Really annoying squeak - leaf springs?

'22 TRD Sport, 27,000km/16,800miles, 100% stock suspension. In the last week or so, I've noticed a REALLY irritating squeak coming from the rear of the vehicle while driving. It's definitely a suspension noise as it's non-rotational and I can reproduce it by bouncing on the bumper. Unfortunately right now, I don't have anyone who can bounce while I listen, so while I'm reasonably sure it's the rear leafs, I'm not 100% certain.

Anyone experienced this, and if so, what's the fix? I sprayed them down with silicone lube as an aide to determining whether or not it was the leafs, and it did seem to quiet them down for a very short time, so I assume I'm on the right track. Now... WTF do I do about it????

 

Might have a little sand or dirt in the leaf springs or the rubber bushings around them. Could be the leaf spring shackles as well.

Normally what I do is spray a jet of water through everything with the hose to get the particulate matter out then get in there with a can of silicone and it will go away.

Try again, you should be good a second time around.

 

I had a squeaky spring after being stuck in mud overnight.
Doused everything in PB blaster and then fluid film a day or two later.
Squeak gone......for now!

 

Thanks - I was figuring that's what it likely all it was, just wanted to make sure it wasn't a known issue.

 

A penetrating oil will work its way in there better than a silicone spray.
Last longer, too.

 

Just keep them clean with a high pressure power spray, and the silicone spray or WD-40 if needed.

Mine squeaked madly all day long even on pavement. Until I started cleaning them after every off road trip. For me that is weekly.

Even with this crap mine no longer squeak as long as they are kept clean.

 

Mine squeaks. Can hear it when I park the truck going over bumps

 

You have 4 options:

1) clean and lube the leaf springs on demand
2) install aftermarket leaf spring anti-friction pads
3) install aftermarket leaf springs with better anti-friction pads
4) turn up the radio volume

I’ve tried #1 and #4. I find that the squeak is worse after getting the leaf springs dirty and then slowly gets quieter as I keep driving the truck on clean roads. Albeit, there was one time it was less squeaky after a wet off road trip.

 

My spare tire wasn’t sinched up tight and made a super annoying squeak. I would check it

 

Leaf springs make more of a lower pitch creak which I’m guessing is easily distinguishable from a spare tire squeak, but I’ve never actually heard the spare tire squeak as my spare is in the bed. Also leaf spring creek is really obvious when you get on the rear bumper and toss your weight up and down.

 

One other note, preforming the clean and lube procedure with the truck on the ground has given me very limited results. Best results have been achieved when jacking the truck up by the frame such that the leafs are at full droop. Removing the wheel also makes it easier to get to the entire leaf spring.

 

100% chance you have grit in your leaf springs

Some options that have worked for me

-Blast the leaves with a garden hose
-Blast the leaves with pressure washer
-Jack the truck by the frame to take pressure off the leaves, use a small pry bar to spread the leaves apart, and spray white lithium grease between the leaves

 

A good shot of high-pressure water in the springs cleared the problem up. Thanks everyone!!

 

Yeah it was a very high pitched squeak, for the longest time I thought it was my leafs. When it rained, noise went away.

Surprisingly my medium dobinsons leafs have been silent for 3 years. A lot of dusty conditions over the years.

 

Make sure to check your spare tire chain! I had a terrible squeak/squeal on our 2016 off road. You can grab and shake the chain and it will get rid of the noise.

 

Dobinson leaf packs are much better quality. Tapered ends and such, just built better than factory springs.

 

Another potential thing to look at is your rear drum. My truck was squeaking bad and I thought it was the leaf springs, but one day when I was rotating my tires I was able to mimic the noise accidentally by pushing the tire into the rear drum. Definietly would check and clean leaf’s first like others have mentioned

 

I think I have this issue, my spare is tight but still squeaks. Can you explain how to do this a bit more? Do I just grab the portion of the chain that's hanging a bit, and shake it like it owes me money?

 

get a hold of some scrap pieces of carpet. Put in a place in the contact points where the Tire contacts the frame. This will tell you whether it’s the Tire or not. I would not run these in place long-term. The carpet will hold moisture and accelerate corrosion.

 

just had an issue with this that i solved. it was my spare after getting a tire patch. I loosened the chain, hit a bunch of the metal & hardware with wd40 and retightened/re-mounted the spare. that solved it. i think the shop just put it back on too tight or at a slightly wrong angle.