, but I have had that happen once or twice on shocks. The way I traced it was lying under the car I had someone else bounce it, and felt all the parts as they squeaked. I could feel the vibration as the shock wiper seal squeaked. I suggest you trouble shoot it the same way to find the source of the squeak, feeling each part to see if you can isolate what is binding, and squeaking. Yeah sometime finding noises in cars is a real PITA.

Hope something I posted helps you find this noise.

__________________
Brad Yost
1973 T/A (SOLD)
2005 GTO
1984 Grand Prix

100% Pontiacs in my driveway!!! What's in your driveway?

If you don't take some of the RACETRACK home with you, Ya got cheated

  #23  
Old 07-31-2022, 03:44 PM
4zpeed's Avatar
4zpeed 4zpeed is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Hills of WV
Posts: 662
Default

That is really unfortunate, I can feel your pain. Since everything is new and assuming you didn't have this problem before, that would suggest a parts related issue.

Can you get the car on a lift, one like an alignment is done where the weight of the car sets on the tires, doing this will allow someone to bounce it while you listen.

Get a piece of 2" PVC or something similar, maybe sneak a section of a sweeper handle lol, and use it as a stethoscope to positively confirm the spring is the cause.

Try to see if it's the top or bottom making noise, check the sides are clear as it goes through the frame, once you know it's the spring, you have found your problem.

If it's indexed and indexed properly, I suggest you get a new set of springs, make sure you do not get the same brand or they are made by the same manufacturer.

It sounds like the spring is not getting seated in the pocket at the top, not uncommon for today's replacement parts. Very best of luck to you Alan.



Frank

__________________
Poncho Huggen, Gear Snatchen, Posi Piro.
  #24  
Old 08-07-2022, 08:42 AM
alanmay0 alanmay0 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 612
Default Think I found the problem

I think I found the problem but I can't fix it. It seems that when I either take the top nut off of the passenger side shock or the two bottom bolts the squeaking stops. I put a new shock on the car but it still squeaks. It seems that the shock does not fit exactly in the middle of the top hole in the upper a arm. There seems to be pressure on it when I move it to the middle of the hole to put the rubber busing on it. I try very hard to get the bushing hole in the a arm hole but it seems to go in sideways if this makes any sense to you. Is it possible that the upper and lower a arms are not lined up exactly so that the shock fits improperly? Any and all suggestions appreciated.
thanks

  #25  
Old 08-07-2022, 11:25 AM
TedRamAirII TedRamAirII is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Ocala, Florida
Posts: 2,755
Default

Something could be a little off. I would loosen the bottom bolts, then install the upper bushing and nut, tighten it, then tighten the lower bolts.

__________________
1968 Firebird 400 RAII M21, 3.31 12 bolt, Mayfair Maize.
1977 Trans Am W72 400, TH350, 3.23 T Top

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't.
Bill Nye.
  #26  
Old 08-07-2022, 06:48 PM
dataway's Avatar
dataway dataway is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Saratoga NY
Posts: 8,921
Default

Doesn't have reproduction control arms does it?

__________________
I'm World's Best Hyperbolist !!
  #27  
Old 08-07-2022, 07:12 PM
Sirrotica's Avatar
Sirrotica Sirrotica is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Catawba Ohio
Posts: 7,190
Default

Sounds like the shock mount on the lower A frame is bent, forcing the shock off center. Pushing it to center puts it in a bind, which causes the squeak. The lube you sprayed up there probably was enough to stop the squeak, then it wore off, or was wiped off by the wiper seal.

If it were me, I'd be looking to see if the bottom shock mount is tweaked, or distorted. When everything is as it should be, that shock shouldn't be in a bind.

__________________
Brad Yost
1973 T/A (SOLD)
2005 GTO
1984 Grand Prix

100% Pontiacs in my driveway!!! What's in your driveway?

