tenpin

My accord has been driving me crazy. The steering gets tights and then the creaking and clunking starts up front. The creak is so bad I feel it under the gas peddle. It does it for a while and then it can stop except for the light squeak when I it a pot hole. A day later the steering is free for a bit, but then it starts to get stiff and we repeat the same sequence. Any ideas? Wheel bearing maybe?

lazlong

Sounds like something is binding up. Bent components could be the cause. Worn tie-rods/tie-rod ends, ball joints, bushings, shocks, and shock mounts can all be the cause of this too. Replace any worn/bent parts in the suspension/steering keeping in mind that you need to replace both sides AND when you replace a worn suspension part that it puts extra strain on the other components making it a matter of time before they go too.

tenpin

Thanks for that. Today,by the way, no noise at all. That after laying on the ground last night with my wife turning the steering wheel and the wheel well making a horrible creaking noise like the worlds most rusty hinge. The tire also vibrates as it creaks. I will take these ideas to my mechanic. Thanks again.

Targa250R

Don't hesitate to have it checked out; make an appointment ASAP. A squeaking/creaking noise when turning the steering wheel can often be caused by a bad lower ball joint. If it is bad enough to cause clunking and an odd steering feel, it could break at any time, which essentially causes the wheel to detach from the rest of the car. Very unsafe, obviously. Honda does not sell replacement lower ball joints separately from the knuckle for your model year, but they can be purchsed separately from an aftermarket manufacturer. I know that Sankei/Three Five sells them as part no. 51220-SDA-A01.

On the other hand, it could be something as simple as a bad sway bar link or sway bar bushing. Those items are more of an annoyance than a safety concern; they won't cause a wheel to fall off, but they will make a lot of horrible-sounding noise.

truckboy

That squeaky sound produced by the brakes can cause you to crank up the radio volume to full blast just to drown it out, but don't confuse drowning out squeaky brakes with curing them. The squeal of the brakes is caused by vibration of the pads and the rotors, the pads and the calipers, or the calipers and the mounts--or between the shoes and the drums or the shoes and backing plates. Clearly, squeaking brakes need a mechanic to fix unless you are really good at car maintenance.

tenpin

Thanks so much. I have an appointment for Wednesday.

cate)

this sounds like the description of a bad axel to the t bro. i bet it gets worse when you turn the wheel. For example if the noise is on the right when you turn right it is worse than when you turn left. And just for a refrence if it is do not by an aftermarket axel they will vibrate on acceleration i garantee if not at first it will within a month. Go oem or deal with it till you can get the goods.

ch0baca

i made a thread about this creaking noise a long time ago, with a video included. watch the video and let me know if that's what you got