[jp1203]

For the past week or so, I've been getting creaks out of the rear end of my 2004 LL Bean when going over bumps or even just driving on an uneven road. I can usually get it to creak just by pushing on the back bumper. It's very annoying--usually loud enough to hear very easily inside the car, and outside it's quite a racket!

I'm 99% sure it's nothing to do with the struts, mounts, or springs because they're relatively new and when I listened underneath the noise seems to be coming from the center of the back of the vehicle, not the wheel wells. It's definitely not sway-bar bushing/link related, either. If I take the whole bar out including the end links (which are new, BTW), the noise is still there.

I've tried spraying every joint I can find with silicone, but that doesn't seem to make any difference even to help rule out what it isn't. It actually sounds like it's coming from near the rear differential.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Performance Suby]

It's probably your rear trailing/control arm bushings, mine are shot and it constantly creaks on uneven road, except for me its more the rear passenger side. I'll probably replace all the bushings with polyurethane ones from Whiteline, but that will only be next summer for me.

 

[jp1203]

It's probably your rear trailing/control arm bushings, mine are shot and it constantly creaks on uneven road, except for me its more the rear passenger side. I'll probably replace all the bushings with polyurethane ones from Whiteline, but that will only be next summer for me.

I just replaced my front control arm (well, transverse link) bushings because one was leaking. Those weren't difficult at all. Would these be a similar process? Trying to picture it in my mind and I'm not sure how accessible they are...

When listening from behind the car, it does sound like it's louder on the passenger's side, but when you're underneath it sounds like it's coming from closer to the center. Hard to tell for sure, but I can tell enough to be almost positive it's not far enough to the sides to be related to the struts.

 

[Performance Suby]

You will have to remove arm and either burn the old bushing out or use a hand press to remove it and press in the new bushing. I haven't done it before but that is what my father told me.

 

[jp1203]

You will have to remove arm and either burn the old bushing out or use a hand press to remove it and press in the new bushing. I haven't done it before but that is what my father told me.

Ugh, that doesn't sound fun! If that's what's causing it, I might bite the bullet and pay someone else to do it. The front transverse link bushings were a piece of cake since you could buy them pressed into the assembly and just bolt them in. They were sort of a separate component from the control arm, though.

 

[Performance Suby]

Check them out first, but chances are if mine are bad yours are too.

Heres what a couple of the bushings look like:

 

[cardoc]

If you live where salt is used on the road or its in the air, the bolts tend to sieze to the bushing sleeve. Mine were so bad I could not get th loose from the sleeve and had to cut them out. I just got new arms from Subaru and a pair of bolt sets and eccentric washers. It wasn't much cost wise for the complete arm. Getting them out of the rear subframe with he seized bolts was a pain. Especially the left side with the exhaust in the way.

 

[jp1203]

There's not a whole lot of rust on the bottom of mine despite being a New England car. Not sure if that would end up being a problem or not.

I'm starting to think that the creak is temperature related or replacing the end links did more than I thought. No creaking whatsoever today, but it was also in the mid 60s today, the warmest it's been since before it started creaking.

 

[cardoc]

Something you could try and it does't require replacing parts: get some anti seize in a bottle with a brush, remove the sway bar bushings and coat the inside of the bushing with the anti seize, reassemble and see what happens.

 

[canubaru]

something on rear of my 01 H6 squeaks, a lot when the car bounces. it is in the area of items 3, 5, 6, & 9 in the attached link.

http://opposedforces.com/parts/legac...llustration_2/

is this the same part you are talking about?

will marking the cam bolt position avoid having to reset the toe-in after the job?

thanks.

 

[Performance Suby]

Check #26 as well on both ends of the arm. Marking the position of the bolt is good idea, but it would still be good to get a rear wheel allignment afterwards.

 

[cardoc]

something on rear of my 01 H6 squeaks, a lot when the car bounces. it is in the area of items 3, 5, 6, & 9 in the attached link.

http://opposedforces.com/parts/legac...llustration_2/

is this the same part you are talking about?

will marking the cam bolt position avoid having to reset the toe-in after the job?

thanks.

That's what I was referring to, yes. The bolt seized in the sleeve that runs through the bushing. I run into this alot doing alignments on Subarus in general. The arms catch a lot of debris, salt, water, etc.. If it appears that I may have trouble loosening the nut to turn the bolt for toe adjustment, I spray it down with PB and let it sit. Sometimes heat helps break the nut loose. Occasionally I get what I had on my VDC and have to cut the bolts out. Only, my VDC was the first Subaru I ended up changing the complete arm, which came with the bushings.