Hi all,

I'll get the essential details out of the way first:

'04 Coupe
Automatic
85,000 miles
Slowly driving me insane

So I've developed the dreaded mystery rear creak / squeak.
After searching the forum for similar issues I had my local mechanic lube all of the bushings in the rear but that hasn't solved the problem, and he's at a loss as to what it could be. He says that everything's tight and there's no play anywhere there shouldn't be.

It's a creaky kind of noise (similar to rusty hinges when opening an old wooden door), happens at all speeds on slightly uneven roads though road noise drowns it out past 35mph, and sounds like it's coming from the rear RHS. As best I can tell it's coming from lower down near where the bottom of the spring sits but the sound could be traveling from elsewhere.

It can be replicated when stopped after driving by applying a little downward force to make the rear bounce, but can't be replicated after the car has been sitting for a couple of hours. Once you drive it again it'll start happening almost immediately (driving straight, cornering, all the time) and when you park up you can replicate the noise by pushing down on the rear RHS panel. Again, waiting an hour or two and the sound can't be replicated.

When going over a speedhump/speedramp with the front wheels the creak sounds louder than when the back wheels go over it, presumably from the weight being concentrated on whatever it is that's creaking.
I wouldn't mind too much but it makes the Crossfire sound like a 100 year old rustbucket (and is especially loud in indoor carparks!) and something that looks so good shouldn't be forced to suffer that kind of indignity.

If anyone can offer any insight to save my sanity I'd greatly appreciate it, and anything I can do to encourage answers (beer money in the form of a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Litecoin) will gladly be provided!

UPDATE - FIXED! https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post803468

 

Maybe shocks?

 

Hi Bill, thanks for your response. My mechanic checked the shocks and springs and they seemed to be in good condition. He could replicate the creak by bouncing the rear when it was raised on a lift but didn't seem to think the shocks were the problem. :-/

The noise started about 10 days after I jacked the car up to change the front brake pads but I'm pretty sure that's totally coincidental as the rear wheels were only off the ground for a minute or two as a result of the front jacking point being used to lift the car high enough before I lowered it onto axle stands.

 

It may sound funny but slightly pull your e brake when you hear the sound and see if it effects it.

 

Yeah I saw the e-brake mentioned in a few other threads cobraken, I don't think it's the case here but I'll give it a go and see if it makes any difference!

 

Just took her for a quick spin, engaging the e-brake didn't stop the creak, it continued through all tests. The brake itself started squealing when I pulled it up high enough so that rules the e-brake out. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

Are the points where the rear stabilizer bar clamps attach to the floor being torn away from the floor pan?

 

Not to my knowledge, onehundred80, but it's dark now so I'll jack her up tomorrow and take a look. I imagine my mechanic would have checked the stabiliser bar for any play as he said there was absolutely no play in any component in the rear. It's always possible that he didn't though!

I'll check it out myself in the morning, and thanks so much for the suggestion - I never would have thought of checking that, and from the looks of it (https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...-cracking.html) others have indeed had that problem. :-/

 

OK So when it gets warm the problem is there.
therefore you have to look for parts that that heat up.
Exhaust hangers,exhaust joints,disc backing plate rubbing,
My guess is that the handbrake mechanisum where it goes into the drum.
take drum off remove brake dust etc a little grease on joints,you have brake shoes in the rear drum for handbrake.
When you first stop to park up can you still get sound when you push down on rear if you leave handrake off.

 

Mine started the squeak just over a week ago. Driving me NUTTS also.
Last weekend I put new cross drilled rotors and ceramic pads all the way around and used lithium grease sprayed on all the bushings. Still there. I am going to change all of the urethane bushings on and around the rear end. Just need to find a good quality set.

 

Comic Relief:
When I was 18, in 1968, the lady across the street had a Cadillac with a rattle in the door. She kept taking it in, kept checking the window and all parts associated with the door. Finally, the Cadillac dealer had had enough, and removed the entire door. They tore the door down completely and in the bottom of the door was a loose coke bottle with a note in it: The note said "So you finally found the source of the rattle!"
I once heard a joke about this, but this happened in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

 

Musta been the same factory worker that hung the washer with a wire in the door of my friend's '67 Chevy Nova.

 

One of the reasons people abandoned North American cars for the Japanese cars.
These cars were assembled by idiots who could not care less and were left wondering where their jobs went.

 

And they wanted higher pay for poor quality work!!!

 

Mine too has started the creaky noise. 98,000 mi., but I am still looking for it also. Some days are worse than others, though usually it is quiet in the rain.

 

I got the time to jack her up and put her on stands today and checked absolutely everything. The points where the stabiliser bar clamps attach to the floor are very corroded, but from what I can see there aren't any cracks / tears / movement. It's hard to get a good look at the backs of them but I'll remove the interior trim at the weekend and see if there's any sign of that from the inside. The actual stabiliser bar itself is incredibly corroded at one point in the middle near the diff. The black coating seems to be "split", exposing the bar which is rusted to hell. I'm a little concerned about it so I'll upload some pics later when I find my phone cable, any advice on the corrosion would be appreciated!

The creak started the second I moved the car this morning, so it's happening when cold too. Checked exhaust hangers, joints, rotors, everything just in case. I couldn't replicate the sound at all by attempting to move any component and everything was solid; the fact that I couldn't replicate it while the car was in the air is making my best guess either shocks as Bill F said, or springs (possibly the isolator pad).

I've lubed up every bushing and moving component I could find, and I'm about to take her out to see if the noise is still there. Unfortunately with this approach if the noise is gone I won't know exactly what it was but I'll be looking into replacing all of the bushings regardless. If you find a good set please point me in its direction.

Haha, that's horrible! I've checked for coke bottles around the rear suspension though, no joy.

The creak on mine is constant (I have no good days!! ) and unaffected by the weather. Other members will correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall reading somewhere that leaking shocks can often give that symptom, creaky/squeaky when dry but quiet in the rain.

 

Update:

After thoroughly lubing up all components in the rear the creak is still there. The e-brake is a possibility as the noise goes a little when the car's parked up and I mess around with the e-brake, and move the car. The actual sound itself definitely sounds like metal on metal creaking though (as would be expected from torn stabiliser bar clamps, or an issue with springs) or a moving bushing.

The bolts on the rear shoes are incredibly corroded and the socket set I have would likely give up before the bolts do so I'll leave it to my mechanic to look into. The rear pads could do with changing in any event so I'll leave it in for that and ask him to clean and re-seat all e-brake components while he's at it.

 

If all else fails try adjusting your rear hatch, or wrapping a piece of tape around the latch. Worked for me when it was making a hell of a creaking sound. Good Luck.

 

Definitely not the rear hatch, still creaks down by the wheel even when the hatch is open.

Genuinely at a loss here, have no idea what it could be. I'm planning on replacing the shocks, springs, rear pads and all rear bushings, as well as having the e-brake mechanism inspected. If that doesn't fix the creak I'll drive it off a cliff. That'll definitely sort it.

 

All 8 rear control arms and bushings for $76. What I going to get to start with. Time to install is my problem. Those are for a 04slk 32 amg and slk 320 so should be same as our car right?