Front Suspension Squeaks

[Don Elliott]

My turn to ask a question.

 

The front suspension on my 1958 TR3A has always squeaked when I drive on a rough road that causes small bounces. It started during its first life (80,350 miles) probably caused by all the rough road rallies I drove from 1959 to 1965. Then I did my full body-off restoration from 1987 to 1990. I replaced everything up front except for the idler arm at that time and for the next 94,000 miles, it squeaked. I greased it every 3000 miles or so and I added silicone and teflon spray lubricant liberally as TR Action (I think it was Ian C who wrote about this) suggested but that didn't help. So in the spring of 2007, I re-did it all again with new parts including a new idler arm but kept the same trunnions, tie-rod ends and balls joints as they still seamed like new. During the first 600 miles or so (drove Montreal to Philadelphia for VTR) I thought I had resolved the squeaks up front. But they came back - louder than before. Now I have driven about 4000 miles and the squeaking is getting scary.

 

Any ideas ?

[Andrew Smith]

Hi Don, you are not alone!

 

For no apparent reason my front suspension started squeaking during the summer of 2005 on a particularly hot day, about 30c+. Not sure if this was the cause, but it has continued ever since. I inspected the suspension but there was no apparent mechanical reason for it do this, apart from some perished outer dust covers – most embarrassing in slow moving traffic as TRK was turning heads for all the wrong reasons!

 

However, I traced the squeaking to the lower inner wishbone bushes by the process of elimination – these were the only bushes I didn’t replace during a suspension rebuilt as they were newly fitted in 1988 (the car's relatively recent past). I now liberally spray them with '3-IN-ONE professional silicone lubricant' (yellow can) available from most motor factors and this stops it, see: http://wd40.com/Brands/3in1pro.html

 

I only need to reapply it when its starts to squeak again, usually after about 500 - 700 miles or so.

 

Cheers

Andrew

[Don Elliott]

I also figured that this was the area where the squeaking is coming from. I have been thinking that maybe the new steel sleeves that the nylon (or other) bushes are supposed to rotate on are not tight on the trunnion extension shafts. If it's this, then the rotation is not the nylon bushing ID on smooth steel OD, but the steel ID of the steel sleeve rotating on the steel trunnion extension shafts.

 

Any comments ?

[pfenlon]

I also figured that this was the area where the squeaking is coming from. I have been thinking that maybe the new steel sleeves that the nylon (or other) bushes are supposed to rotate on are not tight on the trunnion extension shafts. If it's this, then the rotation is not the nylon bushing ID on smooth steel OD, but the steel ID of the steel sleeve rotating on the steel trunnion extension shafts.

 

Any comments ?

 

Hello Don,

 

when I was rebuilding my TR3A I drilled the bottom wishbones ,tapped them and fitted grease nipples, TR4A cars are all greaseable.

 

Also I was told by Mr Revington, to apply grease to the top wishbones ,even though blue type bushes are fitted. (Grease came with the bushes )

 

One of the reasons I fitted the blue bush kit all round was the "new" black rubbers were splitting and cracking within weeks of fitting them.

 

hope this helps.

 

regards

 

Peter

[Don Elliott]

Thanks Peter - I also no longer use the rubber bushes in the top inner wishbones. I put in some grease as I assembled the poly bushes up there and I suppose this is why I heard no squeaks until I had driven about 500 or 600 miles. I also had liberally sprayed all 4 inner wishbone bushes on each side of the car before I drove it in July and again after 3400 miles. This was the mileage after my first 2 trips this summer. It still squeaks.

 

This winter, I plan to take it apart again, but was hoping for some sure-fire reasons from others who had already solved this annoyance.

 

When people comment on the squeaks, I reply that they all were like that and it's really hard to reproduce this authentic original squeak just like it was when it left the factory.

[ianc]

My TR4 has nylon bushes (not sure that the polyurethane type were available when Neil re-built it in 1991-93), and I imagine the parts were assembled with some lubricant. The squeaking started after about 3 years. The Master Lube spray, which contains PTFE and is available now from Revington, fixes the problem, and I just use it on the inner end of the top and bottom wishbone arms every time I grease the front suspension. My car has grease nipples on the outer end of the lower wisbone arms.

I don't know whether the other lubricants mentioned contain PTFE, nor which is best for poly bushes.

Ian Cornish

[Don Elliott]

Thank you Ian - I'll give that a try. What I had been using was a silicone spray.

[BrianC]

Thank you Ian - I'll give that a try. What I had been using was a silicone spray.

Don,

Andrew's 3in1 link also includes a PTFE spray so it may be available locally.

[ianc]

Don - silicone is not the same as PTFE. The latter is an incredibly slippery compound - possibly even more so than silicone.

Ian Cornish

[Don Elliott]

Ian - I bought a can of Teflon spray lubricant this morning and I'm going to try it this afternoon and take the TR out for a ride. We're having a very warm October. Yesterday was 24 deg. C and today is sunny again and 25 deg. C Yesterday, while out in the TR, I think every other convertible, sportscar and motorcyclist were out in this unusually warm sunshine.

 

I'll let you all know what I find.

[Don Elliott]

After one liberal spraying with the Teflon lubricant for all the inner wishbone bushes on each side, I took it out for a drive in the warm sunshine and Eureka, or as we say here in French Canada "voila". The squeaks are 90% gone. I plan to give them another shot tonight.

 

Thanks all - for your help.

[ianc]

Dear Don,

Hooray! However, if my experience is any guide, you may need to spray again quite soon so as to ensure that the jungle juice gets right into all of the bearing surface. Now that I have been using Masterlube for years, I find I need only spray when I grease the suspension.

Ian Cornish