Rear shocks clunking again - something’s off

I've seen a 2nd gen with one of the leaf springs installed backwards. The axle centering pin is not dead-center in the leaf. Not sure if you can do that on a 1st gen.

 

The ends to middle have a 6in dif I imagine would make this close to impossible.

 

You need to measure from the center of the bolt on the front spring hanger to the spring perch on the axle (while on the truck is on level ground side to side- an evenly sloped garage floor is OK). If you have a high difference, then you need pull the u bolts and inspect the center pins on the leaf packs. Perhaps you sheered one. But you need the measurement first. Keep in mind that the center pins do not fit TIGHTLY into the spring perch hole. It might have an 1/8" or so of play. There is also some play in the bed which can visually make the axle look out of square.

If you've replaced two u joints over time, I'd suggest pulling the shaft and getting it serviced & balanced.

The left and right pack difference will be the amount they are arched. They *should not be* be indiscernible once on the truck.

 

Yeah, you'd probably see a much bigger difference in the axle position, and that probably wouldn't explain the clunking. I don't think it's that far off center on the 2nd gens.

I have to ask: Is the bed completely empty?

Anything else loose that might be clunking? Tailgate? Gas tank? Spare tire carrier?

I hate chasing down noises.

I've had great luck with KYB's. Gabriel and Monroe, not so much. If they are properly bolted in and the mounts look good, I'd be looking elsewhere.

 

I meant 2 different springs as you were shipped the wrong one that ended up on the left side just going by your numbers .
Perhaps just the wrong steel( miss labeled ) in the left side spring no way to tell till it was installed.

The fact when removed the left side shock has completely failed when removed.

 

Tighten your spare. Sorry if someone else said it already

 

It is, or was. I threw the spare tire in there to make sure I had the proper weight prior to pulling out the trusty measuring tape.

No. Noting else like that. Plus I'd think that would be a more frequent clunk.

I'm open to looking elsewhere. It's just that even if it isn't the shock that's making the clunk, on two other occasions over the past year, year & 1/2 I developed said clunk. When I removed the shocks, the driver's side, both times, were mush. Once replaced, the clunk went away. So if the shocks are there to "protect" the leaf springs, it's possible that this spring or something else is burning out the shock? I dunno. I do know that when I started hearing the clunk again, it was time to seek out the TW wisdom.

 

What qualifies as a high difference?

Are the ujoint brackets supposed to be level or level-ish? The left is. The right is not. It is rotated forward about an inch. I had noticed this back when I did the springs, however thought nothing of it since it's how it sits when the bolts are uniformly tightened. I have since seen pics on here in which both brackets appear level-ish. Although I'm not sure what the fix would be since leveling it out causes the bolt tightening to be off....

 

Maybe I should pull it. The dif is only 1/2in. However the right eye has no space left between it & the curled lip.... (sorry, I can't recall the term for that eye), so there is a strain on it. The left has plenty of space. Also, if the right is set back, it would explain the rotated bracket.

 

Your truck will not sit level in the rear, however this is much more noticeable for the front.

Reason being - your steering column, fuel tank, battery, all these heavy items are on the driver side.

Most leaf spring manufacturers offer leaf packs with the same spring rate for both the left and right side.

Only higher end leaf spring (and coil) manufacturers take into account the weight difference for specific vehicles and thus offer side specific components.

Don't fret that your leaf pack didn't have a "LEFT" and "RIGHT" designator.

Taking that into consideration, as well as some of the parts mentioned that could've resulted from user error, this whole "1-2 inches to the left or right" is all trivial and you'll spend an eternity chasing things.

You need to ensure everything is torqued down, lubed, and if you're still getting that clunk, inspect and get those driveline components checked out as mentioned earlier.

If you google "rear end clunk" and "tacoma" you will get countless hits; maybe you should check some of those threads out and get ideas for what else to look for.

 

1/2" from center spring eye to axle is not horrible. Not great, but not horrible. You could probably get it closer by replacing the u bolts and pulling the axle either fully forward, or fully aft within the spring perches, but at the moment- that's NOT causing your clunk.

Please further define rotated bracket.

 

Best way I could think of doing it. & no. I did not measure it on my driveway I did not measure it at all. I can see the dif between the left & the right & this one is rotated forward or sits higher at the rear, than the left. That's more what I'm asking. Is if they are supposed to be pitched differently. Whew! That was rough. Hopefully I made it clear....

