Squeaking in the front - only at slow speeds, worse with top down

[rlordjr]

I've been trying to figure this out for weeks. Forums pointed at LCA ball joints, coil-overs are dirty/just noisy, loose calipers, hood latch, fuel tank rubbing, etc.   Was pretty hopeful I could find missing/squished/dried out pads between the tank and chassis like on the 991 since moving the fuel tank usually re-created the sound - but so did bouncing the front end.  But it was pushing up in the middle of the bottom of the tank that made the sound exactly like I heard it.  So I bethought myself, "Surely 'tis not INSIDE the tank?".  And I quickly banished that thought.

 

After a couple days looking, feeling, and using mirrors to see some more, it became pretty apparent the tank was not rubbing and holding it by the bottom corners to move it didn't really (sort of) make the noise.  At least not always.  Wonder what would happen if I push on the middle of the bottom again.  Oh.  So it IS INSIDE the tank.

 

And so as I was just getting the sealing ring free I started to hear it and when I grabbed the sender I heard it and that's how I found that the sliding parts on the sending unit shaft (and the spring) made a sound like Wile E Coyote walking with an accordion inside when the bottom of the tank flexed up and down.

 

Who'd a thunk it?