Condor477

Hello, I''ve recently purchased a 2005 GT... a car I've wanted for a long time as a sort of weekend/pleasure car and finally picked one up a few weeks ago off a used lot. The car seems great, looks to me as the previous owner maintained the car very well and made no performance or exterior modifications that I have found.

Anyway, I expected some creaks and noises from an 11 year old car. It seems to creak, squeak, and moan (almost like a power steering pump) when backing out of my garage and turning. There are a few other "Clunks" in the car during normal driving, but this noise is different and seems to fade away once the car warms up.

So after reading and searching several threads here I decided to try and find the source. First thought was power steering pump. But I can turn the wheels at a stop with the car cold and no whine, I only really notice it in reverse when I first take the car out. There is no excess play in the wheel or noise when the car is still. I can push the car up and down in all four corners and it is silent and feels solid.

Next I went after ball joints and tie rods, as I've read many others here have also done. After lifting the front end both front wheels feel solid in both up and down and side to side. Further, once I got under the car I noticed the control arms and tie rod ends are brand new... I'm guessing I'm not the first person that was chasing this noise. I pryed on them anyway and no movement. Next I checked the sway bar end links after reading some other threads. I wasn't really sure how to test these, but they seemed very solid. I did order some new ones as I thought this 'must' be it. They haven't arrived and I'm not convinced there is anything wrong with the ones on the car now.

Not sure if this is anything... but if I rock the steering side to side with the car turned off in the garage, I do hear a slight clunk in the steering rack, but it doesn't seem like much or like the sound I hear when the car is in motion. I looked under while my son rocked the wheel but I couldn't isolate it to any one part of the steering rack. Again, I think I might be chasing the wrong thing with the steering rack but I could be wrong.

Does anyone have other ideas on things I should be checking? Thank you!

svastano

Did you check both front and rear sway bar bushings? If they replaced with the shiny red ones they could be the noise.

Derf00

Yep, sway bar bushing are my guess as well. Having chased down the clunking noises and a wheel vibration in my time with this car, that's really the last thing (for the front).

With one wheel in the air and the tire off, grab the front sway bar and really shake it up/down, front/back. Almost guaranteed to get some clunking/movement.

Condor477

Thanks for the replies, I will check those bushings today and see if that is the issue. All of the bushings on the sway bars look to be original from what I recall.

I tried a few other things this week like changing the differential fluid and friction modifier as I've heard that can replicate suspension noise sometimes (plus the diff cover had a very small seeping leak) and also put on a new serpentine belt (it was old and needed it anyway). It is till squeaking and clunking but at least I'm getting some other old parts/fluids replaced and I'm having fun working on it. I'll update later after I look at the sway bar bushings. Thanks again.