Hi all,
I got whiteline (works) suspension fitted in late November and over the last few weeks it's gotten really creaky. While in Adelaide over the holidays I called the guys in Sydney who fitted it and they sent me somewhere in Adelaide to have it checked out. The guy I saw had a quick listen and said it sounded like the bushes on the front swaybar and it'would be fine to drive to Sydney. I got back here and this morning I took it back to the guys who fitted it and told them what I'd been told. They said there was no warrenty on bushes and grease and I'd have to pay to have them regreased. Not entirely happy, but fair enough, as long as it doesn't make that noise any more. Two and a half hours in their waiting room and 95 dollars later, the guy told me they'd done a spanner check over the front suspension to make sure everything was nice and tight, regreased the bushes as requested, driven it and it was all good. I paid, still fairly happy, and jumped in my car to leave. Going out the driveway on my merry way and lo and behold, same fricken noise. It's pretty much just the front right, but I don't think anything has changed. Have they charged me to regrease without confirming that's what was causing the noise? I don't know what to do. These guys are pretty good and always friendly and take time to explain things and I don't want to become that annoying whinging customer, but I didn't spend two and a half grand on suspension for it to sound like Dad's XF ute. I would have driven straight back in but I was friggen starving. I'm gonna have to call them today or tomorrow I suppose.
Has anyone else had this problem with their suspension, whiteline or other? If so what was the cause?
It still feels good, and handles great, but frankly the noise is embarrasing. Spend all this money making your car look nice and go hard and all people notice is the groaning as you go over the slightest bumb or brake even.
*SIGH*

Take it back, for sure. If you know how to reliably reproduce the noise then get the guy who's going to be fixing your car to go for a drive with you so he can hear it, that way he knows exactly what's going on, and exactly what he needs to fix. Then there can be no excuses :)

I assume that its lowered, did they use some flat coiled plastic ribbon (i forget what they call this stuff).You may just have a bit of coil chatter etc., being lowered and all that.

I did take the mechanic for a drive. And I can reproduce the sound by bouncing the front right up and down on the spot.

eagleaus: Yes it's lowered, but only the front right is making the noise (front left very occasionaly). What's coil chatter? And how can you fix it?

Is it a creak? Or a bang or a squeak? I have had a series of noises from my setup, which i have finally almost nailed down.

It's a definite creak. Sounds like creaky springs as it moves up and down.

They didn't apply rubber grease to the bushes perheps. Get a tin of lanolin spray lube and smash all the new parts with it. Bushes, rubber boots, spring seats etc etc.

I will have to look into the lanolin spray. However my slight rattle my be attributed to the original strut top.

I will have to look into the lanolin spray.Cures everything :D

The urethane bushes should be lubricated with lithium grease. Too much grease is worse than too little, as it attracts dirt. Also the nuts could be OVERtightened against the bushes thus causing noise too. It takes around 1000Kms of driving, and then a retighten is required, but the bushes will wear in and stop squeaking by then.

The urethane bushes should be lubricated with lithium grease. Too much grease is worse than too little, as it attracts dirt. Also the nuts could be OVERtightened against the bushes thus causing noise too. It takes around 1000Kms of driving, and then a retighten is required, but the bushes will wear in and stop squeaking by then.


I've done about 4000ks since I got it done (drove to SA for xmas) and they've just retightened everything (apparently). It didn't creak at first either. Just started after a couple of weeks and gradually got worse. I don't know what sort of grease they used today, but when they installed it, they used the grease recommended by whiteline. They said they'd use something else today, not sure what though.

I've done about 4000ks since I got it done (drove to SA for xmas) and they've just retightened everything (apparently). It didn't creak at first either. Just started after a couple of weeks and gradually got worse. I don't know what sort of grease they used today, but when they installed it, they used the grease recommended by whiteline. They said they'd use something else today, not sure what though.

mate I have the EXACT same problem.

got my suspension done Aug 2004 and had the noise since... never had the time to take it back to Whiteline so i aint sure whether they can put an end to the problem... :doubt:

hopefully once i get my degree sorted i will have the time... but i am under the impression its the bushes! i've got another more severe problems though atm... fu*ken auto tranny

Does yours still ride/handle well? Mine does, it just sounds like a decroded piece of crap. It's fricken embarrassing. If I don't get any joy from the supplier I think I'll call whiteline and see what they say.

