Squeaky lower control arm bushings when cold

[Dustin Jackson]

The front of my Tahoe used to squeak after I rebuilt the front end and I think it was the lower control arm bushings. The squeaking went away thinking they just needed to break in or something. Today we had a cold morning that we haven't had in a long time and I noticed coming out of my driveway that the squeaking is back.

Is this something to worry about? or is there something that I can do stop the squeaking? It seems to only happen when going over bumps or dips when it is cold out.

 

[OR VietVet]

Spray them down with silicone spray but I have to ask, when you rebuilt the front end and got the new bushings, did you settle the truck down on the tires. loaded condition, before you tightened completely?

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Spray them down with silicone spray but I have to ask, when you rebuilt the front end and got the new bushings, did you settle the truck down on the tires. loaded condition, before you tightened completely?

@PNW VietVet I will try that. Specifically I jacked the lower control arms up and then tightened

 

[Joseph Garcia]

As you know, squeaking is an audible noise resulting from friction between two materials. As such, it is plausible that the squeaking is removing minute bits of the bushing each time that it squeaks. It may not cause a significant issue for a long time, if ever at all. However, IMO, you should lube the bushings, as @PNW VietVet suggested, to see if you can get it to stop.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Thanks gentlemen, any recommendation on what lube to use?

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks gentlemen, any recommendation on what lube to use?

Some silicone spray like SuperLube or something. Whose control arms are those? Are the bushings rubber or poly?

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Some silicone spray like SuperLube or something. Whose control arms are those? Are the bushings rubber or poly?

@swathdiver MOOG CK620955 rubber bushings I think

 

[OneofFew]

If I recall correctly- there are no wear points on the bushings. what you are hearing is the metal sleeve rubbing on the frame, probably not properly torqued.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Good call, I’ll torque them down before lube them

 

[Dustin Jackson]

The lower control arms were very tight but I got them turned a bit tighter and used some "Blaster Silicon Lubricant" on all of the front end components, I took it down the road to some speed bumps and the squeak was still there, today it sounded more wet than usual probably because of the silicon lube so I am not sure what to make of that. It seems to not happen when the suspension is dry. I think the morning dew contributes to the squeaking, it usually is gone by lunch time.

I did inspect the bushings and there is one driver side lower control arm bushing that looks a little weird, I wonder if that weird bit makes a squeaking sound when it rubs the frame.