My vert's rear suspension has an annoying creak coming from the rear end only when going over bumpy or heavily angled surfaces. All other times it's quiet. It sounds like an old creaky patio door. While I was changing the rear pads, I gripped the suspension pieces and tried to move them around. i didn't notice any play, but I might not have been looking in the right places. My shocks pass the "push on the corner of car test" and the rear doesn't appear to sag or bottom out. My question is: does this sound like worn out leaky shocks, bad upper strut mounts, or loose control links? Mazdatrix told me over the phone they thought it might be a loose subframe but nothing really appears to be loose. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

 

You know, my '91 coupe has the same problem. I got the dealer to look at it while they were doing a recall on it. They gave me an estimate this morning... $500 to fix. I think I'll just ask them exactly what's wrong with it and just fix it myself. I'll let you know when I find out.

 

I think the creaking is the subframe stud rubbing against the subframe mount, and prolly has to do with the weak commonly eroded area around the Stud it self...

next time my rear end comes out I think I may replace the studs and the material around it....why wouldn't mazda have made hard metal contacting the subframe mount instead of this mush metal that is crap.

also my car only creaks during or following rain...

 

haha this doesnt help you any, but today i looked behind my tire at the rear strut, and the thing is all dented and ****. how the eff it got like that i dont know....

 

The rear suspension on my car used to squeek too. I fixed it when I replaced what the fsm calls the control links. They're little dog bone things connect the inner leg of the control arm to the sub frame. No more maddening squeeks.

Rob

 

this is interesting because I have the same problem in front and back

 

haven't replaced the dog bone links yet but I do have rear control arm bushings (front as well) and new rear sway bar bushings....still creaks.....

 

Is replacing the control links an easy process? Is a puller required or does it just unbolt? Does the car need to be realigned after replacing them? The links are cheap enough I may try to replace them as a trial and error. I'm sure at 110k they can't be in great shape anyway....

 

Bump, I wanna know too.

 

It's an easy job. No special tools are required.
It will change the rear camber.

Rob

 

Ok, I just got it back. They say that I need to replace the "cross mount & block mount link." Does anyone know where I can order these parts?

 

Good lord, how many links is on the rear suspension of these cars! LOL MRX Rotary, let me know how easy it is to replace these links yourself and whether the noise goes away. Have you been under the car and attempted to move these links by hand? I'm wondering whether I can do a looseness check and zero in on which link is worn out on my car.

 

Can the suspension bushings be lubricated with something that won't attack the rubber?

Mine squeaks/creaks when going over a speed bump!