clunking, rattling, creaking noise front suspension

boosted180

I've had this clunking noise in my front suspension for the past few years and have just ignored it (because I couldn't figure out what's causing it). But it's gotten worse and now I'm at the point where I would do anything to really find out what it is and fix it!

So the noise sounds like it's coming from the front left suspension. It happens only during slow speeds (like driving around the parking lot) and most of the time when I turn the wheel or going over bumps or up and down driveways. It's a clunking noise / creaking most of the time and sometimes it's like a rattling noise.

When I jack the car up and put a jack under the lower control arm, I can replicate the noise by slowly jacking it up (and compressing the spring). The noise feels an sounds like it's coming from the lower control arm. But exactly where and why is it making the noise? All bolts are tight and nothing is hitting or rubbing against anything else. It just makes a clunking/ creaking/ type of a noise.

I replaced the sway bar end links with SPL units, just replaced the ball joints on the SPC control arms (b/c one of them was bad). Noise is still there. I'm running Eibach springs, Hotchkis sway bars and he SPC control arms.

Any ideas? Or any recommendations on a shop that can get to the bottom of this? I've taken it to 2 different places already and no one knows for sure. It's pretty frustrating.

The thing it reminds me of is when I had my 240sx and had the same noise and it was a bad TC Rod bushing. What would be a corresponding part in the Z?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.



Any ideas?