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Creaking/cracking sound from front suspension: 2016 tacoma OR

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by socalktk, Sep 18, 2017.

  1. Jun 1, 2020 at 12:35 PM
    #61
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    If they aren't tight (haven't checked yet) could this throw off the alignment? Could tightening them throw off the alignment? Also, if mine are loose... is this throwing off an alignment as well, or only if they were really loose? I almost wonder if I should take the truck back in to the alignment people and ask them to torque it down.
     
  2. Jun 1, 2020 at 12:50 PM
    #62
    BortisYeltzen

    BortisYeltzen Well-Known Member

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    If they are way loose, your alignment might be out. Do you have any weird tire wear, steering pull, or other alignment related issues?

    If not, just mark your alignment cams with a paint pen or silver sharpie so you can see if they move. If they move, just loosen and move them back to the mark. I think it takes a 30mm wrench to hold the cam in place while you torque the 22mm bolts. I started using a wrench to hold the cam, but it wasn’t moving when I tightened things (and it’s a pain in the ass under the truck even on ramps) so I stopped using it. Only 1 of mine was slightly loose. It was torqued to ~120 ft/lbs, the rest were all 135+ ft/lbs. I got it to 135 without the cam moving. I think spec is only 120, but it wasn’t cutting it clearly.
     
  3. Jun 1, 2020 at 12:54 PM
    #63
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    they are new tires, and yes the front outer edges seem to be the first to wear, but I think thats normal, as fronts are always turning, taking the road force pressures more, etc. Otherwise no weird wear and the truck tracks straight. So I don't even need another wrench on one side... I can just take the torque wrench to the front bolts? Or is it the nuts on the rear side to apply the torque?
     
  4. Jun 1, 2020 at 1:08 PM
    #64
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    Just got off the phone with the alignment place. I don't have the kind of torque wrench needed at home so they said they could take it in and check it out. What torque spec should I have them torque the LCA bolts to? Is it definitely 130?
     
  5. Jun 1, 2020 at 1:33 PM
    #65
    BortisYeltzen

    BortisYeltzen Well-Known Member

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    It’s weird to me, but the info I’ve found for 2WD calls out 155 ft-lbs and the 4WD calls out 100 ft-lbs. I started at 100 and nothing moved until I got to 130, at that point, only the front driver side moved slightly. I stopped there.
     
  6. Jun 1, 2020 at 3:07 PM
    #66
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    moved? you mean creaked/made a noise while driving? Hoping someone could chime in with the specs
     
  7. Jun 1, 2020 at 3:45 PM
    #67
    BortisYeltzen

    BortisYeltzen Well-Known Member

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  8. Jun 1, 2020 at 4:44 PM
    #68
    thecoloRADoinferno

    thecoloRADoinferno Well-Known Member

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    THIS. Clean these joints and lube them up with triflow (or similar lube). This fixed my exact creaking noise. The video you posted sounded identical to mine. I can just about promise you this is the issue you are having.
     
  9. Jun 1, 2020 at 6:28 PM
    #69
    BeardedYinzer

    BeardedYinzer Well-Known Member

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    I had the same issue. I ran outside and the cam adjuster bolts were loose.
     
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  10. Jun 2, 2020 at 6:10 AM
    #70
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    Thanks. How come I read 100 ft-lbs in other places on this site, and even 130 for 2WD vehicles. Maybe not third gen?
     
  11. Jun 2, 2020 at 7:42 AM
    #71
    BortisYeltzen

    BortisYeltzen Well-Known Member

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    Don’t know, link I posted above is the best info I could find for 3rd gen and shows 135. The fact it ranges from 100-155 likely indicates anywhere in that range is unlikely to cause harm. I recommend driving up on ramps to get more room to work.
     
