Squeaky front suspension on 79 SC
05-14-2003, 11:22 AM
#1
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Squeaky front suspension on 79 SC
When I drive very slow on a bumpy road, or go slowly over railroad tracks, the front suspension is squeaky. Seems tight and solid, just a little noisy. Can it be lubed? Don't see any grease fittings. Light oil? Spray silicone? Suggestions please.
Slug
Slug
05-14-2003, 01:22 PM
#2
RL Technical Advisor
Hi Slug:
Sounds to me like your front torsion bars might be rubbing a little in the crossmember (behind the adjusters) due to sagging a-arm bushings.
You can grease that area but its a temp fix and never lasts.
One fix is to remove the T-bar and carefully enlarge the opening with a hand grinder but the real repair is the replacement of the a-arm bushings. Most SC's have high miles now and are in need,.....
Sounds to me like your front torsion bars might be rubbing a little in the crossmember (behind the adjusters) due to sagging a-arm bushings.
You can grease that area but its a temp fix and never lasts.
One fix is to remove the T-bar and carefully enlarge the opening with a hand grinder but the real repair is the replacement of the a-arm bushings. Most SC's have high miles now and are in need,.....
05-14-2003, 03:08 PM
#3
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Another solution is to build up the bottom of the adjuster caps with a little weld. The caps rub a groove in the cross member, lowering that end of the torsion bar causing it to rub inside the tube.
I replaced my bushings to fix this problem but it didn't make a difference, building the cap up did. Greg Brown told me about this fix back in '96 but since then it has been written about in Pano.
-Chris
I replaced my bushings to fix this problem but it didn't make a difference, building the cap up did. Greg Brown told me about this fix back in '96 but since then it has been written about in Pano.
-Chris
05-14-2003, 07:09 PM
#4
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Chris speaketh the truth! Bruce Anderson also has mentioned this (so Bruce is in good company 
). One of mine was squeaking, and based on Chris's suggestion, I pulled the end caps off, added a welding bead on the lower half that faces the cross member, and squeak disappeared.
). One of mine was squeaking, and based on Chris's suggestion, I pulled the end caps off, added a welding bead on the lower half that faces the cross member, and squeak disappeared.
05-15-2003, 01:11 AM
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Thanks for the responses. Although I've done almost all the work on my 356's over the years (and still do), we've only had this car for about 4 months, and it's all new territory. Spent about an hour with my just-purchased Bentley and Haynes books looking at both front and rear suspensions, so now I know what your refering to. One person on another list had a similar squeak, and found that it went away when they lubed the stabilizer bar bushings (4). They suggested trying WD-40. Thought I might give it a try. Might get lucky.--By the way, if those torsion bar retaining/adjusting caps work the way I think they do, that's great progress.
Slug
Slug
