Rubber Bushings: Why Do They Squeak?

Hello,

My car makes a creaking noise at the front when it hits bumps (only on uneven surfaces, regardless of steering movements or anything else).

Initially, based on previous experiences with other cars, I suspected the stabilizer bar rubber bushings located in the subframe, where the stabilizer bar rotates.
"For the exam, I loosened the sway bar links and manually moved the stabilizer up and down, but I didn't hear any sound."

In the 9N forum, you can read that the creaking noise can be fixed by replacing the rubber bushings in the suspension strut mounts.

That seems a bit odd to me, because these bearings, in my opinion, generate the entire movement through "internal friction" without two workpieces directly rubbing against each other.
Can something like that still creak ?

Can something like that still creak?

My experience with moving parts: EVERYTHING that moves can make noise. Literally everything.

Furthermore, the rubber bushings typically have a metal sleeve inside. This sleeve is usually vulcanized to the rubber. But even if it appears solid when inspected manually, the forces acting on the suspension are immense. And even minimal movement can sometimes produce incredibly loud noises...
'When the stabilizer bar is completely free to rotate, there's no force acting on the bearings. However, during driving, there *is* a force because the wheels almost never compress at the same rate. Furthermore, when the stabilizer bar is bolted down, it also exerts a pulling force on the bearings...'

CU Gremlin.

Gremlin wrote:

My experience with moving parts: EVERYTHING that moves can make noise. Literally everything...

Okay, that probably covers just about everything .

Let's see what I can do with these sounds.
"In any case, keep driving for now... it doesn't seem like there's anything seriously wrong (like a broken axle or something)."
If it gets too bad over time, I will have it fixed before the warranty expires (if they can actually manage to fix it ).

Hello!

"Sounds like the usual Audi problem. The rubber bushings in the suspension arms cause noises like this in A4 and A6 models. There's no noticeable play in any of these rubber bushings, but they creak like grandma's closet. It's a terrible noise. Audi even had a recall for this issue. I would definitely complain about it immediately, because they always take a long time to decide whether or not to replace anything."

Regards, Peter.

Hi!
My A3 also creaks like an old stagecoach. In my case, it's definitely the wishbone joints (like in almost every other car). It's especially bad when it's very hot. Since I don't feel like replacing them yet, I always spray them generously with WD40 or another lubricant. Then it's quiet for a while. You could try that too.
Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

"MFG" stands for "Mit freundlichen Grüßen," which translates to "Sincerely" or "Best regards" in English. It is a common way to end a formal letter or email.

Mc_Givertechnik wrote:

Sounds like the usual Audi problem. The rubber bushings in the suspension arms cause noises like these in the A4 and A6 models. There is no noticeable play in any of these rubber bushings, but they creak like grandma's closet. ter

Oh, I just realized that I wrote something wrong :
Axle shafts are fixed at the top to the shock absorber and at the bottom to the control arm via a ball joint bearing.
The triangular control arm in the Polo is mounted on rubber bushings, which initially only rotate within themselves when moved.

I noticed earlier that the rear rubber bushings allow for some play inwards and outwards (meaning movement of the wheel in the direction of travel) and that they rub against the stops during suspension movements.

I'm going to spray some silicone grease on the friction surfaces. Hopefully, that will solve the problem...

@ulf:

"Our 9N also makes this great 'noise'. However, it's so subtle in terms of volume that we don't want to risk the workshop messing something else up (again). Based on what's known so far, it seems likely that they are indeed the stabilizer bearings, as you suspected."

At least Volkswagen is in good company with Mercedes-Benz's "premium vehicles." The difference is that the problem was fixed in the production run there, while Volkswagen seems to be waiting for it to resolve itself.

Is your dashboard behaving normally?
This is the well-known enemy number 2 for the 9N...

Roger wrote:

Based on what is known so far, it appears that they are indeed the stabilizer tanks that you suspected.

Therefore, I also plan to try spraying silicone grease into these bearings soon...

Quote:

Is your dashboard stable? This is the well-known enemy number 2 for the 9N...

Mostly yes.
I once had a nearly constant crackling sound coming from the left side.
I tightened a few screws on the inner crossbar (behind the safety cover and behind the instrument cluster), and then it stopped making noise.
Meanwhile, it's starting again, but rarely and quietly .

Hello again,

I've now put some silicone grease into the stabilizer bearings, and I also greased the rear ball joints of the control arms just to be on the safe side.

These are rubber tubes mounted in the direction of travel, featuring a vertically oriented ridge along their length. The triangular control arm is inserted into the thickened center of this ridge.
In the process of spring manufacturing, the rubber strip is twisted into an elastic S-shape.

In addition, the rear end of the triangular linkage can swing inwards and outwards, which corresponds to a forward and backward movement of the wheel by a few centimeters.
The cause of these noises is the thickened center part of the bridge that comes into contact with the inside of the rubber tube (is that clear ), and when spring movements are added to this, these parts rub against each other, which can cause corresponding noises.

Anyway, the noises are gone now thanks to the silicone grease – I just don't know if they were coming from the stabilizer bar bearings or from the control arm bearings.