Guys, looking for thoughts on noises. Car has about 160,000. Last summer I installed all new front control arms from Mehle as well as struts from Blauparts. This was May. All was good until it got cold. 40ish or so. The noises I hear are at slow speed when parking or backing. In the front, creaking when turning into a parking spot. The back noise I just heard when backing down the drive. Kind of a very light clunk. I could duplicate this noise on a lift. For the front, my thought may be the struts as they move slightly, especially when around 10 deg or colder. The Mehle rep was nice enough to contact Germany for their thoughts. The suggestion was the sway bar bushings which I replaced, but did not make much change.

Short of pulling it apart again, I may see what happens when we get back into consistent 60's and 70 degree temps. If I do take either end apart, I will go with name brand like Koni or Bilstein. I went with Blau because it looked like a good kit. Which it would be for a non sport. The bump stops were not correct. Good hardware and mounts, though. I also figured new of any brand was better than 12 year parts with 155,000.

thanks Ed

 

I try and douse all the bushings with silicon spray (not oil-based) a couple times a year. This seems to minimize the "squeaks". Use the straw to spray it into the bushing itself. This does nothing for clunks, though.

 

I will give this a shot over the weekend. I don't hear the noise when driving, so it's not constant annoyance.