Howdy all. I'm working on a 2005 Mazda 6 with a creaking noise coming from the front end.

The noise sounds like a bushing the way it "creaks".

It only becomes noticeable when coming to a stop. It is only coming from the Driver's side, steer. There is no play in the C.V. joints/half shaft. There is no play in any of the sway bushings or ball joints. There is no traces of powderized rust (as if something is now metal on metal). The rotors are not gouged as if one of the wear indicaters has made contact (or any other part has hit the rotor).

However....the rotors on the steer axle are wearing poorly. In two aspects...

1) the inner side of the rotor on both is missing about 30% contact area.
2) When the car is jacked up with the wheels off and in Neutral and spinning the Driver's side hub by hand it the hub gets tight in a certain spot (brakes dragging). Therefore I suspect the rotor is out of round.

That being said yes I know the brakes should be done but the complaint is regarding a creaking noise. And even with the abnormal wear on the rotors I can't see any cause for the brakes to creak under these circumstances.

Though I'm not that familiar with Mazda vehicles....Any thoughts?

 

Hi, leaving the wear in the brakes aside, have you checked your lower control arm bushes for wear? The inner bushes can split and become excessively worn on all Mazda 6 models. You can usually see this wear if you know where to look, but its sometimes best to drop the control arm down and have a proper inspection.
I've also know cases where the outer control arm ball joints can be noisy as hell with no play being present in them. Does the creak only happen under braking, or can you reproduce the noise by pushing down on suspension whilst the car is stationary?

Hope this helps!...