jamiejim

If I push on the rear of the car and rock it, there is a "creaking noise", kind of like a squeaky box spring mattress, that comes from underneath the rear of the car. Any thoughts on what to look for - bad struts, something to lubricate, etc.? Thanks.

hoffman912

hmm.. tortion bar suspension? look at your rear tortion bar controll arm bushings.

pete944

Yep, what Harry said.

jamiejim

I don't know where to find the "torsion bar bushings" (obviously, I'm not a mechanic), or how to tell if they are the culprit, but I'll look in the Haynes manual and see what it says. Thanks.

Luis de Prat

In 212K miles on my 83 I've never gotten a peep out of the rear torsion bars. They've been rock solid.

The rear shocks, however, have been replaced twice since I've owned the car.

jamiejim

If I bounce on the car, the shocks seem fine, which I guess doesn't mean they can't still squeak. I'll check them out, no idea now old they are. Any suggestions on in-expensive rear shocks for good handling on a daily driver, not for track use?

bloodraven

well...i had the same sound from the front of the car, and about six months later found the culprit...front inner sway bar bushings...one of them is almost completely disintegrated, and is no longer where it is supposed to be....

hoffman912

Konis are your ultimate choice. if all else fails a good set of kyb's can hold you over.

rear tortion bar bushings are a bitch on these cars as they get older. they are vucanised on and have to be cut off with a torch (at least on our cars), which makes em a big PITA

ive needed it done for over a year now.. ill do it either this fall, or next spring.

shocks and tortion bars are completely different beasts. i replaced my shocks and they still squeekd (hense i know its tortion bar bushings).

now please keep in mind not all new/replacement bushings are created equal

you have poly-bronze bushings which are expensive, but are gods gift to great handelning and dont squeek a peep when installed correctly (even have a grease fitting on them so you can add grease to em to help keep em good and quiet)

or you can get the stiff plastic ones they sell too.. these are awful, and although the ride is better than not replaceing the buishings, it will still squeek loudly.

hoffman912

btw.. look under the car, behind the door, but infront of the rear wheel. thr controll arm should be back in there. its the arm that goes onto the tortion bar place/hjousing whatnot.. (whatever its called)

Yabo

kyb's are great inexpensive shocks. sure. konis are better, but they are also 4 times more expensive, also , kyb's are give a little more comfort for street driving. rears were like 38.95 each, and fronts werer like 32 each (www.tirerack.com)

Luis de Prat

Jamiejim, I have KYBs on all 4 corners in the 83 and they're not too different from the SACHS Turbogas I used the previous time around.

As for the torsion bars, Harry is correct in that they're a major PITA to reindex and/or replace, but unlike the later cars like my S2, I've found the 83 to be something of a tank in this regard. All the suspension-bushing issues have been frontside, not backside on this car. I suspect yours would be similar.

At any rate, I've had "squeaky" sounds from the rear before that turned out to be bad wheel bearings, so you may want to double check if there's any play in the rear wheels by raising the back end and shoving them aft and fro.

hoffman912

i second the motion with checking the wheel bearings.. just give em a good shake in and out, they should not rock.

either way, we are in the ball park of suspension country.. you will be happier with the feel of the car when youre done, but your wallet may not like you.
in this order
1) check wheel bearings
2)if those are cool, do shocks.. if yours are original, might not be a bad idea to do em regardless..
3) if all else fails bushings since those are the most time consuming/expensive

my money are on the bushings.. but i dont know the ins and outs of the 44, so i could be wrong.

Luis de Prat

Harry, suspension is definitely a good place to look. Biggest difference here is that the bulk of the 944's weight is on the front, as opposed to your beloved tail-happy aircooled P-Car princess.

Seriously now, my 83 probably sees more potholes on a daily basis here in the Caribbean than any other 944 on Rennlist and I've even had a rear trailing arm bust at the lower shock mount, but the rear bushings have held up surprisingly well.

OTOH, the front suspension is a totally different story. I've had to rebush the control arms and I'm on my 3rd set of tie rod assemblies. Evidently, the bulk of the weight being frontside puts significantly more stress on the front suspension than on the rear.

Just my experience with this 83 944!

hoffman912

you are absolutely correct Louis, and it is a very very important point. most of the weight are on the fronts of the 944 than the 912... which is somthing i didnt think about or take into consideration. that and spring plate bushings arent somthing that you replace as often as say a wheel bearing or struts. they last an awful long time (my car is 35 years old.. they just went bad last year.. but then again it only has 160k on it...)

either way you go, start with the easy (not as expensive) stuff, and then go to the harder (more expensive) stuff. better to look for a cheep quick repair than a massive undertaking..

(ie to do spring plate bushings you will not only have to go through the whole pita of removing and replacing the bushing.. we are also talking about a 4 wheel alignment as well as messing with the most important part of your suspension system) also note.. if there are upgrades to be done to your your suspensuion (ie heavy duty bushings, adjustable spring plate if not there already, bigger tortion bars...) it shoudl be done at that time. not the most demanding job, but a pita, and getting the adjustments right of you do yourself can be brain frying.

jamiejim

Luis and Harry -
Thanks for keeping this thread going. I'll check out the wheel bearings and shocks, and if everything seems ok, I'll move on to the other suspension parts.
Jim