I have an '05 MC that has just developed an irritating squeak from the passenger side front. It will squeak when turning the wheel either right or left. It actually sounds like the tire itself is making the squeak, but it only has about 5K miles on it and rotating the tires did not change the symptoms. I suspected possible CV joint issues, but when I pulled the wheel there were no tears in the plastic dust cover for the CV joint. There's no sound over bumps and no sound when you manually bounce the front end up or down. When the car is jacked up, there's no squeaking when the wheel is turned.

I did notice that the right-front shock's expandable rubber dust cover that covers the upper shock piston (what is that damn thing called?) was not connected to the body of the shock when the car was in the air. Does that sound like a likely culprit to you?

Joe

 

With only 5K on the car...it sits a lot.....could be a lot of things....
I'm thinking, drive it, pretty hard a bit....if it is a dry bit of a suspension piece, it might loosen up, and quit squeaking...

 

Check your right front upper strut mount, I bet it is torn, or at least pushed up.

 

Sorry, the TIRES have 5K. MINI has 75K. Wish I could find an '05 with 5K miles on it.

 

If it sounds like rubber, I would be looking at front rubber wearable parts which normally quit at 75K miles.

Could be: Control Arm Bushings or Front Sway bar bushings ( Mine old ones squeeked ) replaced with purple poweflex - But would do black PF next time.).

 

Does the front shock rotate with the wheels as they turn from lock to lock as well as move vertically in bump/rebound? The reason I'm suspicious of the shock is that I get the noise when the car is standing still and I'm turning the steering wheel from lock to lock. It's almost the same type of symptom as the squeal you get from a conventional power steering pump when you're low on fluid, except the sound is totally different.

Is there anything in the electric power steering that could develop such a squeal? Note that when the weight is off the right front wheel, there's no sound. I'd figure that might eliminate the power steering as a suspect unless it's somehow associated with load. Also, I don't get the noise from the left-front, and I'd think that might also eliminate the power steering as a culprit.

I suspected the rubber front-end parts, but I don't see how the bushings would come into play when the car is standing still and I'm just turning the steering wheel.

 

I found mine by securing the vehicle with E-brake and having someone turn the steering wheel lock to lock, bouncing the fender and yanking on the sway bar real hard. Doing these things simulated usual driving conditions, and hopfully replicates the sounds while you are looking at the area.