Body making a creaking sound.

My wife and I went on a 500 mile cruise with some friends. While on the cruise, I notices a creaking sound coming from the (what sounds to me) front windshield / roof area. Well, it has gotten worse to the point that it is now a constant loud creak while driving. Very annoying. My SLC did not used to do this. I have taken off the front nose and dash, and checked all those areas for anything noticable which could be making that sounds. I did notice the front driver side body bolt (under the nose) was loose, so I put a little blue lock tight on it. I'm hoping i do not need to take the body off to fix this issue. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
G - have you checked the ceiling panel? Is it rubbing the exterior spider? Is the upper tub rubbing against the lower half?

If there's a creaking sound there's a good chance it's leaving some type of witness mark.

If you can hear it clearly it's probably inside the cabin but here are other potential locations:

- Nose to front splitter contact points.
- Nose to spider contact points.
- Door contact points.
- Spider to body fasteners, check for tightness. Check the ones under the spider, there should be some bolts going through your side skirts, the aluminum frame extension, and the spider.
- Rear clam to spider contact points.

Does it make this noise even while driving around the neighborhood? If yes, maybe you can have a passenger ride shotgun with you and have them put their ear against a long hollow tub - something not too sharp ;) Listening through the tube and pointing it towards various parts of the car will help isolate where the sound is coming from. Worse case scenario, pull the nose and dash and drive around the neighborhood to see if it's still there.

I once had a creak that sounded like it was coming from the front but it was really coming from the back - the sound was bouncing off the windshield and right into my ear, making me think it was at the front.
 
Hey Cam,

Thank you for the reply. Excuse my lack of knowledge on SLC vocabulary, but what is the "spider".

Thanks again for the information.
 
Thanks Del,

Excited to see your build bro.

It's not often, but glad to help where I can!

Same here, these last few weeks are going by so slowly. It's going to be weird to see it in something other than white gel coat.
 
Ok, i found what is making the creaking sound. Its the bolt assembly that connects the upper controle arm to the frame. I have adjusted them so they are not rubbing on the sides and sprayed dry teflon lubricant on it, but its still creaking. What is the name of this part, and can it be ordered from Fran or a vendor? Thinking of just replacing it.
 

Attachments

  • 20190521_102857.jpg
    20190521_102857.jpg
    281.5 KB · Views: 314
That's the rod end or heim joint. Fran can tell you what the part number is, they're available from Pegasus or possibly Aurora directly/through a distributor. I think at one point I may have come across a post from CamM with the rod end part number (they've changed over the years).

It looks like your jam nut is loose, I'm assuming you loosened it and just didn't re-tighten before snapping the pic. If not, then definitely tighten the jam nut!
 
Funny enough I just did a quick search and came across this thread that talks about noisy suspension. Solution was to grease the heims (as Granville did). In this thread CamM refers to QA1 XML rod ends.

https://www.gt40s.com/threads/suspension-lubrication.49063/#post-516702

I applied Molykot 321 on all my rod ends and bolts before assembly and I hit them with a little 321 from time to time (without pulling apart the suspension). The seals I referred to in the above thread didn't work out for me, so mine are fully exposed per the standard build. It became an issue to accommodate the spacing. The booty type covers required too much real estate to work. I didn't expend a lot of effort to come up with a solution once I hit those road blocks, figuring I would just periodically clean and hit my rod ends with dry lube.

Granville - I'm not familiar with the dry teflon lube you've used, does it have any stickiness to it/will it attract and retain dirt? If yes, consider wiping it down to minimize its ability to retain dirt and look into getting a can of the molykote 321 (available on mcmaster). It sprays on but flashes off fairly quickly. You're left with a lubricant that won't attract and retain dirt. If none of this helps with your squeak it's a good idea to pull your bolt and inspect the bolt shank and rod end bearing ID to ensure they're not already worn or galled. Your car is still fairly low mileage so I wouldn't expect to see any wear; if the lube's not helping it may not be penetrating enough. A good excuse to visually inspect it all and apply lube to the bearing surfaces directly.

I spent a few more minutes looking at searches and there's a more generic discussion here:

https://www.gt40s.com/threads/play-in-new-rodends.47757/#post-487035

Simplest solution? Contact RCR and get the part number and vendor information from them directly so you're not taking any chances.

FWIW I use the terms heim and rod end interchangeably, others may not.
 

Neil

Supporter
FYI, "Heim" was one of the earliest manufacturers of spherical rod end bearings and the name became sort of generic- like "Kleenex."
 
I want to give an AT A BOY and big Thank you to Fran and the crew at RCR. I called the other day to discuss the heim bolt and get a part number. With out hesitation, Fran said "i will box a few up and ship them to you free of charge". They arrived today. Thank you Fran and the Crew at RCR. I am now going to start working my way around the front end changing out the squeeking ones.
 
Back
Top