Squeak Fix

My 2005 Vic had developed a nasty squeak coming from the front end someplace…Classic control-arm bushing sound, loud and annoying…Not looking forward to tearing the front-end apart, I put off dealing with it…Well today I decided to trace it down. One interesting thing, it would give a good squeak when I closed either front door…With the doors closed, if I rocked the car gently, it would chirp…I opened the hood to better tell where it was coming from. No more squeak. Opening the hood cured it. Turns out, the two little rubber pads, mounted on adjustable stands that support the front corners of the hood when it is closed were a little out of adjustment (loose) and dry as a bone…A little silicone spray and tightening them up so they had a little tension on them with the hood closed and this annoying problem was cured!

Many cars support the hood this way so I suspect I’m not the only one who has this problem to one degree or another…On a rough road, it can sound like the car id falling apart…

Great tip to keep in mind. I’ve never run into it myself but some years ago had a problem with my old Lincoln’s security alarm going off at random times; including one night about 11 o’clock.

I finally discovered the hood was a little out of adjustment and when the winds were blowing strong (common here) the hood would undulate and trigger the hood switch which then set off the horn to blaring and the headlights flashing… :frowning:

Good post @Caddyman. I had a squeaking sound coming from the front of my Corolla. It only squeaked when I turned left. Like you I ignored it for a while. Like for 10 years! Well, I’m good at ignoring problems.

Anyway, I finally discovered it was caused by that long metal rod that holds up the hood when you are servicing the engine. The notch-latch-thing that is supposed to hold it tight (when the hood is closed) was loose and allowing it to move just a bit, and squeaking in the process. Why it only squeaked when turning left? I’m still ignoring that part of the diagnosis. lol

The hood is a big piece of metal, just kind of sitting there…We tend to THINK it becomes part of the cars structure when we shut it, but it’s not, it’s just floating there…Under the right conditions, it makes a huge sounding board, like a drum-head. No wonder luxury cars pad the underside with a sound-absorbing mat…

@GeorgeSanJose -

Just a thought, but if your Corolla is like my Camry, the rod is actually firmly attached to the vehicle on the passenger’s side, with the clip it loosely (in my case VERY loosely) fits into on the driver’s side. If you turn right in such a situation, the centripetal force would be pulling the rod to the driver’s side - imagine this like holding a broomstick from your hand and letting it dangle to the floor. On the other hand, if you turn left, the centripetal force pulls the rod to the passenger’s side - this is akin to balancing the broomstick on your finger, stick pointed up - it’s essentially an inverted pendulum, and any slight non-axial force on the rod will make it want to spin around.

In other words, turning right is a stable force load for the rod, turning left is unstable.

Just a random theory, though. :slight_smile: