Dan81

I have a 2002 EXT with 67,000mi and have had the brakes and sway bar ends replaced to fix a front end shimmy.
Now I have a noise coming from somewhere in the front suspension when I brake or go over a large bump slowly. It sounds like a strange creaking or groaning.
Could it be the control arm bushings or ball joints? Any help would be appreciated. Dan

stopher2

i have the same problem. worse, i've changed my shocks, my upper ball joints, and my sway joints and the problem stayed the same.

my fix did correct several other sounds, though.

in researching this i find that the control arm bushings dry out and need lithium grease. get some spray lithium grease, get under the car. the control arm has two bushing connections to the frame... fill the bushings with lithium and see if this fixes the problem before spending $$$. the can is about $5.

this is my next step before i go to the assylum

peedeefish

My wife's 02 Trailblazer has this problem. It is coming from the passenger side front tire. But it does it all the time. Sometimes it won't make a noise, like when I take it to the mechanic to get it looked at. They didn't hear a thing. It's a high pitch screech. Does it if you are driving. The mechanic did check the brakes and said they were good. Should I try that spray too?

stopher2

"spray the brakes"...that's a good one. <smile> DONT DO THAT. IT'LL KILL SOMEONE.

you'll need to describe the sound better.

a technique that I used is: jack a front wheel, and grasp 9oclock and 3 oclock and wiggle it. if it wiggles it is either the hub or the steering link. look at the link and wiggle again to see if it moves.

otherwise it is a suspension link or bushing. if you have rubber atop of the springs, lube them with lithium. lube the inside of the sway bar (the rubber bushings) with lithium.

take a 2x3 or pipe as a lever and see if you can deliberately, but not rought, get a suspension link to move around. you probably have the lower and upper links to inspect. check the rear wheel ones too. replacement isn't hard. get the ball kit from advanceauto paytoreturn loaner program and get the puller kit too. you will likely NOT need to remove the axle so you won't need the 15mm-16mm socket.

when replacing links, you'll NEED a torque wrench and locktite.

if the problem is the brake pads, try adding a shim to the back of them with moly grease between the pad and shim. a screech sound happens when the brake piston vibrates against the pad. the shim takes this micro vibration against the grease and it is GONE.

From the description, it sounds like bushing need lithium. get a $5 spray bottle and make your rubber bushings slide again.
</smile>

peedeefish

I didn't mean spray the brakes. Spray the bushings. I will try what you said. Thanks

01sleeperZ

I had more of a clunking noise, and replaced the sway bar end links to solve it. Sounds like yours is different, but it would be worth checking.