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  12. Jun 2, 2020 at 10:32 AM
    #72
    ejewels

    ejewels Well-Known Member

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    So, I didn't want to deal with that place again and I took the truck to a local Firestone in hopes to purchase the lifetime alignment thing. I asked the guy if they do aftermarket/lifted trucks with custom numbers and he said they don't like to. So I said thanks and I left. Then went to town fair tire near me and explained I need an alignment with custom numbers. At first they looked confused so I then talked to the alignment guy. He took the truck in and even let me hang with him in the bay while he did it. I told him about the creaking and a possible loose LCA bolt. Sure enough, the front driver LCA bolt he said was loose. Anyways, I sat there with him learning stuff which was cool and watched him take the torque wrench to the LCA bolts when finished. This was the best we could get and I'm pretty happy with it. And most importantly, the noises are pretty much gone.


    IMG_9847.jpg
     
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  13. Jun 10, 2020 at 2:49 PM
    #73
    IsaacTheAnimal

    IsaacTheAnimal Member

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    Still lurking across a few threads for resolution here as well, but finding consistency in torquing the LCA's, lubing the daylights on where the shock connects to the LCA. I was having some issues withe the sway bar hitting ToyTec Boss coil overs on the drivers side.. I found the sway bar mounting clips needed to be flipped. Relocation brackets were okay, but the bracket needed to have the "slotted hole" flipped to face the rear of the truck.

    Unfortunately the dealer who installed the list didn't catch that even after I brought that up this past weekend. With that said, what they did tell me was that the ToyTec Boss Coilover was (in their opinion) causing all the creaking - at least in this case. They'd mentioned they'd have to work directly with ToyTec to see about what to do next. Still waiting to hear back from the dealership on what's up. Tempted to call ToyTec and ask them, every other time I've worked with them, they've been incredibly accommodating.


    Next steps: Visiting ToyCrawlers in CO to have them install SPC UCA's and take a look at the LCA bolts. Had them do lifts on previous trucks and never had a bad experience w/ them.
     
  14. Jun 21, 2020 at 6:48 PM
    #74
    IsaacTheAnimal

    IsaacTheAnimal Member

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    Because I just can’t shake these sounds....
    Installed UCAs and cranked down LCA bolts however even after that the creaks persist. When I had the UCAs installed I had ToyCrawlers double check all bolts etc. They did say the LCAs on the driver’s side were a little loose and cranked them down, but sounds are still as bad as they’ve ever been.

    I’ll add here that this is the first time I’ve done UCA’s with a lift - Makes a massive difference in alignment and handling 10-for-10 would recommend!

    I’m also still running everything down w/ my dealer who did the original lift and bought the truck from. Figured I’d keep posting everything here just in case someone else encounters the same deal.

    Here’s a quick video of what I’m hearing:
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/14regqRdgUkaWBBQqTK4HW61N9Y1bzzjb/view?usp=sharing

    UPDATE:
    Apparently Toytec had a series of coil overs go out where the bushings crapped out VERY quickly. Toytec swapped coil overs, dealer installed and everything is smooth and quiet.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2020
    awwbugman likes this.
  15. Feb 7, 2021 at 8:00 PM
    #75
    awwbugman

    awwbugman Well-Known Member

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    Been having this same issue. Forum had me convinced it was body mounts so I ordered them, but when i got under the truck to install I noticed the sound was actually coming from the LCA. Lubed the bottom of where the shock mounts to the LCA w/ some spray bushing lube i had on hand and it 90% went away. Thinking the remaining creek/crack might be from elsewhere, will continue to try and track it down. Going to pull the skid/sway next to see if it stops. Truck is on Kings w/ SPC UCAs for reference.
     
  16. Jan 16, 2022 at 1:19 AM
    #76
    TacoGuySlo10

    TacoGuySlo10 Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys! so recently trucks been making that same noise in the video. first thing was swapped out the front cab bushings because they were shot. replaced them with new ones. driver side noise went away , but the creak persists on passenger. do u think it can be the CAM bolts not being torqued? haven’t gotten an alignment in a long time, so could be time for one
     
  17. Jan 16, 2022 at 1:22 AM
    #77
    TacoGuySlo10

    TacoGuySlo10 Well-Known Member

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    or the LCA? thanks for the help guys!! sorry for the thread revive haha
     

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