Fixing my Shock and Spring Squeaks

I installed new springs and shocks about 2 years ago (damn, has it been that long!!). Anyways, the right rear kept knocking and making lots of noise, and both sides squeaked when I pushed down on the back of the car. So, today, I jacked up the car, and investigated.

Well, I busted it all down last night to find out why...and here are my results. The right rear had some freeplay and was hitting the bottom of my speaker. Since the shock mount (top) fell out when I took out the old ones, and I didn't look at the diagrams to figure out what the orientation of washers and bushings was, I ended up failing to reinstall the bottom washer of the upper mount assembly, resulting in plenty of freeplay, which accounts for the shock nailing the bottom of the speaker.

(The upper washer is bent up on the edge...this bent up edge should point up so the washer can make contact with the metal sleeve that the bushings fit around. I used a second washer above the bent up washer to account for the lock nut not having a built-on washer like the originals have. The only sucky thing about the Bilstein replacement, is that there is no HOLD BOLT to hold while tightening the lock nut. You have to use a ViseGrips [at least I did] to hold the shock piston steady while you use an open ended wrench to get the top nut on tight...the HOLD POINT is where I used the ViseGrips. As you can see, it got quite hashed.)

On both sides, I put the upper washer on upside down, and for those who know how things are set up, you have to have the bended lip on this washer pointing up toward the top of the car...this is so the washer can contact the metal sleeve that goes between the two bushings. So, putting these washers on correctly corrected some of the knocking.

To solve the squeaking, all it took was new bottom spring insulators. I had ordered these when I first did the whole job 2 years ago, but Courtesy screwed up and sent me the wrong item...I couldn't wait another 2 weeks to finish the job, so I just installed the springs with the old torn up insulator. Last night I found out they got much much worse over the last 2 years, and the uninsulated pressure being put on the metal (bottom mounts) was causing a nasty squeak (or squeal if you will). I had already replaced the upper bushings...which are probably even more important.

So, that's it. I solved my problems. And the Bilsteins appear to be o.k, though I'm a bit worried for the right rear shock. I'll have to keep my eye on that.