Suspension squeak on engine brake (with video)

Technical Area Steering & Suspension
1

The problem:

Hi all.

As you can see from the title, my 2005 NBFL has recently started making a creaking/rubber squeaking noise from the rear (I think rear passenger side) when I don’t apply any throttle.

Here’s a video so you can get a better understanding. The video clearly shows a creaking noise that disappears as soon as even a tiny bit of throttle is applied.

Things I’ve ruled out and why:

  • Propshaft

    Doing some research, I was under the impression that it was an issue with the propshaft U-joints. I jacked the rear of the car up this morning and checked for play, but there was no rotational play between either end of each u joint, nor was there any lateral play. The noise wasn't present when I turned either of the rear wheels, or when I started the car in the air and tried to reproduce it. I also don't think the noise is frequent enough to be the propshaft.

  • Brakes

    The noise is still present when the brakes are applied

  • Clutch

    The noise is still present when the clutch is disengaged

  • Lack of lubrication

    Changed the gearbox and diff fluid 1k miles ago (this noise started about 1 week ago)

  • Wheel Hubs

    There's no play in the hubs at all.

Working theory

This leads me to believe that it’s an issue with a suspension bushing or mounting and power through the diff/axles puts enough force on to stop. The only thing that’s got me a bit stumped is that I can’t reproduce the noise when the car is stationary and I press on each corner to compress the suspension.

Unsure if it’s of any use but it’s covered almost 80k miles and is still on the original shocks.

Any suggestions would be massively appreciated. Cheers

2

That is a weird noise. The noise seems to be cyclic. Do engine revs or road speed make any difference to the frequency of the noise?

3

Revs make no difference, road speed makes the noise more frequent, but after a certain speed it’s difficult to hear.

My ARB end link on the rear passenger side has play in it, and when I steer to the left and unload it, it stops making the noise. I’ve ordered a whole set of replacements, and a nut splitter to try and remove them. Hopefully I won’t need to break out the angle grinder :grimacing:

4

The issue was a lack of lubrication on my rear ARB bushes. After removing the drop links (with an angle grinder) which I thought were the culprits, I rotated the ARB and it squeaked. Greased up the bushes and it’s good as gold again.

2 Likes
5

Great. Well done !