I have a 95' 3.8L convertible that's been giving me some problems and I'm ready to drive it off a ramp into the giant pond behind my house for fun. Aside from the broken heater core that I have yet to tackle, and the slipping trans, there is a horrible squeaking noise coming from the front suspension somewhere. Worse than Jim Carey in dumb and dumber, no joke.

Front springs and shocks were replaced not too long ago. Still confused on the whole diff. between and shock and a strut if anyone would like to explain. Best way to relate the sound is gettin some action on your really squeaky bed. It's not so much when the car goes up and down when I'm driving but more when I turn the wheel left or right, especially when I'm moving slow or parked. Though it does squeak slightly when parked and I push down on the front.

Could this be a ball joint bushing rotted out or something, or a grease point? Maybe something to do with the control arm? Sway bar bushing? No clue...basically just need some help diagnosing the problem or some clues as to what to do to try and find it. If anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated to me and all my neighbors that stare at me over the ear piercing noise I make when cruising down the street.

 

There's a bunch of threads on this and the general consensus is that it's the balljoints. I have the same problem on mine but I have yet to fix it (no time/cash).

 

Yes it is the ball joints.
And a nice little trick till you get the cash to replace them...........
Buy a decent spray lithium grease.
Poke a tiny hole in the rubber (if the rubber isnt rotted off mine was)
Liberally spray the lithium grease in the ball joint and then bounce the car a dozen or so times and re-apply.
This will take care of the squeak for a month or so, or a couple car washes and rainstorms.
Thanks to Ford for putting ball joints with no grease fitting.

 

Forget the quick fix. Change the ball joint soon. It's been dead dry for a long time now. Next step is it squeaks as it cries for grease, then soon after it pulls itself out of its' socket and your control arm is on your rotor. Hopefully you are just pulling into a garage as this happens.

As for Thanking Ford for taking away grease fittings. Thank the majority of people who neglect their cars. This was not a Ford decision. Most every car today is like that. Non greaseable.
Just buy an aftermarket ball joint. Most of them are greaseable.

 

Heres a how-to on balljoints, 79-04 are be more less the same thing:

http://members.shaw.ca/Notchmustang/Balljoint.html

 

I too have a horrible squeaking sound in my front end. I too get the sound when I'm going real slow turning the stearing wheel. Even when I'm stopped, moving the stearing wheel back and forth a little. I think it's the ball joints, because I've replaced everything else in that area, and the squeaking is still there. The present (original) ball joints, I see, don't have any grease nipples. A friend of mine said the originals have a neaprene socket and don't need greasing, but I'm thinking even neaprene will wear out, and I think that's what's squeaking, metal rubbing on neaprene.

I bought a set of new ball joints and tried on the weekend to get the old ones off, but couldn't! Do you know how to get the old ones off? Does your present ball joints have grease nipples?
Joe.

 

BallJoints

 

If you are gonna replace the ball joints you may wnat to consider replacing the control arm bushings while you have it apart. That way you can just take the whole arm to a machine shop(or anywhere they have a press) and have them press out the ball join and the bushings and press the new ones in again. To dissassemble the ball joints you will need a 10pd sledge and ball join forks. unscrew the nut that holds theball joint and screw it back on upside down till the bottom of that nut reaches the top of the bal joint threads. Than put the ball joint fork inbetween the hub and control arm and beat the fork till they separate. Be very carful as it is under alot of presure and can seriously injury you.

 

I had the same problem... Just get a grease injector needle and pump some grease into the rubber boot. It should buy you some time and fix your noise.