I have a 1999 Mazda Protege 1.6L that I am driving and I think I'm going INSANE!!! The car makes a loud creaking noise and squeaking noise (front passenger side) whenever I go over a bump or hit a dip in the road. It's almost as if the car is bottoming out, or as if the wheel is about to completely come off the car. I have been lurking the forums for a couple months and read a few threads about the sway bar 'clunk'. However, my noise is hardly a clunk...its creaking/squeaking and a thumping noise and occurs at any/every speed. I read a thread on here about a guy with a similar issue but he never responded to what the fix or issue was....so I need some HELP!!! PLEASE!!

I read many threads here about the sway bars and the end links. I changed the end links/bolts but I am still having the same problem.

I read another thread about the engine mount but I looked at the mounts and they looked fine (no cracks). I took the car to a shop and they said the car had been hit (which it had, somebody had hit my front passenger side) and they stated the body shop used a (junk yard strut) b/c the tech said it sounds like a bad upper strut bearing. So I have now purchased a strut to replace it with.

My concern is that what if its NOT the strut...what if it turns out to be the CV joints/axles?? I had the car stripped when I replaced the end links a few weeks back. The body shop who performed the work had CUT OFF the end link bolts so I was unable to remove them. I had to 'dremel' off the bolts in order to get them off. The car was in an accident about 2 years ago (when the car belonged to my sister) and I just began driving it recently. The car squeaks and creaks bad but also does so as you take off, and as you come to a stop. The car does not creakor squeak when your on a flat paved road....but as soon as you hit a small bump....[:@]

1.I changed the sway bar end links/bolts
2. I dont think its the cv joints just b/c the noise doesnt occur when your on a straight road, and the noise is present when your going straight or turning...makes NO difference. Normally wheel bearing/CV joints I hear are bad when you turn a certain direction or at a certain speed. My noise occurs at ALL speeds and all directions!!

What other ideas do you guys have?? I dont think its ball joints b/c if I drive on a freshly paved road I have no problems unless the road has some dips. Forget about hitting a pothole, the strut seems to not even absorb any of the impact and I think its the strut. More or less any acceleration or stop results in the squeaks/thud/creaks. And when you accelerating/stopping your transferring weight so this is why I think its the strut!! Car feels so unsafe...feels like my wheels going to fall off when I hit a dip!!

Any ideas or anybody with my experience??? TIA

 

What about your springs? Maybe they're just worn out. Is the car riding low to the ground. The struts would be one of the obvious candidates also. Another thing to consider are the wheel bearings. When you jack one of the wheels off the ground, does the wheel spin freely? What about the play (back and forth)?
[align=left] [/align]

 

well I replaced the strut on the passenger side as well as the upper strut mount and bearing. The sound is STILL there!!! It's less pronounced though I think b/c of the new strut. I am thinking it may be the inner CV joint as the steering wheel shimmy's every once in a while....not 100% sure. I can also feel the clunking underneath the foot well and into the steering column...

I did the wheel/rim test but it has no play at all...so I ruled out bearings/joints....but it could be the inner CV joints... I am not sure if its the sway bar bushings or the CV joints. Now I also read that another possibility is the engine mount...(rear). The rear engine mount I read is in the middle right below the center dash (radio area)...I checked the springs, they had some light surface rust...but I dont think they would 'clunk' maybe creak/squeak. I did notice the rubber stoppers were worn but didnt have them during my install so i had to reuse them. I did clean them very well though...

I would hate to first do CV joints then have it still make the noise, then do sway bar bushings....then have it turn out to be the motor mounts...JEEEZZZZ

 

One thing to note (Yes it was stupid but I cant explain it)

I was removing the strut in question and noticed the spring wasnt fully 'stiff' as in I could almost compress the spring by hand (just a bit) [:-]

So anyways I did the unthinkable, I first removed the 2 lower strut bolts...and WITHOUT compressing the spring I removed the top strut nut....but nothing happened...The strut assembly simply came apart and the spring/strut lowered after I removed the upper strut mout bolts. How is this possible?? HOW can you remove a strut/spring assembly from the car WITHOUT first compressing the spring?? Should the spring NOT SHOOT out and be under pressure?? I dont understand it...and now i'm thinking maybe theres an issue w/ the spring??

 

Something is definitely wrong there, as you are not supposed to be able to install struts without a spring compressor. Either the spring is shot or there is something missing from the assembly. Perhaps something was not installed correctly. There must be a was to check the spring.
[align=left] [/align]