2021 Off Road, 4k miles, completely stock, squeaking/groaning?

Hey all,

I have a 2021 Off Road with about 4,000 miles that's completely stock (in the suspension department) and, about two weeks ago, I noticed that there's a fairly obvious squeaking/groaning noise coming from the suspension as it rolls over typical bumps in the road. Even when I park, I can hear the noise as my 230lb body steps out.

I'm no mechanic, so I could be wrong about the source of the noise, but it definitely seems to be coming from the coil springs and/or the leaf springs.

It feels a bit young/new to already be making these noises … but am I just being picky? Or, do y'all agree that something ain't 100% under there?

 

My best guess is that it is your leaf springs. The solution is to lube them. There are tons of posts on here about it. When it first happened to me, I told the dealer when I went in for my scheduled maintenance and they took care of it for free. The last time I did something about it, all I had was a can of wd40. It solved it the problem until the next I got the truck dirty and then had a to clean it.

 

Normal, it's the leaf springs, welcome to owning a tacoma there will be a lot of squeaks and rattles etc just the characteristics of owning a truck

 

Thanks, folks, I’ll look for those posts that describe how to lubricate them.

 

Update: I ended up making an appointment at the Toyota dealership to have them take a look. They confirmed they could hear the squeaking, confirmed it shouldn't be doing that normally, but laid blame on the Fluid Film I had applied in the fall of last year. Assuming they're not BS'ing me, I'm just happy that nothing's loose, broken, etc., and I can live with the noises; I'd rather have the Fluid Film on there and deal with some noises than not have it on there at all.

 

Huh? They are blaming squeaking on a lubricant? There must be more to this story.

 

Their theory was: the Fluid Film causes dust, dirt, etc. to stick to it and causes the coated "flex points" to get squeaky as a result. If they're correct, I can live with it, but I don't know how to determine if they're not correct, you know?

 

The key to preventing the leaf spring squeak is to keep them lubricated. Any lubricant will also prevent corrosion. Lubricants also tend to collect dirt, so periodic cleaning and reapplication are necessary. There are some “dry” lubricants that are better in this regard, but I’ve never met a perfect one. It’s a very well known issue with bicycle and motorcycle chain lubricants.

 

Hmm, makes sense.

I plan to have Fluid Film reapplied every fall, so I may wait until it’s done this fall and reassess.

Or, maybe I should take a shot at hosing off everything under there now (since it’s summer and rust isn’t a concern) and see if the squeak goes away; then I’ll know it’s due to the Fluid Film and the dirt it collects.

 

There are quite a number of threads on here about leaf spring squeak and the solutions. None of them mention rust or fluid film. I think you might be conflating two separate issues.

 

I use Fluid film on everything except the coilovers/rear shocks/leaf springs mainly due to it being tacky and collecting dust/dirt. On the suspension I use Boeshield T9... dries to a waxy clear coating... less greasy and not yellow like Fluid Film. Haven't heard a squeak from the leaf springs so far.

 

I've used Otis Dry Gun Lube in the past. It leaves a slight film and but doesn't gunk up like WD40