Squeaky Rear Suspension on 2004 Baja AWD

[Ballroom Blitz]

2004 Baja AWD, 113K

There are incredibly loud squeaks coming from the rear section of my Baja.  It is not a strut issue, and is more likely bad rear upper arms (right and left) in the lateral link assembly.  Anyone out there experience the same issue?  Is there a quick and cheap fix instead of replacing the arms all together?  Any additional advice?

 

Back story: I have endured this squeaking for more than four years.  I mentioned it while having tire put on the car and was told that my struts were leaking and so everyone assumed that was were the squeaks were coming from.  They did show me that the struts were leaking.  Two new struts later, the sound was still there.  As life would have it, I didn't drive my Subaru much from 2012-2016 and so I conveniently ignored the noise.  I recently took her to the local Subaru dealership for a check-up, mentioned the squeaking and was informed my struts were leaking.  I was quoted a price to replace them and was insured that was source of the sound.  So I took the car back to the tire guy, who checked the struts and said they were not leaking.  I took the car to a friend of mine, who has BMW repair shop, and he told me the same thing, and followed it up by saying the dealer wanted to sell me struts and then milk me some more when the squeaking was still present.  He went under the rear axle while his buddy and I rocked the car side to side.  Whatever he did under there, he came out saying that there was play in both arms from bad bushings.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Ballroom Blitz

[bakedpotatoechips99]

I can't pinpoint or give you absolute answers here. But, you most likely will need to replace the bushings, and or the entire lateral link arms with new ones.

  If you replace the entire arms, that is often much easier. Because replacing just the bushings requires pressing the old ones out, and pressing the new ones in.

  And they are pressed in very tightly, and really, to do that without spending hours and hours, and still maybe only having partial success (you may get one bushing that goes in crooked,

  and gets jammed, and ends up being almost impossible to replace, or you need to have an extra on hand due to damaging one putting it in).

  That is a real time consuming job, even with a press set, like Harbor Freight brand say. And, you can make your own, using various sockets, and a huge C clamp.

  But just getting replacement links is my advice. You could try spraying some silicone on the old ones, which might temporarily make the noise lessen or go away, only to return later.

 If you only need inner ones, you might try replacing just bushings. I replaced one in a '95 legacy, and I ruined my C clamp, and spent hours monkeying with it, since I had no hydraulic press.