Rear clunk - not axle wrap

Hey all,

This past summer, I had my friend install an OME front suspension lift kit and an add a leaf in the back. The rear shocks were swapped to some OME 60062 for the extra travel I gained in the back.

What I've noticed is that if I hit a bump at speed, there is a loud and noticeable clunk from the back suspension. An example of a bump would be a speed bump, an entrance ramp, etc. If I drive super slow, this clunk is not heard.

I'm thinking that the clunk is related to the rear suspension and the extra force of hitting bumps at speed is causing the rear suspension to compress more and then I get the "clunk".

I was told by the vendor that I might have seized shackles, and this is limiting the proper travel of the leafs in the back and causing my clunk.

I've googled this to no end, so I'm hoping that I can get some advice from the forum.

If my rear shackles are seized, is there any way I can tell without removing any suspension pieces? If it turns out that the shackles are good, is there anything else I should be looking at?

Please note that I know axle wrap and this is not axle wrap. Truck is a 2000 access cab, V6, 4x4.

Cheers and many thanks for any thoughts or advice!

 

I had the same issue, could have sworn it was the suspension...and so did my friend's dad (ASE cert. mechanic). Then, when I took the hitch out of the back pocket, it magically stopped!

 

Too bad I don't have a hitch! Thanks for the tip, though!

 

One thing to add is that this clunk is much more noticeable and easier to replicate now that the weather is colder. This past summer, it was bearable, now it's not.

 

This might sound sillly.....but try standing on the rear bumper and bounce the truck as hard as you can. See if you can force it to clunk by bouncing on it.
You could have a friend look underneath (or vis versa) while you bounce on it.

Check the shackles - are they in the same position?
When you bounce on it - are both shackles pivoting and at the same rate?

Do you have anything in your bed or any other compartments that are moving around?
Is your spare tire tight?
Are your ubolts tight?
Crawl around underneath and look for anything loose....

 

I'll try the jumping up and down tonight. I have a camper on it, but it should still be doable.

Spare tire tight - yes. Rear bed is empty. U-bolts - I'll check tonight.

Thanks for the tips. Hope to cross the U-bolts off tonight as candidates, and I'll get my wife to jump in the back bed while I look for movement at the shackles.

 

U joint

 

Double checked last night - full movement on all shackles, tire is secured, and the U-bolts are not loose.

Any other ideas? It's not a clunk that you can feel (like axle wrap). The clunk has a distinctive metal on metal noise to it.

Thanks for all your help!

 

You mentioned you have a camper on the back.... Something inside the camper? Or the camper shifting?

I had a clunk for a while and it only happened while corning. Sounded like something 'serious' - but ended up being a ratchet strap that was hanging off my d-rings. Durrr..... LOL

 

Nope, not the camper as the noise was there when the camper was off the truck this past summer as well. I'm really stumped on this one. It's almost as if the rear leafs are bottoming out and banging.

This issue only came up after the AAL was installed, and at this point, I'm almost willing to go with a full OME or Dackar leaf pack.

 

slip yoke, it could be causing the driveshaft to bind if its not greased properly

 

Driveshaft was greased last oil change, about one month ago. I think it's related to the rear AAL and possibly it was a messed up install? I don't know. The only thing certain is that on my OEM suspension, no noise, AAL, clunking noise.

Again, thanks for everybody's replies and tips!

 

Yes, the back end is stiff. Only the back end clunks, the front end is fine. If I hit a speed bump, the front absorbs with no issues, then the back wheels hit and I get a clunk and a big jarring jolt. It's almost as if I've bottomed out the leaf pack???

Just thinking, but if I had worn OEM leaf packs, added an AAL, then my suspension travel would be much more progressive and the extra AAL would actually flatten out my OEM leafs as they compress? Maybe the AAL is actually giving me extra ride height, but at the expense of usable travel, and the clunk is the leafs actually bottoming out????

 

Make sure the top shock bolt is tight

 

I'll check this out this weekend.

 

Bump. Having exact same problem as OP. Seems no one knows what's causing it. I'm thinking maybe a blown shock. Lots of clunking when going over shallow potholes, etc. Tried removing the hitch but that didn't help, though the noise is very similar to that of a loose hitch. Any thoughts?

 

bump

 

u should make sure both shocks r tite

 

I'll check again but I'm pretty sure I checked those when I checked my U-bolts. All were tight.