[DeTomaso] Squeaky suspension or body flex

[Tom Shinrock]

 My driveway is fairly steep and has about a 3-4 inch drop off from the curb.   I have a small GTS air dam on my car so to avoid scraping the air dam and the lower valence I have to hit the curb drop off at a severe angle so car is almost parallel to the drive entrance and have only one wheel at a time hit the drop off.  I have to approach the driveway entrance the same way to go up the drive to avoid contact.

As you can imagine, this torques the car body as it traverses the drop off.  Sometimes, typically when its is warmer, when I'm going up the driveway when I get the first wheel up over the drop off I get a squeak when the car body twists.  The sounds seems to come from the windshield frame so I assume the noise is from the body flex and not the suspension.  I have poly bushings but don't get any squeaking at any other time during normal road conditions.

I had my windshield gasket replaced this summer because the one that was purchased from Wilkinson when I had my windshield replaced last summer was discovered to have split in the corners on my drive to Phoenix this spring.   Two more Wilkinson gaskets split in the corners just trying to get them on the windshield.  Durometer measurements showed the rubber hardness was twice as much as a 30 year old reference gasket.  I eventually got an OEM Ford gasket that went on the windshield very easily (because it fit properly) and a durometer measurement showed it was twice as soft as the Wilkinson gaskets. 

After having the gasket replaced I noticed that I don't get as much squeaking from the windshield frame as I did before.  I can only assume that the softer rubber flexes more and doesn't squeak inside the windshield channel like the harder ones did.

Tom
5186

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Donahue <demongusta at me.com>
To: detomaso <detomaso at poca.com>
Cc: detomaso <detomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Fri, Oct 11, 2013 11:10 pm
Subject: [DeTomaso] Squeaky suspension



Pantera Gurus:

My car squeaks. I have to assume it's the suspension, I think. As the years go 
by, I finally joined POCA and found THE LIST. I read it daily. I had initially 
brought up "bleeding the cooling system" and got 96 comments. Now, I feel like I 
have a much better understanding of the Pantera cooling system, especially 
bleeding. Anyway,  I've not noticed anyone talking about squeaky suspensions, so 
I guess I had better ask: why does my car sound like the doors in a haunted 
house?  (as I creep diagonally over a speed bump, for example). It's a 
temperature-related creek. I can get in the car, back out of the garage, creep 
over a small gutter, and through a dip as I enter the street. Quietly. When I 
come back after driving, that same pattern in reverse is embarrassing, if 
nothing else. When I drive back in you'd think you are in 10 haunted houses as I 
creep diagonally back through the small gutters and dips. So what gives? A-arm 
bushings? If so, how so? What is expanding with the heat 
 to make that sound? It just makes common sense that 1) it's the suspension, and 
not some inherent defect with the whole chassis, and 2) it's metal expanding 
somewhere. 
Jack
#4348
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