Creaking in my ‘98 TC

Asked by Guru5R1NZ Jan 31, 2018 at 04:01 PM about the 1998 Lincoln Town Car Cartier

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I’m an older widow without much knowledge of
cars. When my ‘98 TC started creaking a few
months ago I took it to a neighborhood family
owned repair shop. They just went around the car
pushing down on the front and rear ends. Didn’t put
it on a lift or anything and just told me I needed to
replace the ball joints. After finding this thread I
realize it might be something else. I am an older
widow living on a small monthly SS check. It’s taken
me 3 mos just to save up the $600 estimate they
gave me. What I hope someone here can help me
with is what sort of questions I should be asking the
mechanic. The creaking is only in the front and
happens when you’re turning or hit a bump. It’s
more prominent at slower speeds. You CAN hear it
when you push down on the front end. Does $600
sound like a reasonable price? One of the big chain
repair shops quoted me $1,356. I’m just confused
and financially challenged. Someone please help. I
won’t be taking it in till later next week (after my SS
check comes). Any help anyone can provide, please
know how extremely grateful I will be. Thanks for
your time.
~Pamela ~

2 Answers

10

I sprayed all rubber with silicone lube. Squeak stopped for a few weeks. I just dont know which one was doing the squeaking

1 people found this helpful.

I can tell you now, it probably isnt/wasnt your ball joints. I have an 03 TC Exec L & have the EXACT same thing going on w/ mine. I have gonna as far as new balljoints/ upper control arms, new lower control arms, steering knuckle, new struts, etc. I even went as far as putting new struts in, put it back together, still had the noise, ripped it all apart for a 2nd time, traded/swapped stuts (pass-driver swap), put it all back together & I STILL have that damn noise. I'm really starting to notice that it happens when turning slow, usually left, and/or if I tap the brakes. I'm getting ready to yank the sway bar out and make sure it isn't bent. Then, if that doesnt work, I was going to adjust my strut tower-to-frame mounts. It's the part that the upper control arms attach to on the frame. I figure maybe those arent aligned properly ( since the car was involved with a front end collision). One thing I did notice while tearing and rebuilding the front end, is that I have a pit mark on my lower control arm caused by the sway arm, and I know that the sway bar should not hit the control arm for any reason; & that's why I stated earlier that I was going to yank the sway bar off and double check its trueness. I will try to post anything that I may find, if I do in fact find anything, since this seems to be a problem for a good number of us. I suppose that the moral of this post, is dont get swindled by mechanics randomly replacing stuff at your cost. I have a brand new front end, & I STILL HAVE THAT DAMN CREAKING. Wish I new this $1,500 + ago. I'd still have my money and my skin on my knuckles. & less frustration.

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