Creak Creak! Steering woes :(

[C.A.R.]

Righto,

Seems the maintenance on this car is never ending!

Have recently replaced the following (with Dee's help) -
Top mount bearings
Front shocks & Springs
ARB droplinks

TRE's look OK, and are around 12 months old, but this morning the car has developed a very noticeable creak when turning the steering either left or right, under load. It's a bit un-nerving.

The front ball joint on the drivers' side is buggered and clicking, I'm replacing those at the weekend. Could this be the same source of the new creaky noise?

I haven't the means to jack the car right up at work and if I take it to a garage on the estate they will have me by the chequebook (they're all b*stards).

What can I check?

[Kezzieboy]

I have a similar issue, is it at low speeds, full lock? Mine only does it turning right :-S

[C.A.R.]

It is at low speeds, but turning both ways. Hoping that by changing the ball joints on Saturday morning it will cure it...fingers crossed!

[Piggy]

Sure the springs are seated ok?

[C.A.R.]

Checked the drivers side last night, that was absolutely fine, and the noise seems to be coming from there. Will check the other side at the weekend by all means though, as it is not dissimilar from that sound of a spring moving about with the top mount...

[Toms306]

Chris - just checking, did you put the top mount bearings in the right way round?

I have a similar issue, is it at low speeds, full lock? Mine only does it turning right :-S

Mine does this only at full right lock as well. Only seems to do it when reverse parking, but I guess I don't use full lock any other time tbh. Can't find anything wrong with it though!

[pugmanxud]

Top strut rubbers were causing my ow speed creek

[Razorback_Rob]

Mines doing the same. But only since I changed a wishbone with balljoint. Before that I had constant rattling that sounded like caliper was loose and rattling about but apparently not. And can't check top mounts because my bonnet won't open because the cables come off >.< my guess it something's not tight or worn pretty quick because every suspension component and replacement hubs were changed at the start of the year

[C.A.R.]

Chris - just checking, did you put the top mount bearings in the right way round?

Don't say this.

Remind me what the right way up is please. I need to put the shock boot on the drivers side anyway as we missed it reassembling the strut.

[Toms306]

Fat side into the mount, pointy side down.

Top one in this pic is correct way.

[titch]

Yeah i noticed though that when i bought my new ones from ECP the bearings were in the mounts the wrong way round, i guess it just made them fit in the box better, but that could be confusing as some people would think that if they come in the box that way, that must be the way they go.

A little while back i had a few snags with the car, and it turned out that a garage had put one of the top mount bearings back in upside down when they replace my springs, they were not new ones they reused the old ones, and this is what happened to it after a little while.

[Toms306]

Yep, it saves packaging....and yes its not uncommon for people to fit them that way round lol.

[C.A.R.]

Was the ball joint in the end, it was dry as fook and really grinding away. Didn't help that the previous owner had not used the correct pinch bolt, instead a torx-headed bolt with no shoulder on it! Bit alarming to see, considering I've been driving it about like that for the last 2 years!

[Toms306]

Ah, at least it was an easy fix then!