Okay, first off my car is a 2002 Cavalier Ls Sport w/ the D-specs and B+G Sport Springs on it........

A months ago I noticed a annoying squeeking noise everytime I go over a bump or going up or down a incline, it was annoying but bearable, so I ignored it and it went away for a while, then it came back again, and again dissappered, and now it came back again, when the weather got warmer...............

I almost always have my back seat down, cause I got subs in the trunk, and I am pretty sure the noise is coming from both sides of the rear ( sometimes the front, but not sure)............So here is my question, I don't think it is the D-Specs, at least I'm praying it's not.........I'm pretty sure it has something to do w/ the strut mounts.............Now, I took it to a mechanic and he breifly looked at it and said it was probably the black rubber covering the springs, is that the spring insulator???

How could I tell if the strut mounts are blown??? And if they were, what would happen if you just ignored it???

How could I tell if my Tokico D-Specs are bad and if one or more is bad could I just order the one strut or whatever is bad, instead of buying all four and have Gravana or whatever company send it to the shop I'm getting it fixed at???

The reason I asked is just in case this does happen, the shop don't deal w/ aftermarket struts/shocks, so I'm most likely going to have to order them myself ASAP, and I want to be prepare, cause I can't be w/out my car for long........but hopefully it will never come to that conclusion.

How does the Tokico D-Specs Warranty Work??? Has anyone ever used it??? How long does it take for them to send you back a new strut and where did you have to send it to???

For now I am going to ignore the problem, until I can at least save up some money and time..........Is this a bad Idea???

What if it was the black rubber covering over the springs ( Spring Insulator??), is that a big deal???

Thankz people!!!

I was curious about the limited lifetime warranty on the Tokico D-Specs and did some research............

It said that if you send it directly to Tokico, you may have to wait at least 30 days to get a response...............Now, my question is, how could a regular John Doe take his car to a local shop and have them take out a blown D-Spec shock or strut, and leave his car at the shop for a month to see if Tokico will honor their warranty???

In my opinion, The only possible way the warranty will ever work is if you do the work yourself and if you didn't need your car for over a month.

I hope I will never have to go thru the trouble of doing this......... Has anyone gone thru thier warranty coverage before with the D-specs or other shocks/struts or even springs???

I just installes the d specs myself this weekend, I was haveing a squeeking prob up front. It turns out that the nut that tokico provided had no spacer on it so i had to make one. It fixed the problem, you might want to look at that in the rear, Just a thought.

I also have spacers/washers on the front two struts, not in the back, but it wasn't needed, at least to my knowledge, cause when the rear was installed it was nice and tight and no play in it. So that can't be it, thanks for the tip anyways.

Could Winter or Cold weather affect the struts, thus making an squeeking noise when going over bumps or up and down inclines???

If a strut is blown would it make a squeeking noise???

Anyone???

Try some lithium based grease on the spring insulators, or some armorall seems to work well too.

I sprayed some lithium in the rear yesterday and it was squeeking all day, but today it was raining all day and I only heard one squeek pulling out of my driveway and it magically dissappeared again, No more squeeking the whole day..............

Could the Weather be a Factor???

Oh yeah, I got a Universal Warranty 60 mths or 100,000 miles, and I was reading the booklet and it said they cover the Strut Bearing Plates.............if mine are bad and I got aftermarket lowering suspension on it, do you think they'll still cover it???

If the springs are installed correctly then they can't void your warranty over that. They of course wouldn't cover the after-market springs. Bad mounts usually don't squeak, they make a clunk sound. Do you have any other aftermarket parts on the rear of the car, not just suspension?

Yeah just suspension and subs in the rear.................

I know they can't void my whole warranty, but do you think that they'll still cover the strut bearing plates ( if it eventually goes bad) and not try to claim that my aftermarket suspension cause it to go bad???

C.T.S: The squeek went away yesterday, so do you think the weather is a factor???

And if I took it in to a local shop to have them take a look at it, do they have to take the struts out to know for sure where the squeeking is coming from and if they have too, they'll probably charge me for labor, huh???

Do you also need another alignment too if changing all four strut mounts???

Weather: If the roads are wet and throwing water up there, sure, that could make it squeak more or less.
Shop: They always charge you.
Alignment: Generall yes. If you really know what you're doing and are willing to do alot of extra work then you can avoid having to get it realigned. Just can't take the strut to knucle bolts loose.