Suspension 'Squeaking' Over Small Bumps

[Ozstung]

Had the Eibach sway bars on for four years this month, just started hearing some squeaks. On earlier threads i read it was important to have the right grease applied.

 

[Volfy]

I wouldn't use a lightweight grease like white lithium, but just about any general purpose grease would work fine. Anti-roll bar bushing is fairly light duty, so no need for high-temp or extreme pressure additives, but if that's what you have... sure.

Once you use one grease though, it's best not to mix it with a different brand/type. At least not without cleaning the old grease out. Not all of them are compatible and may affect each other's chemistry.

 

[7Andrei7]

Hi! I have this horrible squeak coming from the front end when I go over speed bumps. I can't recreate it by pressing on the car when it's parked and it also isn't noticeable when hitting shallow potholes or manhole covers.

I added 2 videos I made today. You'll have to put the volume up but you'll definitely hear it.
I had it checked last time I did the alignment but they could not see anything wrong with a simple visual inspection.
Has anyone else had this? I have the stock, non-adaptive suspension. 115k miles.

 

[Volfy]

That is definitely suspension squeaking. At 115k miles, it is not inconceivable that one or more of your suspension joints/bushings are worn. Static, on the ground, with everything still connected and bolts tightened, it probably won't be easy to spot which are worn. First, I would check the two lower ball joints and the steering knuckle. Those have rubber boots and internal grease, so more likely to age. Next, you might need to remove some of the bolts to let the suspension arms hang loose to check the bushings.

Also, the stock anti-roll bar bushings are bonded to the torsion bar, so if they wear loose, that would likely make some noise as well.

 

[Volfy]

Speaking of anti-roll bar bushings... here's another modifying the modification.

While I was installing Whiteline anti-roll bars on the 2.5T, I opted for a set of greaseable bushing & bracket kit. Frankly, I wonder why any of the aftermarket anti-roll bar kits don't come with these in the first place. While it's easy to add grease fittings to any bracket (and that's what I did previously), these bushings have grooves molded into them that help flow & retain grease a whole lot better.

For the front 24mm, I went with Energy Suspension 9.5160G 15/16in. SWAY BAR BUSHING SET – Energy Suspension

For the rear 18mm, I chose 191161 | Greaseable Sway Bar Bushings - 18MM (0.70 inch)

I am not partial to one brand or the other. They are both quality. Those were just what were available on Amazon when I ordered.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Speaking of anti-roll bar bushings... here's another modifying the modification.

While I was installing Whiteline anti-roll bars on the 2.5T, I opted for a set of greaseable bushing & bracket kit. Frankly, I wonder why any of the aftermarket anti-roll bar kits don't come with these in the first place. While it's easy to add grease fittings to any bracket (and that's what I did previously), these bushings have grooves molded into them that help flow & retain grease a whole lot better.

For the front 24mm, I went with Energy Suspension 9.5160G 15/16in. SWAY BAR BUSHING SET – Energy Suspension

For the rear 18mm, I chose 191161 | Greaseable Sway Bar Bushings - 18MM (0.70 inch)

I am not partial to one brand or the other. They are both quality. Those were just what were available on Amazon when I ordered.

View attachment 84008
View attachment 84009

The Eibach bars come with zerk grease fittings on their bushings along with a stopper that is part of the bar in place of that goofy collar whiteline is using, it's a superior design against all other competitors.

 

[Snicklefritz]

^^^But you have to apply the grease. Kia put my Eibach bars in but never greased them, even though they said they did. That ended up being exposed when I had our long-time mechanic check out what needed doing to end the creaking from the front bar. I never heard anything from the rear bar. Since he greased the bushings the sways have been silent. They must have been producing some kind of "white noise", because since they got quiet I hear the occasional pop or creak elsewhere that I never noticed before.

 

[Volfy]

The Eibach bars come with zerk grease fittings on their bushings along with a stopper that is part of the bar in place of that goofy collar whiteline is using, it's a superior design against all other competitors.

The Zerk fittings are easy to add. The bushings with molded-in grooves are the important part to help flow and retain grease.

The separate locking collars are actually a great advantage in my case, since I am swapping out to different bushing brackets with different bracket widths. All I had to do was loosen the locking collars and move them a bit to fit the new bracket. Voila! Done. I like tinkering and modifying the modification. So to me, that flexibility makes it the superior design. Bonus is that now I can readily buy basically universal replacement bushings, rather inexpensively, from many sellers, including Amazon.

With Eibach, you'll have to source replacement bushings from Eibach. I believe they make you buy a hardware kit.

Another point to consider... from what I have read about online, the Eibach rear bushing brackets are a PITN to install, owing to the fact that they have the webbing (similar to shown below). They make inserting the fasteners, which is already rather difficult given the very tight confines (especially on the left side), even more difficult. If you hire somebody else to do your installs, then you probably don't care. I do all my own work, so to me that's an important consideration.

Whichever brand you go with, at the end of the day, what's important is that it does what you want to do and how you want done, at the price you like. If you find Eibach does that for you... perfect.

Me? I like Whiteline. Well enough for me to keep going back, now on my 3rd set.

 

[cncBilly]

Hi! I have this horrible squeak coming from the front end when I go over speed bumps. I can't recreate it by pressing on the car when it's parked and it also isn't noticeable when hitting shallow potholes or manhole covers.

I added 2 videos I made today. You'll have to put the volume up but you'll definitely hear it.
I had it checked last time I did the alignment but they could not see anything wrong with a simple visual inspection.
Has anyone else had this? I have the stock, non-adaptive suspension. 115k miles.

Do you have after market sways? If so they need to be greased. Easy fix. If you don’t have sways…..hmmmm?

 

[7Andrei7]

Do you have after market sways? If so they need to be greased. Easy fix. If you don’t have sways…..hmmmm?

Nope, everything stock and no ECS.

 

[Trymin89]

Hey @Volfy do you have links for your full setup? Love the adjustability you have on your setup and looking to do something like that with mine

 

[Volfy]

Hey @Volfy do you have links for your full setup? Love the adjustability you have on your setup and looking to do something like that with mine

Other than the greaseable bushings, the anti-roll bars are standard Whiteline. BKK002 Sway Bar Vehicle Kit Google the part number to find the best price online.

The greaseable fittings are below. I bought them off Amazon for price and convenience. Either company makes both 24mm and 18mm. I just bought what was shown to be in stock on Amazon at the time.

For the front 24mm, I went with Energy Suspension 9.5160G 15/16in. SWAY BAR BUSHING SET – Energy Suspension

For the rear 18mm, I chose 191161 | Greaseable Sway Bar Bushings - 18MM (0.70 inch)