Video: terrible popping sound in 4wd

I have been told, as I did have loud popping when off-roading that the front shock springs will rotate when compressed and decompressed causing a binding/popping as it spins at the top and bottom mating surface of the shock. I also get this in 2WD as the end of braking where the front will dip and then come level and again when taking off from a stop where the front lifts up and then levels.

One could in theory confirm by removing the shock and having the spring removed so that you could look for some wear. I was also told that i could get some silicone or graphite lube spray into those areas and see if it goes away. I have yet to try it as I was told this only 2 weeks ago.

 

bad u joint?

 

They’re all tight

 

The popping when i was off-roading was so damn loud i got out to make sure something wasn't falling off. I heard it the most when going over rocks and other hard flexing situations. The group I was with was soo confident about it being exactly this But i mean think about it, as that spring compresses it makes sense that it will have a slight twisting action to it. That twisting against a flat surface makes the spring hop a little as its moving, the fact that its under so much tension adds to how loud the sound is.

 

Your transfer case uses a chain to transfer power to the front driveshaft. If 4X4 is used in high traction situations it puts the chain under a lot of stress and it will stretch. When stretched the chain will slip on the gears inside the transfer case creating a sound like that. It only happens in 4X4, and only when under hard use.



I had a Jeep J10 back in the late 1970's with full time 4X4, (basically AWD). But the transfer case could be locked making it true 4X4 when needed. It used vacuum lines to lock/unlock the transfer case. At some point the hoses going into the transfer case had gotten reversed. When the switch was in the Full-Time position, I was actually locking my diff. When in 4X4 it was unlocked.

I was knowledgeable enough to know not to lock it when driving on the road, but at 19 was not experienced enough to recognize the problem I trashed 2 transfer cases in a couple of months before the problem was solved. This is why I strongly advise not using 4X4 on pavement or other high traction situations.

You may have a different problem, but mine sounded just like that under the same conditions.

 

I’m not saying you’re wrong, and I appreciate the insight, but I was replying to the guy who suggested possible u joints.

 

But yes, I can feel it in the floorboard when it happens. Now whether it’s coming from the shocks/coil spring area I do not know. I have not the first clue where it’s coming from. I’ve spent hrs under the truck looking everything over and see zero signs of any movement anywhere. I’m just hoping it’s not going to turn into a situation where whatever it is winds up breaking while I’m deep off in a trail somewhere

 

A possible option to replicate the popping would be to drive up on ramps one on the front tire and another on the opposite side rear tire. Will cause full suspension flex on my truck and something I can have someone do while looking/listening.

My RCI sliders also were coming into contact with the pinch weld on the drive-side rear most support when my truck was going over big bumps or flexing.
My RCI skids make clunking noises as the frame flex's I fixed that (mostly) but putting rubber washers inbetween the skid and support.

 

Have you resolved this issue yet? I had similar sounds on my '19 and I think there are generally two issues that can cause the sounds, both of which are related to the stiffness of the bed. The first issue is a potential crack in the bed itself and the second issue is the wearing of the bed mount interface to the frame.

For the second issue, the bed mount interface to the frame wearing, there is a through hole with ~8" long bolts that go through the bed and the frame. The hole in the bed has a metal sleeve but the plastic bed wears down, creating a gap between the bed and the frame. The popping and cracking sounds are coming from the bed twisting and slipping on the bolts. What you can do is re-torque the bolts and that stiffens things up, but over the time the plastic will wear down again. I'm looking for that thread now because it offered a solution which is a rubber grommet installed in the interface so that it wears and not the bed.

For the first issue, I haven't come across that personally (yet), but the solution, bed stiffeners, might help quite a bit with some of your sounds.

My thinking is bed stiffeners and the polymer bushings, with re-torque, would solve this issue. Will report back when I have a little more information.

This thread Clunk Noise Rear End of Truck When Suspension Flexing | Page 2 | Tacoma World, on page 2, shows one of the fixes was inserting a polymer bushing between the bed and frame then re-torquing. That's the solution I was looking for, but I think there is an even more detailed write-up on it out there somewhere. Will keep looking. Here's the official thread: Tacoma Loose Bed design Flaw explanation | Tacoma World

This thread points to bed stiffeners, and on page 5 there is an engineer's write-up on the matter: Anyones else have their bed crack like this ? | Page 5 | Tacoma World