Squeaking noise when turning

Well, about 2000 miles ago I replaced the bushings do to a squeaking noise when turning. It fixed it, off and on for a while. Now it seems to be constantly squeaking again. It's only when turning the steering wheel left and back to the initial position. Not when turning the steering wheel right. It's only at slower speeds, like when parking or something like that. Not when going 10+ mph or so.

I highly doubt the bushings are shot already. What could be causing this? Something not tight, or what? I don't know what to do here. I truly don't care about the noise itself, but that is slightly embarrassing when parking, lol.

It's an 01 Tacoma prerunner.

Thanks

 

check belts and/or ball joints. could also be your rack and pinion.

my guess at most likely is ball joints.

 

a slow speed squeak when turning, I think would have to be the bearings or brakes

are you sure its not a power steering belt squeak?

 

Well, I'm back.
It seemed to stop for a while so I left it alone. Now it's worse than ever. It seems to sometimes also make a noise when hitting a bump in the road or something like that. Again, it's not a constant issue it's completely random and I don't understand why. I can also hear a noise when I get out of my car and close door, like a creaking sorta (the noise I hear when I hit a bump, it's hard to reproduce the noise)

Managed to get one video so far. It's off and on so it's difficult to get videoed at right time. This is the steering squeak that is off and on:
http://youtu.be/z7VdeyAaBdw

I really don't know what to do here as it is off and on and sounds like two different things, that or it's just one thing extremely messed up. Is it the ball joints AND tie rods? Is there any way to test these? I also had ear up to bushings that were replaced, sound was not coming from there, coming from tie rod area (for the squeaking noise when steering) so again, sort of guessing it has something to do with ball joints AND tie rods. Any advice would be great here. My car does have a ton of miles, 275k nearly so these two things wouldn't surprise me.

I appreciate the help here.

 

have someone turn your wheel while you are underneath?

 

woah. it sounds like a squeaky door hinge! has to be ball joints. inspect them.

first make sure all bolts are tightened and there (not missing or loose)

then make sure the ball joint boots are still present.

if no boots are present, make sure there's grease

if no grease. there's your problem. see if there's a grease fitting on the cover size opposite of the knuckle arm and grease it.

if you cant grease it. get new ball joints where needed.

its possible it's stuff like the rack and pinion and tie rods but very unlikely. thats too much squeaking for either of those parts.

if it's not the ball joint. something in your knuckles is grinding/rubbing like crazy. good luck!

 

Here is the creaking noise I was talking about. (Only comes from driver side)
http://youtu.be/SmYgn776mG4



This is a picture. Quite dirty, but it does look like it needs to be replaced. I cleaned it at car wash, and sprayed grease all around it and in it (as much as I could) and squeaking seemed to stop substantially. Assuming it is the ball joint, but I think I'll replace the lower ball joint and outer tie rod. Just the lower ball joint is bad, I believe.

How would I check for grease, and what brand lower ball joint / outer tie rod is recommended?
I really don't know what to do here, way too many things that could be culprit of noise.

 

wrong video i think. it's only 3 seconds of you moving your foot.

 

also. something does NOT look right in that picture. it looks like there was a shield/cover that came with your ball joint that was never removed on it's install.......... can i have more pics of that and the other side?

 

There's a creaking noise if you listen closely

 

What? I don't even know what it's supposed to look like honestly. It's currently cold and raining right now. Can't snap any more pictures, but I'll upload what I have of tie rod / ball joint. I really do believe the lower ball joint is going bad.




These pictures kind of suck ball joint wise

 

that rubber piece is a dust boot (if that's what you are referring to), transferred to my new LBJ when I replaced mine

also @irbullet it sounded like my old stock leafs did when my big butt got out of the truck

 

Yeah I suppose it could be that, I can live with that though. The high pitched squeaking when steering I cannot lol

 

ohh ok. had to double the volume on my end to hear that. kk. still sounds like a ball joint issue.

heres a pic of what its supposed to look like. yours has a wall around the rubber boot in the following pic. that just looks really weird to me. or at least it looks redundant. see following quote and answer..............

but does it really serve a purpose covering the current boot on the LBJ? Ok. I see what its there for. its just acting as a shield so whatever kicks up doesnt hit the boot. its a separate piece that just bolts on using the current setup.

so i know that boot isnt the issue.

new thought. put the front end on jack stands and physically turn the wheels on your own. make sure the key is in and turned 1 click so the wheel lock is disengaged.

you SHOULD be able to replicate the noise this way. if not. go take it for an alignment and show the tech the noise and ask him to inspect the setup for that noise.

 

Lower ball joint. Mine sounded the exact same noise.

 

Any chance it could be steering rack bushings?

 

the bushings wouldn't squeak, just allow more play

 

I'm thinking ball joint. Have you put it in the air and given the wheel a shake?

 

I've replaced those as well. This has been a really long problem that comes back, goes away, comes back. Guessing it is just lower ball joint.
Do I need to replace upper ball joint, and lower, and inner and outer tie rods or does it just seem like lower ball joint?

Also, I will lift front end and shake tire this weekend.

 

another way to lift it. lift the front end from under the ball joint as opposed to lifting the front end by the frame. that way there is still constant pressure on the ball joints and it will just be easier to turn the steering wheel.