FOUND IT! Post lift clunking and knocking.

My OFFICIAL Report
I had a clunk in the front end and one in the rear. Together it was hard to tell that the one in the rear existed.

Front changes:
- Swaybar relocate kit (Wheelers Off-Road)
- Driver's side outer tie rod end (Moog greasable part)
- Driver's side lower ball joint (Moog greasable part) I think this was the real cause.
- Driver's side needle bearing/inner CV housing play (ECGS Bushing)

Rear changes:
- Torqued U-Bolts to 100ft-lbs
- Bike tire pieces between #1 & #2 leafs in front of the axle
- Energy Suspension (black) poly leaf spring bushings (front and ear eyelets) The rear leaf spring bushings were the cause of my rear end clunk.

After the lower ball joint up front was changed the front clunk went away. That's when the rear was apparent. After replacing the rear bushing on the driver's side leaf pack, I could hear a small clunk coming from the rear passenger side. After replacing the bushings in the passenger side leaf pack, all is quiet.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!


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UPDATE 3/15/2016

I can confidently say that the rear leaf spring bushings were the cause of my rear end clunking. Took a turn today that clunked 100% of the time and today...sweet silence.

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UPDATE 3/14/2016

The clunk is still there. I disconnected the top of the rear shocks and drove around. Clunk was still there. It's not the shocks. Although my driver's side OME shock has a nice shiny spot where it's rubbing the mount, so that needs to be addressed as well.

Ugh.

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UPDATE 3/12/2016

I dropped the driver's side leaf pack and pressed out the front bushing. It came out like butter, so I'm not surprised if the leaf pack was shifting on it. It also has some rust spots on the metal sleeve, so I think it was loose enough for moisture to get in.

Greased up the new ES bushings and pressed them in. This has eliminated more of the clunking, so I'll be doing the passenger side tomorrow.

I also saw pieces of the bike tube I put in between my leaves coming out, so I know for sure my leaves are shifting. Undoubtedly knocking on something. I may need to get some clamps and clamp the ends of the #2 and #3 leaves.

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UPDATE 3/11/2016
(This post is written in reverse chronological order...)
TL;DR == Lower ball joint fixed front end clunk. Trying ES poly leaf spring bushings to resolve the rear end clunk.

Details...
Replaced my driver's side needle bearing with the ECGS bushing and fixed the excessive play in the inner CV housing. AT THE SAME TIME I replaced the driver's side lower ball joint with a greasable Moog part and this resolved the front end clunking. All that's left now is a clunk from the rear driver's side when the truck flexes.

Googled for "Dakar clunk" and found lots of results...not specifically Tacomas, but specifically Dakar leaf packs.

Next thing to try -- the front bushing in the driver's side leaf pack is not centered in the leaf pack (visually inspected). The slot that the front of the leaf pack slides into also shows signs of contact. Nothing on the passenger side. I think when the truck's weight shifts side-to-side, the leaf pack slides side-to-side on the bushing and hits the "bucket" that it's mounted in, so I have Energy Suspension leaf spring bushings on order that have an external "shoulder" to solve this problem. OEM Toyota bushings for the rear will also work here, but the poly ones will be easier to take out and replace if needed later on.

ARB does recommend tack welding the bushing into the leaf springs before install, but I didn't have access to welding equipment and it wasn't required, so I skipped that step. This is also why I believe the bushing to be the culprit.

-------- OLDER UPDATES ---------

UPDATE -- Unsolved...
See post #143 for the full update, but the clunk is back.

MY SOLUTION:
All said and done, the front end clunking was due to a bad outer tie rid end on the driver's side. Replaced both outer TREs with Moog greasable ones, pumped them full of grease and now the clunking is gone. When I reassembled my front struts with new coils, nothing looked weird or wrong with the old assembly so I don't think that caused anything.


The original problem:
So I installed a full OME lift about 5k miles ago (886 coils, full dakar packs, NitroCharger sports all around, everything else stock).

I've gotten the Dakar squeak...but hitting them with some white lithium spray every now and then has pretty much solved that problem.

The REAL issue I'm having is with clunks and knocks...

It seems like lateral force (anything that jolts the truck left to right) will make the rear knock. It's light and not every time, but it's there. I've checked U-bolts, shock mounts, leaf spring eye bolts, and shackle bolt. Everything's torqued to spec.

The front is even more troubling. I just replaced the sway bar end links with the greasable Moog links. I've been having a knocking sound when I turn at speed (again, lateral force), when I turn and hit a dip (doesn't have to be abrupt), and sometimes when the truck is sitting still and I turn the steering wheel left to right there's a point in the full left to right range that knocks if I go back and forth over it.

I've tightened the shock mounts, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings, LCA cam bolts, spindle bolts, wheel spacers, and lug nuts. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where this could be coming from. It's annoying, but I'm more concerned about damage being done.

So, since I've checked the torque of all the bolts I touched during the install, I'm now wondering if it could be the UCA ball joints. I have stock UCAs and the 886s are lifting the front pretty high (no weight). Could I just have stressed them so much and broken something? In my mind it makes sense that lateral forces would cause the UCA joint to knock.

Any ideas? I've searched TW and the internet...can't find anything I haven't tried other than new LCA bushings and UCAs.

