Creaking during braking

[Howard]

Not sure if it's the brakes or something in the chassis/suspension from the forward pitch. Seems to happen mainly at low speeds, e.g. less than 30 km/h.

2005 CTS 2.8L

Any ideas?

 

[fstime]

Worn bushings are a common cause of squeaks and creeks.

 

[Howard]

Worn bushings are a common cause of squeaks and creeks.

Strange. Took a look at them a few months ago and they all seemed fine.

I guess I'll have to look again.

 

[phucheneh]

It's doubtful that someone will flag a bushing as 'bad' unless it is visibly torn. And they're often hard to see.

If you can't replicate it without making the front end nosedive, it's very likely in the suspension. I generally don't hear 'creaking' as a description of brake-related noise. That's usually squeaking, squealing, grinding, and occasionally, tapping or clunking.

Does that car have SLA ('double wishbone') or struts up front? 'Cause if it's not A-arm bushings, it's probably strut mounts.

A good test is to spray the suspected area with lubricant (silicone spray works and should be pretty harmless) and see if the noise goes away. The noise won't take long to return, but you'll know where it's coming from.

 

[Howard]

The CTS is double wishbone.

Ugh, silicone. My paint 🙁

 

[phucheneh]

...you don't spray it on your paint. 😛

Spray it on the lower A-arm bushings and see if the noise stops. Any excess (within reason) should just run off onto the ground or, at worst, get blown back underneath the car.