The Long Road Back

[—Bryan—]

What you are experiencing isn't normal and do not let the shop tell you it is. Do NOT tell them what you think it is, just describe the symptoms and instances as well as you can. Make them ask the questions, do not volunteer information.

I tried my best to do that. The fact that it was doing it before and after the clutch hydraulics update suggests the same underlying problem, perhaps.

For what it's worth: the shop did not seem even remotely hesitant to have me bring the car back in, and did not brush off my concerns as "normal".

[— kung fu jesus —]

That is a silver lining. It will be alright.

[—Bryan—]

That is a silver lining. It will be alright.

Yeah.

If I'm honest, I was mostly just dreading messing up the family schedule (now that school has started) just to take care of "that stupid car" (I'm imagining my wife thinking that even if she actually isn't).

[— kung fu jesus —]

I understand the guilt. I have never met your lovely wife, but she doesn’t seem like someone who wouldn’t speak her mind if something really bothered her.

These are the the little trials we, as car enthusiasts, experience and learn from. I think you know how awful you would feel if you had invested the time to DIY this repair and run into issues. Even the pros get it wrong sometimes. The good ones stand by their work, the bad ones don’t.

[—Bryan—]

I understand the guilt. I have never met your lovely wife, but she doesn’t seem like someone who wouldn’t speak her mind if something really bothered her.

These are the the little trials we, as car enthusiasts, experience and learn from. I think you know how awful you would feel if you had invested the time to DIY this repair and run into issues. Even the pros get it wrong sometimes. The good ones stand by their work, the bad ones don’t.

Yeah...I keep trying to remind myself that she would. The problem with genuine anxiety is that it's not logical. She's fine with me taking the car back.

[— kung fu jesus —]

I get it. I deal with anxieties similarly. It’s part of what makes me good at what I do and terrible to deal with at the same time.

Can’t tell you how many times my wife has walked in on me with something blown apart to fix. I have to remind myself that she is grateful, not stressed, that I am doing that. Most recently the refrigerator.

[—Bryan—]

Took the car to the shop. Gaskets were in place on the top hats, so aside from the sway bar (still stock...probably not good with stock links at this ride height), no reason why it should creak other than the springs moving around a little bit. They bled the clutch some more and secured the wiring harness. Didn't charge me for any of the above.

If nothing else, I'm not out anything for having them check it out, so for now, I'm pleased. Need to take the car for a spin.

[— kung fu jesus —]

That is great news!

Try to note the corner and instances you are hearing the squeaks.

[—Bryan—]

That is great news!

Try to note the corner and instances you are hearing the squeaks.

Oh, that's easy. I hear it most just backing out of the garage and out of my driveway. Sway bar is clunking pretty bad coming out of there, too. I have to back out at an angle because the curb on my driveway is pretty steep.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Oh, that's easy. I hear it most just backing out of the garage and out of my driveway. Sway bar is clunking pretty bad coming out of there, too. I have to back out at an angle because the curb on my driveway is pretty steep.

Endlinks, swaybar bushings, spring lands, control arm bushings.

[—Bryan—]

Endlinks, swaybar bushings, spring lands, control arm bushings.

Only things that are stock in that list are the endlinks and sway bar bushings. However, the car wasn't creaking before I took it in for the bushing install. Ride height was adjusted as well.

[— kung fu jesus —]

What bushings did they replace and what type of material?

[— Agent☣Orange —]

I installed new sway bars along with poly bushings and immediately got clunking. I thought something had broken but it was the front sway bar binding so tightly, it wreaked havoc with the end links. It was basically unmovable. I should have checked how tight the sway bar was so, my fault. I ended up installing washers as spacers on the bushing mounts and the problem went away.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Did you have any of the control arm bushings replaced?

[—Bryan—]

What bushings did they replace and what type of material?

IL Motorsports bushings. Rubber, IIRC. Also had the front sway bar bushings replaced, too, with OEM bushings (MSM sway bar). If they had accidentally put them on the back, if anything, the bar would be practically floating considering the difference in diameter between the front and back bars.