There's a creak coming from the passenger side when I turn the wheel at low speeds. It just started 4-5 days ago I think.

(And to be clear, old car creak is the only way to describe the sound. It's not a springy noise, not metallic, not a clunk. It doesn't have anything to do with going over bumps. only sharp turns)

I'd already dealt with mushroomed strut mounts. I can't find the invoice to see exactly what was replaced but I recall it was expensive. Then controller arm bushings & tire repairs. So, I got rid of the run flats & got 16" wheels for more sidewall & softer tires. And haven't driven on the freeway with expansion joints the size of speed bumps for the past several years. But here I am facing suspension problems again.

The car ('05) doesn't have 60k miles on it yet. And 99% of the bad roads I drive on are at residential speeds.

My question is, if I have to replace parts again, is there something I should get that will be more durable but not that much more expensive?

 

The creak is probably the strut mount on that side. It might just be noisy, but check for cracks
in the rubber or significant binding. If they're not otherwise ok, replace it.

Get the Lemforder strut mounts if you need new ones (SAME item as the genuine MINI ones at
a fraction of the price - people have had problems with other brands like Monroe, etc.)

Get the Powerflex front control arm bushings - firmer but not harsher and last almost
forever compared to the oem ones that go poop in about 30K-50K miles, especially on bad roads.

Don't get poly rear strut mounts.

Look at the spring pads and bump stops. Replace them if they look beat, cracked, hard, etc.
otherwise, reuse the old ones.

I assume you're staying on the OEM springs and have a comfortable ride as a priority.
If so, go for the Koni FSD struts/shocks which are more comfortable than stock but
still handle fairly firmly on low velocity inputs. They only work with stock height springs.
If looking for a little more performance and some adjustability, go for the Koni Sport (yellow)
shocks/struts. The work fine with stock height as well as lowered suspensions, and they're
about as comfortable as stock shocks/springs at the softer settings.
BTW, I don't recommend lowered suspensions for your situation with bad roads, previous
mushrooming, etc.

 

Thanks. There's no crack visible from above. I've seen discussions about greasing the bearings with lithium grease via a syringe or spray to get it down in there. As I notice no issues other than the noise at the moment, I'd like to try that.

Also, what do you thing about this: http://www.madnessmotorworks.com/mad...nt-plates.aspx. Not that I have mushrooming that I know of. I've find a straight edge & see if I can tell.

The mechanic wanted to replace struts, mounts & sway bar for over $1300, but I'm pretty sure the struts & mounts were replaced 25k miles ago. I can't find the invoice to verify what was done when the dealer told me about the mushrooming. (and controller arm bushings were replace a little after that) Anyway their only reasoning was the 55k miles on the car.

 

If you came into our shop we would obviously try to find the exact cause of the noise. So before you replace all the stuff have them pinpoint it.

If you did need shocks we would suggest the Koni FSDs as they ride great and are on sale for a great price.

If you need control arm bushings we would put the powerflex control arm bushings in, and also do the front sway bar bushings as they would already be loose while doing the job.

Then to give you strut tower protection we use the Craven Strut Tower Defenders. These go on top and offer perfect protection for mushrooming. We do NOT recommend the plates that go under the strut towers as we don't like that they are harder to install, and raise the ride height which also reduces neg. camber.