Front end noise over large bumps. FIXED!

I have been searching TW to exhaustion and can't figure it out. Lots of similar issues but no one (that i have found) has seemed to have found the cause.

2013 TRD Sport DCLB
3" Toytec lift with 5100's all around.
32,000km on it. Lift was put on immediately when I got home form the dealer.
Sway bar removed recently and that's when I really started to notice the noise. Not sure if its related or just more noticeable because of the extra movement.

Noise is coming from the front drivers side wheel. Sounds like a metal on metal tap or pop. The noise only happens when going over large dips in the road. Rough roads, potholes and speed bumps there is no noise at all. I live in Saskatchewan so when I say large dips I mean normal cars/trucks hit the breaks before going over.

Seems to happen more when the wheel is turned to the right. Sometimes I will get the same noise when turning (either direction) soon after going over a large bump and hearing the noise.

Took a video today to show what I'm talking about. I was able to capture the noise going over bumps and when turning shortly after. I can't see anything moving/binding. I'm starting to think it's steering related. Maybe the rack? I have a bit of play in the axel. Moves about 1/4" in and out where it connects to the diff. Not sure if that could be causing that sound.

And before anyone says UCA, I have checked. They only touch the coil at full droop when its on a lift. I will be replacing them soon.

Update: Sept 19, 2016

I finally got around to taking the strut off and re-seating the coil. It took a while to find spring compressors that would fit and work! The top didn't show any signs of where or anything. The rubber was in good shape and there was no wear spots in the metal. The bottom perch however did have a small shiny wear spot right where the corner of the end of the coil sat. I think that was my problem area!

When I re-assembled the strut, I made sure the end of the coil at the bottom was further away from the slope on the perch. I also twisted the coil so that the end of the coil at the top was not near any of the top plate bolts. Also, when I took the strut off I noticed that the top plate was not perfectly lined up with the bottom mount on the shock body. So when it was installed on the truck, the whole assembly was slightly twisted. I made sure that those were in line when reassembling.

After driving around a couple of days, the noise has definitely gotten better but I am still hearing the noise on some bumps/dips. But I need to hit them a lot harder now for it to happen. I think that the bottom of the coil is still moving a bit on the perch. I wasn't able to compress the coil enough to get in there and properly clean away the dirt/rust so that's likely why i'm still getting movement.

I'm just going to have to live with the noise for the time being. At least it is better now and i know now that it isn't anything that will get worse and cause bigger problems (knock on wood). The next time that strut comes out it will be to replace them with Fox adjustable coil overs!






Update: August, 2022
IT'S FIXED!! It was the coilover. I replaced them with Elka and the noise is 100% gone now. I actually think it was the 1/2" top plate spacer that was moving slightly.

 

Awesome video.

I had a clunk in a new truck, turns out it was the body mounts that were pretty loose.

Just throwin it out there

 

Also, try torquing down your alignment cam bolts. If those are loose, you'll have unwanted movement in your LCA's.

 

Thanks man. Ill give those a check tomorrow while I'm under there!

Good call... I've had a couple alignments done after the lift. I'll check those tomorrow and check back in.

Nice build btw! I love the KM2s on that wheel. If it wasn't for the 7+ months of snow and ice id rock those too!

 

I had a similar thing on a gen1 taco that I bought used from dealer and they checked it and found nothing...I went under myself and found loose bolts to the control arms and such. So it's either loose bolt somewhere or you got something broken in the strut tower area.

I tightened it and the noise went away...it happened when I went over a bump...scary crap...sad that the dealer didn't check. But that doesn't sound good at all.

 

This, and try really soaking them with a good penetrating oil too. They can get rusted to the metal sleeves and cause binding, its a good cheap place to start.

 

The reverberation of the noise leads me to believe it might have something to do with the coil, double check torque on all the strut top plate and strut tower bolts. Also it would be wise to make sure all necessary bushings and rubber pieces are there and in decent shape...

 

It sounds like its coming from the spring.

 

So I went under and checked/tightened everything. Alignment cams bolts, UCA bolt, strut top plate bolts, steering rack bolts, ball joints and body mounts. Got a couple to move a bit but they all seemed good and tight. After driving around for a couple days I still have the same noise. It didn't seem to improve at all either.

I am thinking it might be the coil now too... When I was assembling the struts, I remember having a bit a trouble getting the top nut to tighten on this particular strut. After fighting with it a bit it finally cooperated. The amount of the thread showing above the top nut is the same on both struts. And the rubber bushing on top also seems to be compressed equally on both.

How would I check to make sure its assembled correctly? Could it be something as simple as re-torquing that top nut? Is there a special position the spring should be in (rotation wise)?

 

Update: Tightened the top nut of the strut as much as I could while it was on the truck. Driving to work this morning I still heard the noise on my "test bump".

Without completely rebuilding the strut I'm not sure what else to try. Is there anything else beside the strut that it could be?

 

The uca isn't making contact with the spring is it?

 

It does only at full droop. I'm hearing the noise when the suspension is compressed and close to stop.

 

So I tried spraying WD40 on pretty much any point of the coil that contacts anything else. Didn't seem to make any difference.

 

Have u tried lightly riding ur brakes while hitting the test bump? If it doesn't make the sound, its ur brake pads

 

Update: New pics and video. I was trying to see if the LCA bushings were causing the problem. Take a look and let me know what you think. Should they have that much play? Also, is that coil seated properly on the perch? I'm almost wondering if its pushed up the little slope a bit more than it should be and causing the noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgpA41RUXAg

 

I thought that too at first. But it still happens regardless of whether I'm pushing on the brakes or not.

 

What about the ball joint on the uca? Grab it with both hands and yank it back and forth (lol) and see if it moves or pops.

 

After watching your last video, looks like some extra play in the lower control arm. I noticed this toward the last 30 seconds or so of the video. Could be a worn bushing,... Just a thought.

 

Have you tried removing the stock skid plate? Had the same noise and it ended up just being the left side of the skid plate hitting over bumps. Hope you figure it out and it ends up being a simple fix.

 

I will give that a try in the next couple nights. I never suspected the ball joints because there is no sound at all on rough or washboard roads but doesnt hurt to check!

I was wondering about that. The last bit of the video was me leaning into corners hard so there would be a lot of stress on those bushings. Without taking the LCA right off is there any way to check the bushings?

I was actually planning on doing that this weekend. I have the TRD skid plate on as well so I'll take both off and see if the noise goes away. Let's hope that's all it is!


Thanks for the feedback! I'll give those suggestions a try this weekend and report back.