Couple weeks ago I had the entire front suspension overhauled with new Lemförder control arms, ball joints, drop links tie rods etc. The only things that weren't changed are the struts (3 yo Arnott) and the arb bushings.
Over the past several months I had the occasional knock and creak going over speed bumps or rough terrain, for which I reasonably blamed the worn out ball joints and control arm bushings.
After the recent overhaul, the car has developed a very pronounced creaking from the front and center, almost across the firewall by the foot wells.
It is more evident during turning but not always present. It will oftentimes manifest over speed bumps, rough tarmac or dirt roads. It will not happen before the first few km in the morning and once it's set in, it will still creak while stopped at the traffic lights with foot on the brake an "D" selected. It creaks in sync with the engine vibrations! If I select "N" or turn the wheel some 90-100 degrees either side, the creaking stops.
I went under the car and checked every single bolt and nut related to the suspension and in particular those on replaced components and they're all tight as they should.
Tried to spray some WD40 on the arb bushings but didn't make much difference, if at all.
Today, I went under the car again and stuck a flat head screwdriver between the edges of the bushes and the arb itself while spraying some more WD40 and rhe creaking is now less pronounced. I also observed that the bushes are not completely bonded and they have the cut which enables one to fit them straight on the bar, so I'm not sure if these are original to the vehicle.
I'm planning to buy a pair of bushes for what seems to be a very modest sum and try to fit them myself. Can I do that without disconnecting the drop links or is the system under load? In case the drop links do have to be disconnected, should the car's front be jacked up? I'm planning to use a truck inspection pit...
Thanks for any advice
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