I've noticed a noise coming from the front right suspension assembly of my 8. It makes a loud squeaking noise when going over a speed bump at a moderate speed. The noise seems to happen only when all the components are "cold" or have not been used for awhile--after I drive around for a bit (and warm everything up) the squeak does not occur.

Think it's the shock absorber going bad?

FS

Your anti-roll bar needs to be greased.

Your anti-roll bar needs to be greased.

A joke? I've never heard of an anti-roll bar needing to be greased... Please explain.

Does it help if I also state that the noise only comes from the right front (I tested all 4 corners over the speed bump). Also, the noise does not occur after I've been driving for awhile.

FS

Not a joke. I had the same problem and greasing it fixed it. In fact I told the dealer it was the anti-roll bar. They said they couldn't duplicate it, but that they greased it anyway. After that the noise is much reduced (not completely gone 100% of the time). I know Racing Beat provides grease with their bars, so no it's not a joke.

Ok, I'll mention this to them. However, isn't it odd that the noise will not occur after you've driven around for awhile?

FS

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the temperature of the grease and how it's cold after it's been sitting awhile.

Thanks for the help!

FS

anything with a rubber bushing is going to be cranky when its cold... the sway bar bushings are just 1 example

My car does the same thing. When I leave my apartment complex in the morning there are two speed bumps. My drivers side front makes the same noise. It only makes it over the first speedbump though, not the second one 20' away.

I had that problem with another car that I had. I ended up replaceing the bushings with eurithane (sp?). That took care of it. The old ones were worn out so I don't thing greasing them would of helped that situation. I would take their advice and give it a shot. Could not hurt and it is cheap.

Yeah my car only has 5,000 miles on it. I hope the bushings aren't shot yet

ughh... my car does the same thing - the bushings are not shot, there is no problem to worry about... cold rubber bushings are hard and they shrink in size and therefore will make some noises until they warm up (not to mention the grease is doing the same thing inside the bushing)

Mazda lubed the anti-roll bar (where is this bar? Is it above or below the engine?) but the noise still persists. I guess I'll have to live with it.

FS

Mazda lubed the anti-roll bar (where is this bar? Is it above or below the engine?) but the noise still persists. I guess I'll have to live with it.

FS

U can see the front bar easily, not the Back one (or Im blind)

Its something that connects both side of the wheel. Not that hard to spot

I'm at work, and I can't dodge out to look--so I'm confused. Connects "both sides" of the wheel? Can you elaborate a little more?

my car does the same thing. matter of fact. it make noise on all 4 corner. I had mazda checked it out. they said all they did is grease the suspention. It went alway for a few day but then came back. sure it's 25 degree outside right now, still that's no excuse for a 32k car.

It's also commonly known as a sway bar, the rear one connects between the 2 rear wheels not on both sides of the wheel.

Same problem here on with the front suspension.

Same problem here on with the front suspension.

Noticed you are in B'Ham. I might be living there sometime in the future...

Mazda just lubed the bar. It lessened the noise but it's still there. Though VERY irritating, I think I'll live...

FS

Things to note:

When you are having this problem with your sway bar bushings, you need to remove the bushings from the mounts, clean them thoroughly (removing ALL the old grease), clean the sway bar where it passed through the bushing (also removing ALL the old grease), and possibly smoothing down the sway bar with some steel wool where it passes through the bushings.

Don't use solvents that could damage the bushing material. Simple Green and a toothbrush work fine. Avoid abrasives.

THEN (and only then) re-grease the sway bar bushing with some weather resistant high-pressure grease, like a silicone-based grease, before re-assembling. Don't spray with an aerosol lubricant or silicone spray. Use a good high quality grease.

After you re-assemble the bushings, disconnect the sway bar from the end-links, and check for free noiseless motion of the bar. It should be able to swivel in the bushings without binding and without noise.

If there IS binding, then you need to check the steel sway bar mounts to make sure they are not deformed. They are designed to hold the sway bar bushings in place, not place any additional pressure on the bushings.

Also, if you are running rubber sway bar bushings, you may want to replace these with a urethane bushing. Same concepts apply as above. No evil solvents, no silicone or wd-40 sprays, do use a good high-quality grease compatible with whatever material your bushings are made from.

Finally, unbolt the end links (the ball-joint like assemblies that connect the sway bar to the suspension) and check for free movement of the swivel ball joints on the links. There should NOT be any binding or rough feel to the swivel motion of the end links. If there is, these should be replaced.

Finally, re-assemble the noiseless end-links to the noiseless sway bar, and you should have the problem solved.

Some folks just plaster grease or silicone spray or even (gasp) WD-40 on the bushing without taking the time to clean and inspect it, and that will NOT resolve the issue. It may be 'better' for a short period of time, but unless you do the job correctly, the noise will return shortly.

The above applies to both front and rear sway bars, regardless of whether they are OEM or aftermarket, regardless of size.

Also, if you are running rubber sway bar bushings, you may want to replace these with a urethane bushing.

The reason OEM's do not use urethane is because of NVH problems and a severe tendency to squeak continually... the reason to use them is responsiveness and feel in the chassis

r0tor makes a valid point.

I was making an assumption about increasing the performance of the sway bar. Urethane bushings do tend to squeak more than rubber bushings, and require more maintenance, but provide a crisper handling and responsiveness.

Good call. :)

a shock going bad doesn't squeak, it clanks and knocks

another trick for urethane bushings is to wrap teflon pipe thread tape around the bar where the bushing holds it, you can get it most hardware/building supply stores

Threads like this are great but they confuse me even further! :cwm27:

I am having the same outcome but for a different reason! My car sounds fine when its cold but after running it hard for a good 30 min the creaking sound happens. I don't like to call it a sqeak cause I really think it sounds more like a low pitch rocking chair and yes its only the right front.

I too thought it was the sway bar bushings or maybe the shock absorber etc but I am not so sure any more.

Anyways, I started a thread on it since I have more than one issue...

Creaking noise in suspension (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=109699)