Copied from my post on S10planet - I've been getting a fairly loud creaking noise coming from the front end of the truck for the last few weeks. It happens any time the suspension moves - even if I just lean on the fender or pull it up a bit.
I've greased every single fitting twice in the last two weeks, greased and sprayed oil on the sway bar and endlink bushings (the only poly bushings on my truck), and cleaned my QA1 coils and sprayed oil up inside to the top shock mount.
I even replaced the grease fittings on my lower ball joints because I was having trouble getting the grease to go in. As soon as I did, it went it in and old stuff squirted out so I don't think it was dry.
I have steel-on-steel upper control arm bushings and delrin lower control arm bushings.
I've read a few threads in other forums about valving in the QA1's squeaking but the sound they describe is different than what I'm getting. It's definitely a creak.
Over the weekend I jacked the truck up (very carefully!) while holding my hand on the coil spring and that was where the noise was coming from. I don't know exactly what it was doing to make the noise but I could feel it in the coil every time it creaked.
I loosened the ride height adjuster collar all the way down, as loose as it would go, and cleaned everything I couldn't reach with it tight.
I then turned the coil about 1/4 turn in the spring pocket after moving it back and forth a few times (I was thinking maybe something got between the coil and the isolator) and tightened the coller back up. That takes 40+ minutes by the way, no exaggeration. My knuckles are still swollen from the spanner slipping and my hand ramming into the LCA frame mount multiple times.
Before I tightened the bottom lock collar I also put a coat of bearing grease on the part that interfaces with the other collar - it made some noise when I tightened it the first time without grease.
All of that seemed to help quiet things down quite a bit but I still get the creak pretty regularly. Any thoughts? Coil spring isolator maybe? I can't see up into the spring pocket without taking the whole works apart.