Does yours still ride/handle well? Mine does, it just sounds like a decroded piece of crap. It's fricken embarrassing. If I don't get any joy from the supplier I think I'll call whiteline and see what they say.

mate i got them fitted by whiteline themselves at minto... just havent had the time thats all since they dont open during weekends

yes the sound drives me nuts ... & the problem needs addressing coz i dun want the bushes failing

apparently we have to 'service' the suspension on a regular basis... :confused:

EDIT: and to answer your question... yes the car still handles like a dream...

so should i be put off putting white line sway bars and strut braces on my car? what other white line products are you running?

so should i be put off putting white line sway bars and strut braces on my car? what other white line products are you running?

it seems to be a problem for some of us with the works kit fitted

i havent heard of complaints from those who just fitted whiteline sway bars.... and strut braces don't contribute to noise since i've only got 1 fitted a few weeks back...

but i find that QC can be improved ... the powder coating on my strut brace was peeling before it even left its box.

these are just MY OWN observations and objective criticisms

The guys I saw in Adelaide actually said something about powder coating and the grease whiteline use. They said they use a different grease.
Wooley, I wouldn't say don't get them, the car handles great. I just wanna find out what's causing this noise. It only seems to be in the front right. Hopefully I can get this sorted. I'm not ready to write off whiteline just yet.
And just so you know, the works kit includes whiteling swaybars, front and rear, whiteline springs, and Koni adjustable shocks.

The guys I saw in Adelaide actually said something about powder coating and the grease whiteline use. They said they use a different grease.

so different in a bad way?

so if i went king springs and a different brand of shocks i might not get this creaking?

i rekon ill still go with front and rear sway bars and strut braces

I would probably check for mice too...

And I thought 'I' was the only one having these creaks!

It's annoying, i'm thinking its my coiled plastic ribbon that goes on the springs, considering I installed them myself, I used the OEM ones which were disintegrated already, but I had the strut all apart, so I had no choice but to install the old ones.

Handles great on "good" roads, but the car feels worse than a boat when driving on crappy roads (Paramatta road in Sydney). I'm actually considering swapping out my Whiteline ones with standard VRX ones now, that's how bad it is, to the point where driving is no longer enjoyable (bloody Sydney).

However i've got way higher priorities before getting this fixed. Like my dead clutch, and rego :( #**$&!!

I dont have these squeaks (I have kings lows) but have a little clunk instead from the front left, sounds like somehting is loose but nothing can be found, hope its not the shock but apparantely konis can be rebuilt? Sounds like its your springs, get some more of the spring wrap and see if that helps.

The plastic wrap around the springs is purely there to avoid spring binding, or the slapping noise when the bottom coils start touching each other in extreme suspension articulations. Cars that don't have the wrap (especially lowered cars) will often show witness marks inbetween the bottom few coils, and it is spring binding that leads to VERY quick death of springs.

when the bottom coils start touching each other in extreme suspension articulations.

shouldnt a spring compress in a linear movement?
so if 2 coils touch, then all of them will? unless there wrapped tighter at the bottom to make them progressive? i thought most car springs were linear though?

or am i completely wrong and you mean the spring moves sideways like a bannana? and therefore the coils touch?

and i dont know about cars but in bikes if a spring coil binds, it blows your shock :| is it the same in cars? or is it different as the stroke of the shock is usually longer than the compressed coil anyway?

shouldnt a spring compress in a linear movement?
so if 2 coils touch, then all of them will? unless there wrapped tighter at the bottom to make them progressive? i thought most car springs were linear though?

or am i completely wrong and you mean the spring moves sideways like a bannana? and therefore the coils touch?

and i dont know about cars but in bikes if a spring coil binds, it blows your shock :| is it the same in cars? or is it different as the stroke of the shock is usually longer than the compressed coil anyway?

Variable rate springs have tighter coils at the bottom, this is specifically what I'm referring to. The bumpstop when sized and fitted correctly, is what saves the damper from bottoming out, however it does not necessarily stop spring binding which even occurs in linear rate springs.

wouldnt coil binding happen more readily in a linear rate spring? as with a progressive spring its harder to comrpess towards the end of the compression meaning it cant bind as easily?

No because the more tightly wound coils is the softer segment of the spring, and hence this will bind before the rest.

No because the more tightly wound coils is the softer segment of the spring, and hence this will bind before the rest.

oh yea, haha. my bad!

now ive got to decide whether its worth buying the whiteline works kit, or just the sway bars and strut braces.

any opinions?

I have the same issue with creaking from the rear..I have a whiteline 22mm adjustable rear bar...
every 6 to 9months I get under the car a grease up the polyutherane bushes and the problem is solved...
another quick fix but wont last very long is to use WD40 on the bushes...
it's a quick 5min fix once you've jacked up the rear...I would do it myself no point paying some shop as it will come back eventually anyway...this is a typical trait of polyutherane bushes as they are much stiffer than rubber