[FIXED] The sound that has bamboozled many Toyota Mechanics

UPDATE: After feeling around with a lot of vigorous shaking from my wife , the sound seems to definitely be coming from the Coil/Shock, not the bushing at the bottom but it feels like either right at the top, or right where the bottom of the coil touches the shock.

Tacoma Offroad 2023 3k miles. Everything basically stock except changed tire size to 265/70/R17. Couple of alignments done, and an oil change. There's this weird clicking sound, that I can't seem to figure out.

I took it to a dealership, they said it was "normal". Another dealership tried to fix it by retorqueing all the front suspension to spec. It was initially doing it on both sides, but now it's only the driver's side after they touched it.

Sound it made by stepping on the suspension, and then pushing up on the door frame afterwards to rock it. Sound can be heard when breaking to a stop (slowly), going over driveway bumps (slowly), turning in a parking lot. (slowly), or just by rocking it.

Initially it's really hard to see where the sound is coming from so I took the plates off since they just reverb the sound. By touching around when it pops I can feel the strongest parts of the popping are near the bushings of the UCA, the strut, or the top and bottom of the coil. I just can't seem to find exactly where it's coming from. Any help would be amazing because it's driving me nuts.

Also, just made an account for TW, so hey yall!



BREAK BREAK: FIXED. I got a new Eibach Stage 2 lift installed, all new coilovers and shocks and the sound is gone. Magic

 

Welcome to TW

 

I would take some wrenches and start tightening everything that you can to check for some looseness somewhere. It seems to be suspension related.

 

My boss would throw me into the street if we called that normal.

It's consistent, why can't they fix it.

Usually when its an odd bump or parking lot drop we tell people its normal, but a slight jounce makes it? Not normal.

I'd start with experience/inspections, then try things like remove the sway bar link.

We'd try a control arm long before letting the truck leave like that.

If it was a car I'd suspect the macpherson, it sounds like a mount or bushing, but on a coil over like this it seems like the ball joints or the arm bushings causing this.

 

Check your "skid plate" bolts. I had one come slightly loose and it made that sound. I guess there is just enough frame flex / skid flex that it makes that sound.

 

I showed them a video, showed them how to make the sound and I left it there, then they call me saying they don't know how to make the sound

I think they were having a hard time replicating it when it was on the lift is my guess. It's definitely annoying though

 

I took both plates completely off when I was just making the sound. They made the sound reverberate so it was harder to pinpoint it.

 

I've learned that if my local Toyota can't look it up in the book and know how many hours to charge they don't want to mess with it and will just claim it's normal. Have had a similar (but not that loud or repeatable) issue on my wife's 4Runner since it's had about 20k on it. Gave up and decided it will either go away when I change the offending part for preventative maintenance or it will eventually break and I'll know what it is. Point is a lot of dealerships are garbage.

 

It's true, and there's days when I get a 2 day old truck with 8 complaints. I'm not getting paid to confirm everyone and clearly its an owner issue. So I'm gonna breeze through it and give you the keys back.

We don't mind 1 or 2 complaints as long as we can replicate it. Videos like this one help us a ton.

Flat rate sucks for customer satisfaction.

 

Disconnect three sway bar links and try again

 

I have the same clicking sound and dealer said its normal and i read all over tacomaworld saying its normal. I just ignore it as long as my truck is reliable thats all that matters to me

 

Rock trapped under your skid plate, or loose cab mount bolt/nut.

 

I had a nissan titan that would do that. worse in hot summers. almost gone in cold winters. reproduced by making a right turn to a side road where the side road connected to a turning left main road and the truck had to walk out of camber of the main road to turn onto the side road. turned out to be bushings that tended to fail on those trucks. popped so loud/hard that I could feel it through the floor board on the driver's side. Especially in hot summer months. nissan never figured it out. I did and got them to replace the bushings up front anyway.

 

I had a very similar noise that graduated into that plus a metal on metal squeaking noise. It took numerous mentions at the dealer until they would fix it. The dealer replaced the front body bushings.....still there. Front shocks needed replacing and something with the springs rubbing somewhere. Factory sometimes pinches the bushings they said and needs to be redone. All good now the last 7k miles since fixed. Just be a pain in the ass and make them document it over and over. I can post the dealers service invoice.

 

that would be super helpful. It definitely sounds like a UCA bushing or the coil/shocks making the sound.

 

I can try that once I get home, however I don’t feel any of the vibrations on the away bar when it pops

 

Have you considered that it may be somehow related to the individual front driveshafts (from front differential to each wheel)? It almost sounds like those 'driveshafts' could be moving back & forth somewhat, creating that noise. Also, the use of a mechanic's stethoscope could be useful here; touch the scope to each part while the noise is being made & eliminate parts not associated with the noise. Good luck!

 

Skid plates are off currently

 

Try putting your hand on things and feeling for sound vibrations or maybe spray things with some silicone spray

 

Kinda sounds like lower strut mount bushing.

actually really sounds like the noise I had when mine were bad. Maybe not quite as bad yet…I have a video on here with my noise somewhere. I’ll try and find it when I get home and compare the noise.