It would be worthwhile to jack the car up on the squeaky side to look and spray some lubricant to the likely suspect(s). Might need to replace something.

 

My car maintenance skills are in the realm of oil changes and brake replacements. So I can definitely take a look, do you have any suggestions on key indicators of distress or things to check?

 

I would get a crowbar and and start prying various joints to see if you can hear any squeak or slack. Also look for any torn bushings around sway bar and control arm.

 

I would also check the lower ball joint on the control arm. Lack or dried up grease on the ball joint can make it squeak.

 

The SJ models of Foresters are know to have problems with the lower control arm bushings, so that's where I'd start looking.

Although first I'd check that your lug nuts are tightened to spec. I accidentally left mine a little loose a couple of weeks ago and the sound was a squeaking that sounded like the suspension. And for a couple of days, I ignored it because I have to replace the LCAs and just thought they were getting worse.

 

Hey All,

I ended up taking it to a dealer to get inspected. The dealer suggested replacing both struts (of course). I believe this is unnecessary. I'm waiting to hear back if they are actually damaged or if they are just solving the squeaky noise problem. If it's just noise, I will turn the radio up louder, lol.

I wanted to ask this group - could I replace the struts on my own by replacing them with something like this?
Loaded Strut Pair

My assumption is that if they are loaded it is basically a bolt-on modification? I would just need an alignment after?

 

Hey All,

I ended up taking it to a dealer to get inspected. The dealer suggested replacing both struts (of course). I believe this is unnecessary. I'm waiting to hear back if they are actually damaged or if they are just solving the squeaky noise problem. If it's just noise, I will turn the radio up louder, lol.

I wanted to ask this group - could I replace the struts on my own by replacing them with something like this?
Loaded Strut Pair

My assumption is that if they are loaded it is basically a bolt-on modification? I would just need an alignment after?

BTW - I am at about 75K miles.

 

I recently replaced my right front strut thinking it was the cause of a loud squeak/creak. A buddy helped me and neither one of us have any real knowledge of working on cars. It took us a long time because we ran into some stuck bolts that were impossible. Having done it once, I believe the others will be easier. Also all of that didn’t fix the creaking, ended up having my control arms replaced and that fixed it.

 

Out of curiosity, what did you replace it with? A loaded strut?