Odd squeak/creaking sound

[Phaethar]

Hey all,

First, forgive me if the description of this is vague. It's hard to describe this over an internet forum.

Anyhow, the past couple days an odd noise has started to happen on my '06 Speed6. While at slow speeds, say while pulling out of a parking lot or just driving slowly down a back road, I'll get some weird squeaking or creaking sounds. Not coming from the cabin, sounds more like the engine area, or possibly underneath the car. Not related to braking, and doesn't seem to be suspension related. Typically happens with the car in gear, but has happened between shifts as well.

It could be happening at higher speeds as well, but the road and engine noise might make it too hard to hear. It's noticeable enough while going less than, say, 30mph though that I figured I'd see what it might be. Kinda thinking it is a mount of some kind, based on how it sounds (creak-creak). <- That's supposed to be 2 distinct creaks back to back.

I haven't noticed any other issues along with it. Drives fine, shifts fine, stops fine, etc.

Thoughts?

 

[BoostedSpd6]

Ball Joints.. how many miles are on your car?? it could also be worn out bushings on the control arms.. while are cars are mazdas, fords are commonly known for that.

 

[Phaethar]

Around 55k miles now.

 

[BoostedSpd6]

Any kind of warrenty with the car??.. if so take it to the dealer, if its run out you can still take it there but obviously your gonna pay.. or you can go to a local shop.. either way your gonna get charged for an alignment.

 

[Phaethar]

Yeah, I picked up the extended warranty when I bought the car, should be fully covered until 100k miles.

Of course, I just had it all aligned a couple months ago after having a wheel bearing replaced.

I'll see about getting it looked at soon. It's not like it's making all kinds of noise or anything right now, it's very intermittent, and can't be reproduced on demand, so I'm worried that bringing it in will just be met with a "we couldn't find anything".

 

[event]

is it this noise?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7lrQ64yDD0

 

[chiefmg]

If the wheel bearing was replaced on the front, I would check everything on your suspension. A friend of mine took her Taurus wagon to Pep Boys for front struts, then brought it to me when there were some problems. She had an intermittent clunk that drove me nuts. I finally found that the genius who worked on her car hadn't tightened one of the sway bar end links.

 

[Phaethar]

Event,

It is similar to that noise, although it's hard to tell if it's the same thing. Definitely doesn't happen nearly that often though. Seems to happen the most while coasting with the car in gear, right after letting off the gas. If my hand is on the stick, I can feel it through that as well.

Hard acceleration, braking, and turning have no effect. Yet, some shallow, wide bumps that are the entire width of the road will cause a creaking sound.

Good point about the wheel bearing. I'll be sure to mention that when I bring it in, maybe later on in the week.

 

[Phaethar]

Ok, couple updates.

First, I tried to take a little movie with my phone today while driving. You can hear a couple squeaks in there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBBExQz4N50

I tried driving slowly today with my head out the window to hear where it's coming from. Verdict is... too hard to tell. Sounds more like it's coming from the back now, but sometimes it did sound like the front. I dunno.

Also, it only makes noise when I'm moving. Seems I need to be going at least 20-ish mph before it'll start creaking. Most times I can definitely feel it through the stick and wheel.

It also got going for quite a long time today too, on a bumpy-ish road. Started going and just didn't stop. Sounded like someone was jumping on a trampoline or something.

Finally, Event, can I ask what the cause of the squeaking in your video was?

Thanks!

 

[event]

that definitely sounds like something from the suspension. Mine does not. I have yet to find out what my problem is because it only happens when its below 55F or so... and it's been very hot and muggy here recently. But yours is definitely different then mine.

 

[Phaethar]

Yeah, it does sound like it's coming from the suspension somewhere. Just weird that I can't reproduce it while stopped (by bouncing the car by pushing on it), and I need to be going at least 20 before it makes any noise.

Weird.

 

[Phaethar]

Ok, don't mean to keep posting in my own thread, but I found 1 other clue tonight.

I started the car to pull into the garage and gave it a little rev. Turns out that doing so will cause a little squeak. Right around 3000-2500 RPM, there will be a little squeak as the RPMs drop back down. Seemed to happen pretty much every time, whether I had the clutch engaged or not.

What could do that? Engine or tranny mount, or something else?

 

[batou079]

slow speeds, aftermarket suspension also creaks naturally.
springs for example, at slow parking lot speeds will have noticeable squeak.

but you get squeak when sitting still? sounds more like belts... tension'd too tight or too slack.

 

[Phaethar]

Ok, final update here. Took it by the dealer at lunch today to have it looked at. Had a tech ride with me, and he noticed the noise right away. They looked around and determined that it was the heat shield on the main cat. Apparently, it was loose enough that it vibrated only when the engine was around 2300-2400 RPMs. They tightened it up, and noise is gone!

Odd, but at least it's taken care of, and was an easy fix. Hopefully this will help someone else out in the future.

 

[event]

glad you got it taken care of... They'll never find my noise, it goes away too quick, but its so damn loud

 

[wannabe]

my heat shield in the protege used to rattle like crazy at 2800 RPMs, so, everytime i accelerated. REALLY annoying.


glad you got it fixed

 

[Mistersix]

i just wanna add for others with creaking problems. spray down your sway bar bushings with wd-40. the dry out and can make noise.