2016 Denali..Front end squeaks like an old mattress

[Akinshake]

2016 Yukon xl Denali 4x4 84k miles.

Everytime I hit a bump going slow my front end squeaks like an old mattress, speed bumps, my drive way, seems like every bump. Thought it was coil overs but I recently replaced the mrc with an mrc delete and fox coil overs and it still does the same thing. Replaced sway bar end links, no change. Everything is torqued correctly, and everything visually seems fine, bushing wise. It’s got to be control arm bushings or something suspension wise, but I’d really not like to just throw parts at it to start. Any help or guidance would be great, thanks.

 

[swathdiver]

So I wasn’t sure where to post this, hope I can get a little more visibility here.

2016 Yukon xl Denali 4x4 84k miles.

Everytime I hit a bump going slow my front end squeaks like an old mattress, speed bumps, my drive way, seems like every bump. Thought it was coil overs but I recently replaced the mrc with an mrc delete and fox coil overs and it still does the same thing. Replaced sway bar end links, no change. Everything is torqued correctly, and everything visually seems fine, bushing wise. It’s got to be control arm bushings or something suspension wise, but I’d really not like to just throw parts at it to start. Any help or guidance would be great, thanks.

Well, the control arms have bushings that can be checked. You'll want to check your ball joints and the bushings for the front differential. I would also double check the sway bar end link bushings, count eight of them and make sure they are tight. There are also two more bushings further back that secure the swaybar to the frame. Check the tie rods and steering linkage too I guess.

 

[Doubeleive]

spray lithium grease on the bushings

 

[Akinshake]

spray lithium grease on the bushings

I’ll give that a try. I just didn’t know if there was a common problem here.

 

[Akinshake]

Well, the control arms have bushings that can be checked. You'll want to check your ball joints and the bushings for the front differential. I would also double check the sway bar end link bushings, count eight of them and make sure they are tight. There are also two more bushings further back that secure the swaybar to the frame. Check the tie rods and steering linkage too I guess.

besides visually inspecting them for tears or metal to metal contact, how can I check them? I tried to wiggle everything and nothing seemed loose. I’ll drop the sway bar mounts and grease them up good. I’ve got brand new polyurethane tie rod end bushings that I greased up well and checked to make sure everything was properly torqued.

thanks for your help

 

[Joseph Garcia]

My guess is the bushings that connect the sway bar to the frame.

 

[swathdiver]

besides visually inspecting them for tears or metal to metal contact, how can I check them? I tried to wiggle everything and nothing seemed loose. I’ll drop the sway bar mounts and grease them up good. I’ve got brand new polyurethane tie rod end bushings that I greased up well and checked to make sure everything was properly torqued.

thanks for your help

There is an official way to check for play in the ball joints with a dial indicator, jack stands and a floor jack. One millimeter of play and its out of spec. I know a guy who puts a jack under the lower control arm and then uses a cheater bar to press up and down on the ball joints, must have a good eye! I would think that for them to be bad enough to rattle, the boots would be gone. The more I think about it, it's probably something else.

 

[OR VietVet]

Get a mechanic's stethoscope and have a heavy/strong friend jounce/bounce the left and right side front suspension, you did not say whether you hear the noise from the rear or front but I assume that it is the front based on your post, and probe for where the noise comes from with that hearing scope. You can even put your hand on different spots while bouncing the front end and feel the squeak. A squeak or squeal is just a high pitched vibration that if you find it you can feel it.

 

[Akinshake]

Get a mechanic's stethoscope and have a heavy/strong friend jounce/bounce the left and right side front suspension, you did not say whether you hear the noise from the rear or front but I assume that it is the front based on your post, and probe for where the noise comes from with that hearing scope. You can even put your hand on different spots while bouncing the front end and feel the squeak. A squeak or squeal is just a high pitched vibration that if you find it you can feel it.

It’s the front and can’t tell what side it’s coming from. Almost sounds like both sides, or center, so I just need somebody to help listen to pin point. Good info, appreciate it.

 

[Akinshake]

Greased the sway bar mount bushings. Problem solved. The rubber was squeaking as I was taking them off. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[OR VietVet]

Thank you for posting the fix. While you had it apart I assume the bushings looked A-O-K and no need for replacement?

 

[Akinshake]

Thank you for posting the fix. While you had it apart I assume the bushings looked A-O-K and no need for replacement?

they looked ok. You could tell there was some age on them and the little rubber nipple that sits in the frame to line it up was squished, somebody probably had taken them off before. The sway bar was rubbed raw down to bare metal. I am debating on upgrading the sway bars but if I don’t I’m going to at least do polyurethane bushings. But I short term solved the problem.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Greased the sway bar mount bushings. Problem solved. The rubber was squeaking as I was taking them off. Thanks everybody for your help.

As the A-Team's Hannibal Smith always said, "I love it when a plan comes together!".

 

[Sam Harris]

Greased the sway bar mount bushings. Problem solved. The rubber was squeaking as I was taking them off. Thanks everybody for your help.

Another idea for future reference: Spray only one component / joint with lithium grease at a time. Spray, and see if the noise goes away, If not, try another joint. This way, you can isolate the specific part that is problematic, and you're not just spraying everything to make it quiet.

 

[number9]

My wife’s 2019 Tahoe (66k mi) developed this squeak last week. Was driving me NUTS. I sprayed the front sway bar bushings with fluid film externally hoping the Ff would find its way inside. It did reduce the squeak and confirm that was the source.

Yesterday I changed the oil and decided to drop the sway bar bushings and lube them with white lithium grease. 15min job turned into 1.5hr job. One of the passenger side bushing mount bolts broke off. Seems it may have been cross threaded from the factory. I tried everything to get the bolt out but ended up having to drill it out and use a replacement bolt and nut to remount the bracket. First bolt I’ve had break on a GM vehicle in very long time.

However, greasing the bushings did solve the squeak.