Odd suspension issue.

[lmhansen]

Last week, I noticed a weird squeeking noise coming from the car, and after a little while, it became apparent when it happened: When going over some big speedbumps (at proper speed, mind you), I would hear the squeek coming from the front of the car, more specifically, the driver side. On sunday, I got a chance to look into the wheel well, and found the problem. The rubber "boot" that sits over the springs has somehow gotten tangled into the springs, and every time the springs compress (speedbumps), they "chew" on the rubber, and hence the squeeky sound. I figure I'll have to jack the front up and remove the wheel to be able to get in there comfortably enough to attempt to fix this... Has anyone else noticed this, or is this just a freak incident with my car? I have no idea why or how this happened...

[NSimkins]

I would say a freak incident. The easiest way would be to jack up that end of the car, remove the wheel completely, and that will allow you clearance to adjust the rubber boot. This will allow the spring to become uncompressed enough to maneuver the boot back into position.Let us know how it goes.

[lmhansen]

Didn't have a chance to get in there until today. Also read up on suspension so that I'm using the right vocabulary here.It seems that the boot that goes over the damper shaft got shoved inbetween the damper shaft and the bump stop, and then slowly chewed up. There was no way to rescue the boot. The top part was all chewed up, and came out in strips as I kept pulling at it. I probably have about 3/4 of the boot left, but I doubt it'l be doing any good in it's current state. So, I guess I need a new boot to keep the damper shaft out of harms way of the elements... I can almost see the dealer putting his claws in my checking account already

[NSimkins]

Sounds about right. Unfortunately it will probably legitimately take the dealer a good hour to replace the boot as it requires some suspension dis/reassembly. Keep us updated.

[lmhansen]

I just almost **** my pants. The stealership wants almost $500 for the job! They say both "Bellows" needs to be replaced, as the passenger side is worn as well. They're charging me almost $60 per bellow, yet AutopartsWarehouse.com has the same part for $21!!! So, that's just shy of $120 for parts, $90 for a realignment and 3 hours of labor!

[JohnC]

Do not bother having them replaced, just use them until/if one of them start leaking then just have both struts replaced with an aftermarket strut by a reasonably priced shop. The boots are there to help keep dirt and moisture out of the strut seal, I have seen them go 50k miles without a boot fitting tightly around the strut. The average owner won't even keep the car that long.