clint2006s2ki

I've started to notice a creaking noise when i turn the steering wheel. Seems to be coming from under (?) the car. It doesn't happen always, but is starting to become more and more frequent. I have about 45,000 miles now. Any thoughts on the problem, whether it's anything serious, and how to fix it? Thanks in advance.

RACER

It's hard to know if it's serious enough to cause a catastrophic failure without doing a visual, hands on inspection.

clint2006s2ki

not sure where to look. even at a stop light, with the car not moving, if i turn the steering wheel i'll hear a creaking noise about 75% of the time.

clint2006s2ki

i only saw one thread on this subject and the last commenter asked if the guy had any clutch work done (thinking that maybe they didn't put everything back together 100%). i did have the clutch master replaced at 30,000, ... but why would it creak even when not moving or in gear? i'm thinking that's not it.

SoCalIsMyLife

My guess is the sway bar rubber mounts. Does it do it when u're stopping and going over a bump really slow as well? Mine started making the sound and I lubed all the mounts. now it doesn't make any noise at all.

RACER

If your mechanically inclined, put your car on four jackstands and give a thorough visual inspection. I would get some non-petrolium silicone and spray all the rubber underneath your car. This would include all rubber bushings, CV boot's, steering rack boots, everything rubber underneath the car.

clint2006s2ki

no, i haven't noticed it when i'm stopping or going over bumps (slow or fast). it just creaks on turns when driving or if i'm stopped and try to turn the wheels. rats.

SoCalIsMyLife

sway bar mounts

avagr

for me it was the steering rack boots, p/n 53537-S2A-003 if i am not mistaken. I think thats your problem too. Just lift the car and turn the wheels left-right and you will see where the creaking noise comes from.

analog

I had the same noise you're describing. Also a creaking or muted popping noise when coming to a slow stop. The fix was tightening up the self locking nuts on the camber adjustment bolts. It was loose when I got to it. I bought my car used with 43k miles and suspect an alignment was done but the final step of properly torqueing these bolts was missed. Wouldn't hurt to check the other alignment locking nuts while you're down there. Good luck.