 

Would you mind either explaining this more? Put a strap around each side of the axle & the frame & tighten said strap? Someone else mentioned something similar within this thread. I looked it up, however could not find much on it.

& yes. I hear you on the clunk. I didn't have much time today to jack the truck up & poke around. Figured I'd measure instead. I may have figured something out with the driveshaft. I'll vid it & post tomorrow. & pull the shocks off....

 

My coilovers are left & right specific.
As are my leaf springs & measured as so.
So if I understand you correctly my truck should not lean.
I am not interested in continuing to burn through rear shocks. & to me this is indicative of another problem. This is why I started this thread. I come here for advice & to learn. I would never have thought to strap down the axle the way you did. This was not in any vid I watched. In fact I was going to ask you how you went about this because I can't quite picture it. Seeing's how you consider it all trivial though I would rather seek advice elsewhere or figure it out myself.
& as always I would be remiss if I did not thank you for the advice you share that is helpful & supportive, so I thank you for this....

 

If you have a receiver hitch check for the "clunk" noise.

 

Sure. The leaf spring perch has a bigger hole by a few mm than the size of the center pin head. If you don't do something to push or pull the axle either forward or aft before tightening the u bolts you can end up maybe with the bolt all the way forward in that hole, or all the way aft.



So the idea is to put a strap around the axle and then up to a cross member or whatever else you can, to just pull the axle forward. It doesn't really matter if it's forward- the goal is just to make them the same side to side.

The bump stops are fairly similar- there is enough wiggle room in how they mount that they can be more forward or more aft on the spring relative to the center pin.

"rotated bracket"- I see what you're saying now. You have uneven bottom plates (leaf spring plates according to the Toyota parts site):


Yeah, that's not awesome. Looks as if you may have tightened the back u bolt too much before tightening the front on the passenger side. That should only really affect the leaf spring plate / shock mount. The spring perch to spring interface determines the pinion angle.

I don't think you really have an issue here. If that's really bothering you or you haven't found a source of the clunk and need to cross this off the list as a culprit, then you could take off the u bolts and inspect the center pins to make sure they haven't sheered off. You would need new u bolts at that point, so it's a roughly $50 item for peace of mind.

 

I removed the shocks & went for a tour of neighborhood driveways. I gota say it's an interesting ride without shocks....
So at 1st there were no clunks. I typically get one when leaving my driveway, nothing. Then tried about six others & all quiet. Down a bumpy-ish short side street. Did a u-turn & clunk. Tried six or so more on the way back & four produced said clunk.
Next I checked leaf spring ubolt nuts. Reinstalled shocks. I swapped them because the left was a little softer than the right.
Lubed the driveshaft
Straightened the center support bearing.
Checked the sway bar links.
Went for a ride & I swear the clunking was worse. Even heard it when going straight.

Here's the vid - I realize there can be some play in the driveshaft. It's more the sound that I am unsure of.

https://youtu.be/h5AYy2jHG8E

 

The play in the drive shaft, and the sound it makes is normal. That's not your clunk.

But since you have the clunk without the shocks attached, you can rule those out as the source.

Clunk when going straight... Body mounts? Cam Bolts? You need a gopro mounted below the truck to try to find what is moving.

 

Yes. I'm glad this was amongst the suggestions.

& a gopro sounds good. I used to resort to hopping in the bed & asking someone to to drive so I could pinpoint the source area at least. The last time I was helping my neighbor with his truck & a not so laid back policeman just happened to go through the neighborhood (a rare occurrence) threatened with a ticket if he saw it happening again.

Whelp, light dawned on marble head this morning that the front ujoint has never been done, evident by the box shaped grease fitting. For some reason this did not occur to me as I was greasing the driveshaft yesterday. I think what had happened a few years back is I had checked it with the help of someone else & he had determined it was ok.
& I must add, I do grease at each oil change, which is also done every 5,000 or so. I set my trip meter.
Anyway, I felt around the seal area & there is a hint of gear oil on top. I've had no drips though. I felt farther up he transfer case & it's dry, so it seems as if it's coming from the seal.

Just ran around & picked up supplies. I know I've struggled breaking the shaft free at that flange.

 

An ungreased u joint isn't going to clunk- especially the front as it's not rotating unless in 4wd.