 

So I crawled under the truck this morning and checked the 4 cab mounts I could find. 2 right behind the front wheels, 2 right in front of the rear wheels. Nothing was more than maybe 1/8 of a turn (if even that) away from 34 ft-lbs.

Also did a visual on the upper/lower ball joints (UCA and LCA), and nothing's ripped or leaking. Rubber isn't even dried/cracked. Grabbed the outer tie rod and shook like hell, no movement there.

Are there any other bolts that get touched during an alignment?

I'm starting to think I have 2 separate issues. One that results in the steering knock and one that results in the knock from lateral forces.

 

Cab mounts were gonna be my suggestion only because I'm in the middle of dealing with that.

I feel your pain.

 

My guess is the sway bar is hitting the coil spring. Common issue with OME lifts and stock UCAs. Try removing the sway bar and see if clunk goes away. If it does then a sway bar relocate will fix the issue, some people just remove it altogether.

 

I fixed this with new upper and lower ball joints. If its ball joints it will get worse, and then you can find the loose one.

 

Thanks, guys.

The hard part is the noise comes and goes. Just made a round trip to the gym and store and it only did it once when I turned the wheel to get out of a parking spot. It feels (and I know that can be deceptive, too) like it clunks when a wheel is tilted (e.g. top in, bottom out, or the opposite) but I've tried the "grab the wheel and shake like hell" test and it's solid.

@patbegley, I torqued the cab mounts after reading one of your posts and one of @Benson X 's posts.

@TaterHarry, I had my fiancee turn the wheels side-to-side full lock while I laid under the front and watched. Nothing hitting while it's standing still, and I get the clunk when I'm parked and turn the wheels. I may pull the sway bar just to check it off the list.

@Arcticelf, what kind of wear did your ball joints show, if any at all?


I've got the 886 coils and no weight, which is a ROUGH ride, so I'm planning to switch to 887s. I may throw a pair of LR UCAs in there while I'm at it, but I don't think the UCAs are the issue here unless it's a ball joint issue.

 

Small update...

Locked the steering wheel and got both front wheels off the ground. Torqued the spindle bolts (the 2 19mm under the knuckle) to 118 ft-lbs. They weren't loose at all. Gave everything another look over, no leaks. Shook stuff, no rattles or movement.

Put a screwdriver in the brake rotors and torqued the SpiderTrax spacers to 85 ft-lbs like the instructions said. None moved more than a tad, and most didn't budge at all.

I paid close attention to the sway bar this time. It looks like it gets pretty close to the bottom spring mount on the OME strut, however there's still a thin layer of mud covering the bar and the spring mount, so I don't think they've contacted.

 

My upper was massively loose in the socket, .125 to .25 inches of play. The lower felt tight, but the noise went away when I changed them.

The other thing to check is the LCA cam bolts. Those got loose at one point, and made a clicking noise. The ball joint was more of a crunch/knock.

Good luck.

 

Thanks! I came across several threads and videos pointing to the LCA cam bolts. I torqued mine down to 100 ft-lbs (V6 4x4). None of them moved much at all...that's starting to be the catch phrase I say to myself after checking bolts.

 

That may be too much, although I've never gotten a clear answer on that torque spec. If the noise goes away you have an answer

 

Based it off of the torque spec guide that's pinned in the 2nd Gen forums. What number do you have for the cam bolts? I did read another thread where the OP said he thought about loosening the cam bolt nut and then re-torquing in case it was seized and "appeared" tight.

 

That's the correct torque for the cam bolts. At least pretty damn close.

 

Anywhere from 85 to 110. With several technicians saying 'until tight enough'. I just crank in them with a large wrench periodically.

 

I have this same thing now after a few weeks with the OME 887/5100 combo I put it. From what I have read it is coming from the cam bolts. I have just ordered all new cam bolts and am going to have them changed out and greased up with never seize. Will report back after it is done.

 

^^ Awesome. I would love it if it was something relatively simple like that. Are you going to DIY or have a shop do it? I saw the Energy Suspension bushings, but they're getting mixed reviews for the LCAs.

 

I am just changing out all the cam bolts can't imagine a brand new truck would need new bushings. But I will have new bushings on hand as well. I will have a shop do it.

 

Please let us know your results. I'd be very surprised if mine needed new bushings. If I put on the ES ones, it will purely be preventative.

Update: just drove about 10 miles in the city. Made a right turn from a stop and "clunk". Felt it in the floor, like it came from the driver's side front corner. It feels/sounds like someone tapped the undercarriage with a wooden bat.

 

Please let me know how you make out. I just started another thread about a similar problem only with no lift. I've checked everything as well and can't find the problem. Never thought of LCA cam bolts.

 

interested to know the fix. OP, did you remove the swaybar yet to test?

 

Could be one of the following:

LCA Bushing is loose, tightening bolts won't do shit to fix it. Drive in a figure 8 in a parking lot to diagnose.

OME shock is topping out, making noise. Drive over speed bumps and listen for dull /loud thud. Solution is to get rid of OME shock and replace with a longer one.

Swaybar contacting coil, but sounds like OP was thorough about that.

Ball joints could be bad but on a 2014?

Maybe an issue with steering rack?