My 2003 tl has been making some noise the past few days. When reversing the noise is a very loud whining sound. In drive it's more of a chirping. Took off the wheel to find the rear sway bar link had broke. Replaced it and the noise remains. Thinking it might be a bearing problem

 

Welcome to the forums. I moved your thread to 2G TL Tires, Wheels & Suspension subforum, which is more applicable to your 2003 TL.

 

Welcome Maxlat17 !!!
Chirping in drive and loud whining in reverse......just started ?
Can you try to isolate the origin of the noise and if it's at a specific speed ?

Get someone to help listen or operate the car while you listen. It's hard for us to help without more info.

 

Did you look at your brake pads to see if they were worn out?

 

^^^ Yeah, if the pads check out.....then check the PB shoes and the rear brake shield.

 

I also have noise coming from my back tires when it's cold/wet outside in the morning. Has been happening for the past few months. It's been driving me crazy as you can hear it outside the car as well.

The rear bushing (not the one by the knuckle/tire) in the trailing link is cracked pretty bad throughout.

Would this cause the noise?

How can I check to see if the ball joint on the control arm is bad? The top of the ball joint is orangeish in color and it does not connect to the knuckle even (ie the boot on the ball joint is out of plum).

i found the trailing link for sale for $120 each. It appears only the bushing needs to be replaced but I don't know if they sell it.

 

there are plenty of pics or vids online showing how to ck ball joints
If its cover is torn or the whole thing looks out of alignment- its probably bad
Broken part in one place leads to other parts failure
Movement when using your hand to inspect each joint area is usually bad

an alignment shop will ck it out for you, they know about suspension and steering~
Go to a small one= not the big name must sell minimum amount every day to satisfy corporate....