A little bit creaky.

[RobinB5]

At 95k miles old, maybe this is like arthritis? Anyone got any pointers as to what might be causing the creaking? (same thing the other side as well).

 

[910Esprit]

possibly the anti roll bar bushings as this is the only component that is common to both sides?   You could probably isolate with some WD40 or similar if you do one joint at a time

[RobinB5]

Thanks @910Esprit, I'll give that a go.

[Chillidoggy]

It's your back, mate!

 

[CarBuff]

I'd try some silicone spray on ALL the front end bushings individually.  That way you can help isolate the issue for those who have creaky joints in the future!

 

The upper ball joints do not have grease fittings, but you can lubricate them by injecting chassis grease into the rubber boots, with a needle fitting on a grease gun. (I do that once a year)

https://www.amazon.com/LockNLube-Grease-Injector-Needle/dp/B0779J6HTX

 

WD40  might deteriorate rubber bushings after a few years.  If you don't have a silicone spray, try some Armor All.

[jonwat]

Broken springs 

[ramjet]

I'd go silicone spray as well. No telling what the petroleum solvents from WD40 would do when trapped in between the bushing and metal over time.

[910Esprit]

I'm sure you are right, but like 99% of the population, I've been spraying WD40 on anything and everything for the last 50+ years with no disastrous effects....

[ramjet]

Bloody hell. I thought this might be one of those videos that would have been hard to hear the issue.

Umm, Nope.

[RobinB5]

So, having taken apart the top wishbone of the front suspension to check the shim distribution a couple of days ago (https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/117004-caster-and-camber-shims/) I had retightened those bolts without due consideration of the required torque. The required torque was 35-39 Nm (according to the service manual). Decided to loosen them today and retighten using my torque wrench to the correct value to see if that would help address the creaking.

Torque wrench seems to be broken as I proceeded to over-tighten one of the bolts until it snapped with a God awful popping sound and washer and camber shim plates zoomed off in all directions (luckily not in my eyes).

Lessons for today:

1) RTFM

2) Have a torque wrench that works

3) Maybe don't try any mechanical work on my beloved Esprit that involves anything more than undoing a nut

New wishbone nut, washer and bolt set ordered from PNM (https://www.pnmparts.co.uk/esprit/esprit-s4-s4s-s300-gt3-93-99/esprit-s4-s4s-s300-gt3-93-99-c/lotus-esprit-top-ball-joint-fitting-kit-6089b), will be gently fitting the broken one then leaving everything else to the garage when they do the toe, castor and camber adjustments.

Bloody cars.

 

Beyond that, still don't know the reason for the creaking. Tried oiling the anti-roll bar bushes, to no avail. Maybe it's the upper ball joint as @CarBuffindicated. To be further investigated, hopefully without breaking anything else.

[Sparky]

Did you also try the ARB-chassis mountings?

 

[CarBuff]

13 minutes ago, Sparky said:

Did you also try the ARB-chassis mountings?

 

Right, those should not move...just twist. BUT you said you lubricated them.

 

Your sound DOES seem to be that of the ARB moving in the bushes.

Edited May 30, 2022 by CarBuff

[Sparky]

Easy to forget about those when you have a bounce creak.  It definitely sounds like them.

[RobinB5]

I sprayed lubricating oil liberally around the bushes, but didn't check the mounts themselves. Might they needed to be tightened or what? 

[Sparky]

Not necessarily, but it does sound like it's those bushes!  You'd know with a hand on them whilst bouncing.  Might need an assistant though...

[RobinB5]

Unfortunately I have no assistant and my arms and eyes aren't long enough

Will see what a local garage says. They have a reputation for geo/suspension stuff. Wonder how much it will end up costing me if I just asked them to 'sort the geo and fix the creaking'?   At least I've bought what I hope are the correct camber shim plates, but knowing my luck they're probably wrong  

[sailorbob]

The 35-39 Nm value is for the socket headed bolts, the hex headed bolts are 22-25 Nm.

Sorry to poo poo your purchase but those PNM bolts will rust at the merest hint of moisture. In exposed conditions YZP or zinc flake is desirable.

[RobinB5]

Thanks Derek. Had assumed that parts from PNM would be fit for purpose. On the plus side they did arrive in 24 hours from ordering mind. Only need to use one, will replace with something better down the line. Any comment about the creaking beyond what has been mentioned above?

[sailorbob]

Not a lot to add about the creaking and pretty much as already said. Disconnecting the upper wishbone arms from the upper ball joint lets you check the upper ball joint and inner bushes very easily. You can also check the lower ball joint too. Checking the lower arm inner bushes is harder because of the anti-roll bar but removing the anti-roll bar to chassis clamps makes it easier and allows the bar bushes to be checked. The chassis clamps are easy to do on a ramp but avoid doing one side at a time because the twist on the bar makes it harder to align the clamps.

[jonwat]

21 hours ago, RobinB5 said:

So, having taken apart the top wishbone of the front suspension to check the shim distribution a couple of days ago (https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/117004-caster-and-camber-shims/) I had retightened those bolts without due consideration of the required torque.

Did you retighten the nuts with the car at it's normal ride height, i.e. not with the wishbones fully lowered?

[RobinB5]

No! But I appreciate now the need to do so. Time for me to cut my losses, admit defeat and leave it to the garage. But how can you get access to the nuts with the car on a level?

[jonwat]

On 31/05/2022 at 13:19, RobinB5 said:

how can you get access to the nuts with the car on a level?

Either with the car on a lift or I used to place a jack under the bottom ball joint & raise it until the wishbones looked about level before tightening 

Edited June 1, 2022 by jonwat

[Barrykearley]

On 31/05/2022 at 13:19, RobinB5 said:

No! But I appreciate now the need to do so. Time for me to cut my losses, admit defeat and leave it to the garage. But how can you get access to the nuts with the car on a level?

That’s the reason there are four of the big figure 8 concrete blocks next to the ramp.

[RobinB5]

Not having much mechanical confidence or experience I've flip-flopped between doing something myself vs. getting a garage to do it. Thanks to the excellent advice above from @jonwat @Barrykearley @Sparky  @sailorbob @910Esprit and @CarBuff I decided to do what I could myself.

Raised the suspension up to about horizontal upper wishbones, moved the castor shims about to (theoretically) address the offsets from the geo measurements, bought the wrong camber shim plates (got the inboard/outboard direction wrong) then bought the right ones for the near side and fitted. Loosened the ARB mounts and oiled liberally, also liberally oiled every other bush in sight.

Creak has now gone! Couldn't be bothered to oil each bush in turn (and refit the wheels in between) to determine the root cause, but my feeling is that yep, it was the ARB.  Will take it back to the garage to do the tracking and do a full alignment check again.

Thank you very much everyone for your help and advice. One of the things I was looking forward to in owning an Esprit was to (incrementally) improve my mechanical maintenance skills and experience. Very much enjoying the learning journey so far!  

 

 

[Chillidoggy]

It's a good investment to have a box of the various different types of front/rear suspension shims in stock for when it's geo time. It might seem expensive, but if it means you can have the geo done in one go rather than having two bites at the cherry, it will save money in the long run.