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Thread: Front left squeaking like an old taxi...

  1. #1
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    Default Front left squeaking like an old taxi...

    Has anyone here come across a problem with the front end of the Gen I squeaking and carrying on like an old taxi?
    I recently took my car into Fulcrum to find out my issue with the front end squeaking like an old taxi. They told me my swar bar mount bushings were distorted as a result of my car being to low, something about the bushings being a flat top and when you lower the car they tend to become distorted. My car has been lowered on DGR coilovers but is not as low as some of the other members cars I have seen, so was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and what there fix was?
    They told me I will need new sway bar mount bushings front and rear, and also front c/arm and rear bushings, they also suggested after market sway bars as all new bushings come with them obviously. They did say however that all this was pointless unless I actually raised the car by 20mm, I am sure there are ways around this as I feel my car is really not that low, and don't want to spend a fortune if I don't have to, obvioulsy the bushings are a must as the car sounds like shit at the moment...
    Any advice from fellow lowered rides wouls be greatly appreciated.
    All Things 2XS

  2. #2
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    Hey Ski, so far i've get no just noise i've have a creek they happens on bump and rebound but that's being looked after through DGR.

    I've got then pretty low but i can fit like 1 finger between rubber and guard so its not crazy. Not sure if raising the car would be and issue with aftermarket sway bars unless they think the aftermarket bars will knock on the lower control arm...

    Raise it then take it to them get them to fix it and then lower it again lol.

  3. #3
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    I was thinking that, but according to them if I don't raise it and just change the bushings I will be in the same boat in a couple of months with the same distorted bushings..

  4. #4
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    Not sure, they're obviously saying that lowering the front has the sway put extra stress on the sway bar... but it shouldn't really cause the sway moves down until you hit that bar underneath... And you'll know when yours on that cause you'll need adjustable endlinks.

    Very strange, considering how many lowered MPS's there are.

  5. #5
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    They said said the front sway bar bushings have some flat part of them, and when you lower the mps the bushings rotate slightly and the flat part sits at a different spot and then proceeds to distort it our of shape....they had a xr5 there as well and they said it has the same problem.
    I know fulcrum are meant to be pretty good but I might get a second opinion and see what I can come up with, they were meant to send me a quote on Monday afternoon for replacing bushings and replacing aftermarket sway bars but haven't heard back yet....
    I would have a go at replacing them myself if I had a place to work on my car and stands and all the right tools...
    All Things 2XS

  6. #6
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    i dont think that is right. all the bushes the have discribed are round. lowering will only twist said objects inside the bushings, so no real issues there. i'd be more inclinded to say something is rubbing against something else is it is seriously lowered.

  7. #7
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    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	photo.jpg 
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    No not seriously low at all, this is a bad picture but gives some indication.

  8. #8
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    It sounds like a rubber on metal type sound..

  9. #9
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    dont know the sound. didn't know rubber was hard enough to make creeking sounds. could just be a worn bush. or the endlinks rubbing the swaybar.

    where is the noise coming from? what is the car doing when the noise happens? uneven ground, turning steering wheel, reversing etc?

  10. #10
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    Just driving along, you dont seem to hear it under speed obey at very low speeds on uneven ground.

  11. #11
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    Does anyone know if these fit standard sway bars?
    And I the front and rear same diameter?

    Prothane 191182 - Greaseable Sway Bar Bushings - 26MM - B. 191182

    This is a report I got from a suspension shop, and I know my car isn't that low compared to some others.

    " Good morning Dwayne sorry i do not know what happen to the first quote we emailed
    Hope the one finds you.
    We need to raise the car appx 20mm the noise we beleave is coming from the sway bars bushes
    They have a flat on them so when you lower the car it moves the bar and the bush is out of shap.
    The new sway bars do not have the same bush system and this will stop the noise.
    If you would like me to ring you about the car let me know when is a good time to do so.
    Thanks sorry you didn’t get the first email. "
    *

    Doesn't really make sense as it sounds like they say the aftermarket sway bars relieve the bushes issue but they say they still have to raise the car..
    All Things 2XS

  12. #12
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    The standard MPS sway bar is 24mm, so those bushes may be a little big

    But what they're saying just doesn't sound right to me.....

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
    Last edited by Caffeine Fiend; 02-03-2012 at 09:29 PM.

  13. #13
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    I read on the US forums they were 26mm...
    I am lost when it come to suspension haha

  14. #14
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    The MPS sway bar bush is a D shape. Flat on the bottom. I've replaced them on mine, easy job. The fault however was clunking, not squealing. The thing to look at with after market bushes is to make sure the mounting brackets are big enough from bolt hole to bolt hole. The nolathane ones i looked at didn't fit. I could have used a universal bracket, but no direct replacement was available at the time.

    I cant see how the bushes can get twisted, the sway bar should rotate in them. The standard bush looks EXACTLY like the ones you link to, minus the grease nipple on top. So i cant see how changing to those will solve the problem long term.
    Maybe the forces push them differently because of the sway bar angle change when lowering, i don't know, but i doubt it.
    But that brings me to the point, adjustable end links, you need them no matter what the fault is. Lower the car and the sway bar is at a different angle to what the factory set it at, for good reason. Its quite possible that the problem is the sway bar rubbing/hitting something

  15. #15
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    So is your MPS lowered as well?
    That makes more sense, do you have a link to the sway bar bushes you used and the adjustable end links?
    The sway bar bushes I linked I found on a US Mazda forum and that's what the guys had linked to..

    Where to order sway bar bushings?

    About 3 posts down "26mm greaseable"

  16. #16
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    Mine isn't lowered.
    Got my bushes from mazda.
    Endlinks are universal endlinks from nolathane, i believe whiteline have them aswell, when i got mine, whiteline only had rosejointed ones. Great, stong, but noisy

  17. #17
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    I hate noises....
    I took a video in the way home of the squeak, you can clearly hear it. I will post when I wake up.

  18. Default

    Hi guys,

    I'm a relatively new owner and new to the forum. Been lurking for a while reading posts.

    My first gripe with my gen 1 6mps was this annoying squeak under acceleration coming from the front left.

    I couldn't figure out what on earth it was so I started digging around.

    So it turns out, it was my cpe cai pipe rubbing against the metal of the cars chassis because it hadn't been fastened to anything when mounted. It was sort of dangling there.

    Top make it worse, the chassis had eaten 1/3 of the way through the pipe!

    I went to Clark rubber and bought some rubber bits, araldited them to the chassis where the pipe touches to prevent rubbing and then fastened the pipe against the rubber with a zip tie so it wouldn't move.

    Solved all my front left squeaking issues.

    Hope this helps.

    Sent from the moon using Tapatalk
    Last edited by GreenMountainGoat; 03-03-2012 at 01:11 PM.

  19. #19
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    still reckon it is a ball joint of some description causing this noise. either the one under the upright or the one or both of the swaybar link ones.

  20. #20

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    are you still having the problems ski?

    I have just fitted h&r springs to my gen1 and i am getting some really strange rattling noises from the front too.

    Kind of high pitched, like something is loose, can hear it at low speeds, my car is about an inch and a bit lower than stock with the springs.

    Only springs were fitted. all work done by an independant mechanic.

    I'm going to go and have a looksee shortly but if anyone has any ideas?

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