sjfarbs

Hey gents.

I noticed I have a squeak coming from my passenger side front tire area.

It seems to be only when turning the wheel to the right.
Maybe minor squeak when turning the wheel left.
Only when turning the wheel.

I know this is vague, but any thoughts on where to start to troubleshoot the squeak.

Thanks.

Shawn
84' 928S
74' TR6

dprantl

What do your lower and upper A-arm balljoint boots look like?

Dan
'91 928GT S/C

sjfarbs

Pardon the novice wrench here...........but do the boots look like "rubber ribbed sleeves"

Bill Ball

That sounds more like the tie rod boots. The lower balljoint is on the outer end of the tie rod, attached to the back of the wheel hub. The upper balljoint is at the top of the hub. It's much easier to see these with the car jacked up and the wheel removed.

Is this a rthymic squeak matched to to wheel rotation frequency or a steady squeak?

sjfarbs

Hey Bill. It is a rthymic squeak matched to the rotation of the wheel.

Shawn

Mongo

My driver side does the same thing too. Does this mean I need ball joints? It goes away when I hit the brakes, then comes back again.

dprantl

My old '86 would squeak when turning and going over bumps. It turns out one of the front lower A-arm boots was toast, and the joint got messed up. When I removed it, it took two sets of pliers to be able to rotate the ball around

Can you reproduce the squeak by bouncing either front corner of the car up and down?

Dan
'91 928GT S/C

sjfarbs

I will try the bounce on the front corners and see if the squeak is there. I am toast for the day............spent the morning pulling the RAD and hoses out of the TR6.
Did the exact same job on the 928 a few weeks back..............what are the chances, 2 RAD's down in just a week, was one felling lonely and jealous that the 928 got rebuild first.

Well bounce the car in the morning.....................pick the thread back up then.
Thanks folks!

Shawn

Bill Ball

If it matches wheel rotation, I would look for things rubbing, like a bent brake backing plate that is too close to the rotor.

You check the balljoints by jacking up the car and grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and seeing if there is any play or noise.

Mongo

Funny I just did the ball joint check the last weekend after doing a brake fluid swap. Both sides are pretty solid still for a 141,000 mile shark.

sjfarbs

OK, here is the update:

1. 12 and 6 on the tire..............small amount of play.
2. Both rubber sleeves (boots) are shot on drivers and passengers...........worse on passengers.
3. See attached pic of ball joint.

So where do I go from here..............will a clean or lube get me through a week??????

Is this a job for a novice wrench with no lift, only stands?
Special tools needed?

Shawn

a4sfed928

Your photo is of the inner tierod joint not the ball joint. Can you duplicate the noise with the car on a jack?

sjfarbs

Thanks...........still learning

The noise is only when running and turning the wheel to the right. Sounds like a rubbing noise, not mechanical.

No noise when bouncing on that side either.

Bill Ball

That tie rod joint looks shot. At very least terribly contaminated. Is that rust? The boot must have been split for a long time.

Best thing to do is replace the whole tie rod and balljoint as a unit. They are about $75 per side and the boot is about $15. Swap the "stop" from the old tie rod to the new one before installing. [EDIT - no, Stan corrcted me, the stop is on the rack - just leave it on]

This is not a real hard job, but as you freely admit to being a novice, it would be best to have some experienced help or turn this over to a shop. There should be some other 928 owners in the area - put out a call here with a new thread.

If you can get the front end on ramps so the wheel stay planted, then you can replace the tie rods and balljoints without affecting alignment. The inner tie rod is torqued to 108 ft lbs on the steering rack shaft, so it requires some leverage with large wrenches (I think 32 and 22mm, maybe larger) counterholding the steering rack. The balljoint nuts are 19mm with low torque requirements (42 ft lbs, IIRC). You need something to push the balljoint shaft out of the hub. I use a balljoint tool that screws down on the shaft and forces it out. Then it's just a matter of installing the inner tie rod onto the steering rack, and adjusting the tie rod length until the balljoint mates perfectly to the hub.

All that said, this may not be causing the rhythmic noise, but it looks shot and you have some play. Please look at the lower and upper balljoints and see what condition they are in.

Charley B

If I'm understanding you the noise lasts for a moment with each revolution of the wheel. It would really help to narrow it down if you raise the front end and turn the wheel by hand. There is a chance it is a warped rotor although the noise should occur whether the wheel is straight or turned.