Creaking from front suspension

[Intruder]

I have a 2nd gen but the suspension is very similar, so I'll share my experience.

I changed my springs and struts, but kept the stock strut mounts and the rubber part that sits between the spring and the perch (top mount).

I get that creaking sound ONLY from the rear right. I tried reseating the spring, and that solved the problem for a day. Then it started creaking again. I don't have a sway bar... or anything like that, so it's not "clunking". It's definitely creaking, and I will buy new strut mounts as soon as I have the cash. I'll post here to report whether they fixed the problem.

[Nobody]

It was suggested to me that the link pins on the rear end are worn out.. I'm going to replace them in a few weeks, and get back to all of you. My front end makes a creaking noise, my guess there is that the caliper bracket on the passsenger side front brake is bent, gonna check that out about the same time as the rear end.

[NegatiZE]

I still haven't took the time to really look at it. I'm pretty sure it's either the front swaybar bushings that I didn't lube (im an idiot) or the strut top mounts.

[NegatiZE]

Yep, it's the front swaybar bushings. Look closely in this picture:


The swaybar shifted to the right a tad bit too much during hard cornering.

[goldstar]

NegatiZE, what caused the bar to shift? I recently installed the same bar, and although I haven't had any problems so far, can I expect the same problem to occur over time? Any way to prevent this?

[NegatiZE]

It's probably because I autocross and the bar has shifted over time. There are two 'bushings' on the bar itself that are supposed to prevent this, but I guess they didn't work too well.

[goldstar]

Thanks for your reply. Since my car is a daily driver and I don't autocross it, I probably won't get the shift then.

02 DX Millenium Red

[GChislett]

I have the same problem with my 03 P5. It's never been abused or modified in any way. It only happens in the winter when it's below freezing. It started happening with about 40,000 kms on the clock, and the stealership replaced the front sway bar end links, but that didn't help at all.

It happens over the low-speed 'speed bumps' and now it's getting worse where it happens on really rough roads suffering from winter heaving. It's too warm now to get the dealership to look at it, and the warranty has expired, though I made them make a note of it saying they had not resolved the problem.

I was hoping I could find a definative answer here. My brother-in-law has an '02 and has the exact same noise, so they MUST know what the answer is. I'll never understand car companies and their refusal to share knowledge. Wouldn't it be easier to know the problem going in rather than every stealership trying to re-invent the wheel, so to speak?

Anyway, to me it sounds like there is ice in the shock. (I know that is not the problem, but that's what the noise sounds like) and it's only apparent with full suspension travel. I can't understand why, if it's a squeaking link, why it would require such a full movement of the suspension to reproduce.

If anyone else has any input, I would love to hear it. For now, I'll try the silicon solution. But, as mentioned, it's too warm to know if it'll work anyway.

Thanks all...

[KoebeKC]

Sway Bar Bushings

I have the same problem and have had it for 2 years. I finally started looking into it and started with all four strut mounts, but that didn't fix the problem. Then I worked on the sway bar end links. I replaced them in the rear and that did not fix the "clunk" noise, but when I took off the end links and then drove around without replacing them (therefore my sway bar is just hanging by the bushings) the "clunking" noise was gone.

After noticing the end links didn't fix the problem, my buddy and I decided that the sway bar bushings are the problem. We are looking to get some polyurethane bushings to fix the problem for sure (any suggestions...and where to get them?). I looked on Club Protege before for a thread like this, but I apparently didn't find this one or the other three that were posted.

Has anybody fixed this problem from this thread that is 5 years old now?

I have 204,000 miles on my '99 Pro ES with MP3 suspension upgrade. The guy I bought it from used to autocross it a lot and it's now my daily (over 60 miles easy) driver. I've put on 40,000 miles in two years. Yay me. I'm a driver.

If anybody reads this still, hit me back with a reply.

Thanks!