Rear shocks clunking again - something’s off

My rear shocks are doing the clunk. They are only 8 mos young. Verified correct ones. This the 3rd? set over the past couple of yrs. I thought it was due to having munroes, however now I have KYB gas adjusts & my truck was happy for a bit.



Shock measurement on a flat surface, underload, left is 15” & right is 18”. Now I know that due to the varying angle thing there should be a slight difference, however 3” seems excessive. KYB’s are 13.98 compressed & 20.98 extended.

Also, my ride height is 3.4”on the right & 2” on the left. However, front leaf spring eye to ground is the same-ish on both sides - 12” - left, 12.25” - right.

my ride height should be 1.73 rear, 1.61 front

& if it’s of any significance here, my front ride heights are low. Around 1”.



The nuts on the leaf spring bolt brackets are uniformly tightened.

The other weirdness is where the bump stops are sitting.
Left

right


It is almost as if the rear axle is pushed back 1 or 2 inches or some such. This would cause the leaf spring perches to not center, which would also cause the left rear shock to be too compressed & the right to be overextended = uneven ride height numbers & burning through shocks.

I also have been getting a mild cyclical vibration, which I have read can be from an improperly angled driveshaft. I do have another thread on here in which I questioned the angles & was informed they were ok. I installed a new center support bearing, which was somewhat needed, but changed nothing as far as the vibe. This was before I started putting all of this together. (Shocks, both bump stops, etc.)

Other than an axle angle adjust, I am at a loss. However that would change the driveshaft angle & I am told that is ok.

Any suggestions? Any other pics/measurements that might help?

 

Your sure your clunk is coming from the rear and the shock or shocks?

Noises can be so very tricky your hearing the clunk at every little bump ?

The part numbers are engraved on the shocks?

So your 100% sure that both shocks the same ?

So many parts are boxed in the correct box but the wrong product is in the box.

I think my Monroe Shocks in the rear Need changed it has only been 125,000 miles 10 years.

Bushings in the shocks still tight and in good shape?? Top shock mounts tore out off the frame? Yet look fine with the truck sitting still

i wish I was closer to help in person .

 

Unless the bushings on the eyelets of your shocks are completely deteriorated, and you can physically move the shock around with your bare hands, it's not your shock clunking.

 

So having 1” of preload? (I really hope I have my terms correct by now) on the left would not cause a clunk? Cuz the other thing I noticed is the obvious bumpstop contact point (woolwax serves another purpose ) on the right & next to nothing on the left.

 

Your leaf pack, and current payload, will determine how compressed (or extended) your shocks are. All shocks will be slightly compressed as you want both uptravel and down travel to aid with dampening of your ride. Being that you're running a stock setup, we can ignore anything and everything about lift, preload, etc.

Is your carrier bearing good to go?

Driveshaft, any and all points greased/lubed?

 

Just a thought, did you check the leafs and shackles really good? I had a clunk in the back of my 01 TRD it is was a broken leaf in the spring.
Also, you are aware the right and left rear shocks are supposed different lengths?

 

Shock mounts look fine.
KYB is one that doesn’t differentiate between a left & a right. They self adjust.

bushings are still in good shape.

To me it’s more that something is causing the perches to be off, back too much so to speak. If you think about the way our shocks are positioned, this could cause the right shock to shorten too much & the left to lengthen too much.

 

I could be wrong but from your 1st picture it looks like the leaf springs need to be replaced... looks like a negative arch. Also... have you checked the u bolt torque?

 

Take the shocks off and take a SHORT ride to determine if its shock related.

 

lubed not long ago. Certainly can do them again.

carrier bearing looks good.

 

I replaced them last year, however you may be on to something because I had a heck of a time with the seller. I did measure the second set he sent (well, both) & they checked out. I guess that’s not everything though.

I have not checked it.

 

There are a couple of brands & styles that do not have differing lengths. KYB gas adjust, which many are happy with for an affordable option, being one. I did double checked their site to make sure I have the correct ones.

shackles look ok, although I am not educated on proper angle.

 

Undo your shocks as someone said, and drive around.

About a 5 minute job to remove them.

 

Just to be clear, I’m not stating the shocks are, or I think they are, the source of the clunk. I am not stating that they are the main problem. Something is causing this uneven ride height.
I believe it was you who finally drilled into my head that ride height can be set at what you want. I just am pretty sure you didn’t mean uneven (left to right) ride height.

 

Not that it matters a whole lot but that center bearing does not look like it's perpendicular to the prop shaft.

 

Shocks won't cause uneven drive height as they only dampen your vehicle ride; coils (front) and leaf pack (rear) support weight and will determine how your vehicle sits.

 

By chance did your clunking noise start shortly after your exhaust system adventure??

 

Those Gas A Just shocks are monotube design and have a pretty robust gas charge in them. Years back I put them in the rear of a 1981 Toyota Supra and they did raise the rear height just a tad.

 

It’s not the undoing. These are some sonsaguns to get back in! I have to use a tie down to compress them! However I’ll quit my whining & do it.

 

Like I said, they have A LOT of gas pressure in them!