Front end question

ThunderDave

Registered User
I recently replaced the front stabilizer bar end links on my 91. Afet doing so, it was a lot quietet, but now has a sqeaky squawky sound on the right side. It is very loud when stopping, turning the steering wheel when stopped and going over bumps. I noticed the upper and lower ball joints were worn and I'll be replacing them soon. Could the sound I'm hearing be coming from the ball joints or should I be looking at something else?

Thanks,

David
 
i had a 96 mustang gt that did the same thing. it went away then came back with a vengeance. i dont know much about a t-bird's suspension, but it could be your ball joints or tie rods. that was what was the matter with the mustang. unfortunately, i totalled before i was able to get it fixed, so i cant be more specific. of course, with the insurance paying the car off, i was able to get me a 90 AOD SC :D oh. a way i heard to tell which one of the two is making the noise is to get a buddy to turn the steering wheel back and forth while you put your hands on the tie rod and ball joint. supposedly whichever one vibrates is the bad one making the noise. hope this helps.
 
Check your outer tie rod ends. I'm in the process of replacing all suspension components on my '92 right now, so I'm getting up close and personal with the T-bird suspension. On my '89 the same thing is happening. I've already replaced the strut rod bushings. When I checked the other day, it appeared that the outer tie rod end needed to be greased. I haven't done this yet, as I've been driving the '92 since. I'd take it to someplace to get a lube job done. Unless, you like doing that. And remember that these cars are getting old. There could be a lot of suspension components that need to be replaced too. I'd start with getting everything lubed and go from there.
 
front end

It's just stange that it wasn't making this noise until I replaced the bar links. I think this noise is more annoying than the one the bad bar links were making. It's also louder so you get unwanted attention. Attention is good, but not that kind. I'll be replacing the upper and lower ball joints and bushings and go from there. My wife's Windstar makes a similar sound and I've been told one hers that it's the tie rod. My wife tells me I'm going to end up having a new car, I told her that would be great.

Thanks for the help guys!

David

Oh yeah, on the right side where the upper a arm ball joint is at is very close to the tire, I mean very close. A taller tire might cause problems. The left side is back away from the tire and not as close. What could cause the difference and could this be part of the problem causing the noise? Thanks!
 
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Two things I can think of right of can cause this. First is different tire size. But since you posted it, I'm going to go out on limb and assume that all your tires are the same size. The other thing is possibly a bent spindle. That is the worse of the 2 evils, but the more probable. What year SC do you have? I'd take off your front wheel, and measure the distance from the top of the rotor to the bottom of the upper ball joint. Do it on both sides and if there is a difference, you've probably got a bent spindle. If you've got a pre-93 SC, I'm replacing my spindles with mark viii spindles so I'll have some early style in a month or so.

Also, on the noise thing. Mine just started one day last week. One day it didn't make any noise and the next it did. Outer tie rod ends are not much at all. I'd have to check but I think they were less than $20 each. You will have to get an alignment when you're done replacing them though.
 
suspended suspension

Well my car is a 91 and it has over 200,000 miles, so I wouldn't be surprised at all that it could have a bent spindle. I know I haven't hit anything to bend it, but I've only had it since July of last year. I'll check those spindles tomorrow and I'll let you know what I find. If one of them is bent, how much would you take for yours when you get them off?

David
 
The SC that I'm replacing my spindles on is a '92 so they will work fine for you. I"m not looking to get a lot out of them, so I'm thinking $20 per spindle and $10 for shipping. That should cover the shipping part. I'll advise you though that once you start tearing into the suspension, you may find that you've got to replace a lot more. And it's not too cheap. I'm completely re-doing all of my front suspension. All new bushings, re-furbished lower control arm, new hub and bearing assemblies, new rack and pinion, new outer tie rod ends, and new upper control arms. So hopefully everything will last for over 100k miles. Next project is the differential... I think that I have close to $1000 invested so far in the front suspension and steering. And I still have some more to spend! So it isn't cheap, but I'll let everyone know if it was worth it. I'm sure that it is. And to be honest with you, I've been collecting these parts for some time now too. I purchased the bushings set well over a year ago. And when I made the deal on my '92, I started getting the parts that needed to be replaced on it and maybe went a little over-board on the new parts. But I want it to ride like it's new. Let me know if you want one, or both of the spindles. I'm looking at mid to late April for the suspension over-haul.
 
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