If you don't take some of the RACETRACK home with you, Ya got cheated

  #28  
Old 08-07-2022, 07:51 PM
Schurkey Schurkey is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
Posts: 5,891
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by alanmay0 View Post
It seems that the shock does not fit exactly in the middle of the top hole in the upper a arm.
WHAT VEHICLE IS THIS? I can't think of a GM vehicle where the top of the shock fits into the upper control arm.

  #29  
Old 08-08-2022, 08:10 AM
alanmay0 alanmay0 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 612
Default

yes it has

  #30  
Old 08-08-2022, 12:09 PM
4zpeed's Avatar
4zpeed 4zpeed is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Hills of WV
Posts: 662
Default



If you look at the A arm on the left, it appears to be oriented differently 'tilted backwards', from the one on the right. I think this could be your issue.

If you think about it, the shock can rotate right to left to some degree by the way it mounts on the bottom, but is limited in movement from front to back.

Check the angle of A arms in regard to each other.



Frank

__________________
Poncho Huggen, Gear Snatchen, Posi Piro.
  #31  
Old 08-08-2022, 01:40 PM
dataway's Avatar
dataway dataway is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Saratoga NY
Posts: 8,921
Default

The repop control arms are so wonky it's hard to believe people are making them work at all. Ball joint pockets and spring pockets are all over the place.

__________________
I'm World's Best Hyperbolist !!
  #32  
Old 08-08-2022, 04:08 PM
alanmay0 alanmay0 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 612
Default

Yeh that could be the problem. thanks

  #33  
Old 08-09-2022, 12:54 AM
dataway's Avatar
dataway dataway is offline
Ultimate Warrior
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Saratoga NY
Posts: 8,921
Default

This pic shows how bad the ball joint pockets are.

If the bottom of the spring pocket where the shock bolts in is not "aimed" properly towards the upper hole in the frame it puts all kinds of side load on the shock shaft ... good chance you can't get rid of that squeak because it might be the shock shaft squeaking against it's seal in the shock body because of the side loading.

The OEM control arms are a very complex piece of geometry that often are assumed to be kind of a throwaway part when they shouldn't be.

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Repop-Cont-arm-2.jpg
Views:	197
Size:	50.4 KB
ID:	596114  

__________________
I'm World's Best Hyperbolist !!
  #34  
Old 08-09-2022, 10:38 AM
Holeshot71's Avatar
Holeshot71 Holeshot71 is offline
Senior Chief
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: MA
Posts: 371
Default

Check to see if the body of the shock is contacting the inside of the spring.

__________________
'71 GTO, 406 CID, 60916, 1.65 HS, '69 #46 Heads 230CFM, 800CFM Q-jet, TH400, 12 Bolt 3.55
'72 Lemans, Lucerne Blue, WU2, T41, L78, M22, G80
  #35  
Old 08-09-2022, 01:04 PM
MarkS57's Avatar
MarkS57 MarkS57 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Flemington, NJ
Posts: 575
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by dataway View Post
The repop control arms are so wonky it's hard to believe people are making them work at all. Ball joint pockets and spring pockets are all over the place.
Agree, I went the repro way myself. The repro uppers were OK but the lowers were pretty bad. Ended up just rebuilding the OE lowers and tossing the repro lowers. I wouldn't even give those things away.

__________________

65 Tempest, 400, TH400
86 Fiero SE 2.8
  #36  
Old 08-09-2022, 04:01 PM
alanmay0 alanmay0 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 612
Default

did that no contact. thanks

  #37  
Old 08-10-2022, 05:39 PM
DogMeister's Avatar
DogMeister DogMeister is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Jasper, GA
Posts: 180
Default

I had a squeak on my '67 that drove me nuts. Turned out the inner fender was rubbing on the frame. Like fingernails on a chalk board. Tweaked the inner with a pry bar. No more squeak.

__________________
461 Stroker Built by Me -
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:26 AM.

 

About Us

The PY Online Forums is the largest online gathering of Pontiac enthusiasts anywhere in the world. Founded in 1991, it was also the first online forum for people to gather and talk about their Pontiacs. Since then, it has become the mecca of Pontiac technical data and knowledge that no other place can surpass.

 




Copyright © 2017