02 solara v6 something tweeting in suspension, any ideas?

[fenixus]

so, i have one more annoyance (nothing serious I hope) which is a tweeting sound coming from suspension or something else in chassis.

at first i though it might be the rear strut or something around, but i checked dealer records for this car and rear struts are OEM, replaced (at dealer in Florida) about 26k miles ago only!

tweeting happens not only when driving over bumps, i also hear it briefly when getting out of car, shutting doors or even closing the trunk lid. it seems to be coming from the rear.

last time I had rear wheels off I roughly checked all things around wheels and all seemed good. any ideas what it might be ?

something loose or requiring lubrication maybe?

[fenixus]

is it 100% safe to use something like a Liquid Wrench White Lithium Grease (spray) on all suspension bushings (control arms, end links, etc.)?

I heard some people recommend Silicone Spray for rubber, but then I read it can get easily washed off with first rain or so...

I was wondering if that's a good idea to temporarily "fix" the squeaky suspension issue. I will not be touching anything under car until Spring (new front struts and more minor tuneup maintenance) or even Summer (sway bars bushings).

[Chris Crash]

Sounds like strut mounts maybe.

Try spraying things with silicone, ONE AT A TIME to see if the noise goes away. When it does go away, then you know what the noise is coming from!

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

Sounds like strut mounts maybe.

Try spraying things with silicone, ONE AT A TIME to see if the noise goes away. When it does go away, then you know what the noise is coming from!

ok thanks. will get silicone spray and try hitting them one by one and re-testing, may take a while though to pinpoint this way hehe.

Do you think I need to jack it up to spray or I might be able to shoot those bushings with car's wheels on ground?

I found dealer records for this car and it says prev owner replaced rear struts and mounts because of noise 27k miles ago (around 2 years ago).

This kind of noise I hear (only when car is warm, it's gone when car started cold) reminds me of little birds tweeting or chirping, mostly on passenger side. and usually when driving on uneven road surface.

someone somewhere else said it's probably rear sway bar bushings. have never had a chance yet to check. but I was thinking that maybe control arm bushings can cause same sounds?

[Chris Crash]

Honestly, check all the nuts and bolts to make sure they're torqued. But yes, you should be able to just crawl under there and spray everything.

[fenixus]

I found nothing loose by touch last time I checked in late Summer when doing brakes all around. Haven't retorqued any bolts on suspension parts though, will leave that for Spring. I hate working on car in cold & windy weather...

Will have to wait for warmer weather some day soon to play with that silicone spray first.

[pmesfun]

It could be sway bar links, I replaced the sway bar bushings yesterday and I still having the clunking problems. Next step is to change the links and control arm bushings.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

It could be sway bar links, I replaced the sway bar bushings yesterday and I still having the clunking problems. Next step is to change the links and control arm bushings.

yeah it's likely.

I also found a TSB for both Solara, some Avalon and Lexus too on lower control arm repair (bushings?), though I don't have the TSB content only number SU00202 and date Jun 2002, taken from edmunds.com

http://www.edmunds.com/car-maintenan...07057&type=tsb

Nice thing about my ride is that there was absolutely zero recalls on that model. It somehow cheers me up a bit

your '99 Avy would be here:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-maintenan...07057&type=tsb

It has a few TSB on front suspension, I can't see rear noise problems reported to NTHSA.

[pmesfun]

Sweet! The TSB describes the same problem I am having.

[fenixus]

try this link
http://www.edmunds.com/car-maintenance/guide-page.html

i think it doesn't include '99 avy though. i searched for it on google last night and found lots of hits from lexus forums as well and some avalons (later years i think).

[pmesfun]

The linked website is asking if I want a free price quote. Do you have to log in to Edmunds first?

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

The linked website is asking if I want a free price quote. Do you have to log in to Edmunds first?

god damn it. no you don't need to be registered. just go to edmunds.com, then select Maintenance tab up there (just mouse over, don't click) then choose Maintenance costs and Recalls and fill out the form.

[pmesfun]

So I found 2 TSB regarding front end noise, One says that to replace the strut mounts, but they were replaced last year. So that leads to me to believe its the other one. The inner tie rod can make squeaking/clunking noises, and was replaced with a new part.

[fenixus]

you have noise from front end too?

on my ride front a little squeaks on passenger side, but I believe it's the worn out strut over there (and 1 loose nut on mount) causing it.

I will be looking into it after Winter, something tells me I may find quite a few worn out bushings, as this suspension doesn't give me the firm feeling I have when driving the other solara (5s-fe)... but hey I hope it's front struts causing it

as per rear ... seems like 2 options for me:
a) sway bar bushings
b) lower control arm bushings

Will try spraying them soon to see if any improvement happens (and after which one).

[esvipron]

Originally Posted by fenixus

you have noise from front end too?

on my ride front a little squeaks on passenger side, but I believe it's the worn out strut over there (and 1 loose nut on mount) causing it.

I will be looking into it after Winter, something tells me I may find quite a few worn out bushings, as this suspension doesn't give me the firm feeling I have when driving the other solara (5s-fe)... but hey I hope it's front struts causing it

as per rear ... seems like 2 options for me:
a) sway bar bushings
b) lower control arm bushings

Will try spraying them soon to see if any improvement happens (and after which one).

If you do not want to replace the sway bar bushings now because of the cold you could spray on the outside as said, but also get a wide needle with grease and inject on the inside through the factory opening they have on the rubber. It will help as well.