hi there everyone, this is my first post here. i'm having some issues with a noise coming from the front of my 2000 sunfire. whenever the suspension is worked, pretty much any little pothole or bump in the road will do this, i hear a squeak/creak. it has become worse in the past year. i would say it was a tie rod end or something, but this noise can't be replicated by bouncing on the car from the outside. i read in the sticky that it might be coming from the spring seat, but couldn't it be a little rubber spacer between the coil and lower spring seat. i dunno, has anyone else had this problem or similar one? and yes i'm aware that the answer to this question is probably floating around out in the forum somewhere, but for whatever reason the search feature ain't workin'. whatever, in any case, any help you guys could give me is appreciated. thanks
strut mounts are gone
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
I just asked about the same thing over in the maintenance forum, and now I find this! D'oh!
How bad is it to drive it like this? I don't have the cash, and/or the time to fix it.
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
Before you go and spend money on strut mounts - make sure that the hood hinges are oiled well. Raise and lower the hood and see if that is the problem.
i get this too, like when i go over a railroad track or something, not often though. sounds like the spring door stopper things sorta, only more metal banging together.
http://irockit.deviantart.com/
Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:strut mounts are gone
sturt mounts to make sqeaks or creaks most of the time, it is usually a clunking noise..
squeaks and creaks can come from the bearings in the strut mount, ball joints, tie rods, control arm bushings and even sway bar end links..
your best bet is go somewhere that has a lift and will check out your front end for cheap or free...leave the diagnosis to professional that are looking at your car not someone guessing on the internet and spending your money
Thanks for the input RyZ96, seems like good advice... Curious that not that long ago I had my car in for warranty transmission work, and not long before that for a dealer serviced oil change. Each had what was supposed to be an inspection of some sort to the front end, (I would hope!) Neither raised any concerns. I still have some warranty left on it, does any body know if there is any chance any of this will be covered?
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
well it all depends where the noise is coming from. you say the front of the car but does it sound like its coming from the top up in the tower on down below by the wheel? squeaking sounds can come from anything that needs to be greased. the creaking noise leads me to believe that it is your mounts. thing that sucks is you have an 00 and in the 2000s and up is when they started to make the mounts all 1 piece so you have to buy a whole new mount if it is your mounts. 95-99 however is a 3 piece mount and you can simply just buy the 10 dollar strut bearing and replace it.
Thats why I was curious of some kind of warranty coverage. I really don't want to mess with this! I like driving it to a dealer ship, get a loaner car (usually a G6), and pick it up fixed... washed to boot!
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
i dont know if warranty will cover everything but they do go bad. i dont know if they would consider it routine maintainace or not
My car is going to the dealership tomorrow for just this. To me it sounds like it is coming from directly infront of me (drivers strut tower?). I'll get back to you...if I don't drop me a PM and I will post what it was in here.
"The Blue Bullet"
OH, and I will let you know if it is warranty work, as my car is under warranty.
"The Blue Bullet"
Thanks, Logan... I'll be watching for a reply... I'd like to get it fixed while I still have some warranty left, if I can.
My experience is similar, it sounds, to yours... mine is making noise from the driver's side strut tower as well.
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
if its coming from the strut tower then its your mounts
ALRIGHT BOYS!
Confirmed, strut mounts are shot. They said the driver's side was shot and was making all the noise. The dealership I went to here in Michigan was AWESOME about it, and said that the other side would probably follow shortly. Because of that, they said they were going to go ahead and do the other side too while it was still under warranty. So as stated, it IS warranty work and is not considered a wear item.
Get it in there while you still have warranty.
"The Blue Bullet"
Quote:
ALRIGHT BOYS!
Confirmed, strut mounts are shot. They said the driver's side was shot and was making all the noise. The dealership I went to here in Michigan was AWESOME about it, and said that the other side would probably follow shortly. Because of that, they said they were going to go ahead and do the other side too while it was still under warranty. So as stated, it IS warranty work and is not considered a wear item.
Get it in there while you still have warranty.
but keep in mind that just because that was your problem doesn't mean that its the original posters problem.. so many things can make noises on a car
Quote:
Curious that not that long ago I had my car in for warranty transmission work, and not long before that for a dealer serviced oil change. Each had what was supposed to be an inspection of some sort to the front end, (I would hope!) Neither raised any concerns. I still have some warranty left on it, does any body know if there is any chance any of this will be covered
they might have done an inspection, but keep in mind things do go bad inbetween oil changes and such.. also usualy when oil changes are performed they are done on a drive up lift for simplicity so they probably didn't do a front end check, only visually inspected, which unless something is straight broken they wouldn't notice anything.
just take it to a dealer see if they will look at it under warrenty and see if they will do it under warrenty, if they won't take your car back..
Sorry, that did kinda come out wrong. I confirmed that is my problem...but since the car is going to the shop I don't think it really matters. Its warranty work, they will find it and fix it accordingly. Hey, its free.
"The Blue Bullet"
yea, it did kinda get away from my original post, which is fine. it sounds like your problems are getting solved, so i guess...your welcome for the help of opening up this thread! so yea, this has helped me get some ideas on where this problem might be. yea, i'm actually going to school for this, i go to ferris state, and my instructors can't even pinpoint it. they keep second guessing themselves. i would bring it into our service floor, but it's the weirdest thing i think, that i have to pay to work on other people's vehicles and to work on my OWN car...it's not like the x-amount of dollars that i've given this place is enough to be able to work on my own stuff for free. whatever, that just me pissing and moaning...yea anywho, thanks again for the input.
Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it... Logan which dealership did you visit? I'm here in Grand Rapids, and all the dealerships locally I've been to aren't usually that helpful. I try to go to a Pontiac dealer, (I know, i know, there isn't a difference... cars are all the same, but I like to browse over the inventory while I wait, and/or get a Pontiac as a loaner. Looks like I'll be doing some checking into this with one of the dealers.
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
Its Gary Trimarco in Big Rapids. I think they have one in GR too, but they might not be of the same helpfulness (is that a word).
Speaking of Big Rapids....Steve Perry, check your e-mail.
"The Blue Bullet"
Not familiar with that one... I usually go to Grand Pontiac-Buick...
(Todd Wenzel kinda screwed me w/ tranny work, (they wouldn't do it b/c I had my short shifter installed... claiming that was why second gear was gone, even thought it did it again 30,000 mi. later w/ the factory shifter back in)).
I'm getting off topic, so I'll click off now.
I'm a 6ft. tall, 250+ lb., man, and I proudly drive the Sunfire. My wife drives the half-ton 4x4...
HELLO
I think I have the same problem. It only started after the front end was repaired after a sheet-metal (no frame bent) accident and realigned.
To get at the strut mount I guess I take the 3 bolts at top out, and the 2 bolts at bottom out (after the spring compressor). Then undo the nut at the top.
This is the only job I have to do on the car - does the strut just disassemble one piece at a time, replace the mount, and reassemble? Is there anything tricky?
Also does it have to be realigned after this.
