Rear shocks clunking again - something’s off

yes. I agree I may have had a pinch of a lift, but again, & maybe I shouldn’t be concerned about it?, it’s the uneven (left to right) ride height & the bump stops. Oh & the clunking of course.

 

If those picture are from your truck, you may have other issue.... RUST contributions....

 

Getting there. I also had to get the muffler clamp on, which required removing the old tape from attempting to make it work on the previous “new” muffler which was leaking at the seams. Anyway, I ordered a Wagner clamp in hopes that it won’t leak.

Meanwhile, I noticed this. Isn’t the wheel supposed to be more centered?

 

You know, some of these 'variances' you're noticing can boil down to the install itself right?

Like I mentioned in another thread, you have an alignment pin on your leaf pack to help center over the axle. But making sure you tighten up your ubolts uniformly helps as well, not to mention centering your bumpstop where it needs to be before tightening things down.

I used a ratchet strap around each side of the diff attached to the frame to keep it as even as possible.

Also, that looks pretty normal as far as your wheel goes.

Here's one of my old truck -

 

no. I had this happen before with Monroe shocks. Not great at the timeline, however I’d say over the past year/year & 1/2 I’ve been through 2 sets of munroes & then I switched to the kyb’s.

both sets of munroes started clunking, or so I thought because the clunk stopped when I installed the next set. The left one each time was mush when I uninstalled. I just thought they were crappy shocks or my truck didn’t like them. I had a bad experience with their coilovers.

 

while I won’t claim to be rust free, the unevenness of the coating may cause it to appear as though there is more rust than there is.
I haven’t had a chance to do a fresh coat & I’m sure I have brushed up against it & caused it to be uneven, so to speak.

 

yes. I was sure to tighten them evenly. Even got as picky as to count the threads.

thing is, I swear the bump stops were not like this after the install. However I am a little confused on the centering the bumpstop. Doesn’t it screw in? I mean only one place it could go, correct? I see some wiggle room for where the ubolts sit….

 

The bumpstop literally just sits on your leaf pack loosely until you tighten down your ubolts.

I went to the garage to bend some rod and give you an example.

First pic you'll see that if you have your ubolts running perpendicular to your axle housing, you have some room to move your bumpstop left or right before tightening things down -



Now if you accidently had things slightly crooked, you'll notice your bumpstop will get pushed one way or another with little room for adjustment, but will still tighten down as the distance between the ends of the ubolts remain the same with the bottom plate -

 

I need to charge my GoPro; I used to attach that thing to the underside when I tried to pinpoint a weird noise and see when that noise would occur while driving.

 

very creative! thank you….

ok. I was incorrect. I do recall spinning it on though. Maybe it was because it was rubber going over metal & it needed help. However, wouldn’t the hole dictate where it sits?

 

Good point, I recall having some play...then again I had aftermarket bumpstops and the hole on the bottom was much larger.



Bottom line, not everything will align perfectly so that's the first hurdle you need to get over.

The clunking is what we need to address and if you've gone this far, you'll see that the rear end always develops a clunk for one reason or another.

 

missed this. I used a string. I’ll double check though.

 

So it started pouring here. I don’t want to pull the truck back in all wet since I’d have to get back under it afterwards. However, I did check the leaf springs. I think I did it in a way that confirms the negative bowing.
Left - after the shackle is 4.5 degrees - directly before the bumpstop is 4.6 degrees - after is 9.8 degrees
Right - 5.7, 7.5 & 8.9

@Kwikvette - I think I read you posted something about 1st gens & how the earlier ones had longer leaf paks. Is this correct? I wonder if this ATS springs jerk sent me the wrong ones. I measured them, but maybe not good enough.

 

Alright... You're WAY over thinking some of these things.

Shackle angles are out of scope and completely irrelevant to a clunk. Check the hanger bushings, and then cross that off the list. There is not a "correct" shackle angle- it is going to be different from truck to truck depending on many factors.

The placement of your bumps stops is a red hearing- They can easily be placed unevenly side to side (and differ truck to truck). As long as the U-Bolts are tightened evenly and torqued to spec, this is not something which will cause a clunk.

Thrust Angle (the angle of the rear axle to the frame) is best measured on an alignment rack or at home with WELL setup string box. But I'd think you find that most trucks have some variance here. Again, this wouldn't result in a clunk.

The goal here is check things that can have play in them which can cause a clunk.

Axle wrap or the slip yoke are a much higher likely case than any recently replaced spring, shock, bushing, etc...

When does the clunk happen?

 

I agree. As I stated, I was not claiming the shocks were the problem (whether or not those are clunking). I was questioning why. However, regardless of whether they are clunking, there’s no doubt something is affecting them because I am on my 3rd set now & each time I replaced them the clunk went away for a while.

& I tilt a little about bump stop placement. Not saying you’re wrong. I want to understand. Since the bump stop has one hole that is sized just right to fit the spring & then is clamped down flat, how can they be placed unevenly?

Oh, & I was not stating these were the source of the clunk. My understanding is bump stops protect the shocks from bottoming out. If the space from bump stop to frame is greater than shock underload to full compression, would that not make a noise (& indicate a problem)?

Left shock length underload - 15.75 (I was incorrect earlier. I put 15)
Fully compressed allowance - 13.98
Space from bump stop to frame 2.25
Shock is going to bottom out before the bump stop hits.
Right side - 18 underload
Fully compressed allowance 13.98
Space from bump stop to frame 3.00
Plenty & then some of buffer

so again, shocks & bump stops I am seeing as symptoms/clues not the problem source

ok. All that said - the clunk varies. It is not every time I go over a bump or every time I switch gears or take off….
In fact I’m going to say it is unrelated to take off or stopping. Moreso when there is some cornering & uneven surfacing. & I wanna say that when I have a heavy load, there’s no clunk. Also, the cyclical vibe, whether related or not, is not there with a heavy load. I do pull to the right though.

Think that covers it, however I have to take off for an appt & will monitor.
Plus as was suggested, taking the shocks off….

 

How full is the fuel tank?? Anything else on the left side of the truck?

Your taking measurements on a concrete pad that is flat but for enough incline for water drainage.

You feel the clunk as well as hear it?

I really wonder if you do indeed have 2 different springs.

I have only ever used General Spring out of Kansas City after my local spring shops said they did not want small 4x4 business. My Go to Spring person retired and closed.

General Spring has 1st Generations broke down 95.5-97 /// 98-2000 ////2001-2004

 

I've highlighted what I think are the key symptoms.

Clunk:

If it's unrelated to take off or stopping- this likely eliminates axle wrap. It does not eliminate the over-grease-packed slip yoke.

A clunk while cornering or on an uneven surface- it's not impossible that it's coming from the rear, but more likely that it's coming from the front and feels like it's the rear. I know you wrench on your rig often, but I'd suggest doing a once over on the front- sway bar end links and mounts in particular. Maybe one of those bolts got skipped over.

A loose Cam bolt would both cause a clunk and result in an uneven track.

You really need something to be moving to make a clunk. I would free up the suspension as best you can, lift the tires free from the group, support the frame well, and get under there with a pry bar and try to find something that's moving which shouldn't.

"Cyclical vibe":

I'm breaking this out, because it's likely a different issue. I think you mentioned replacing your carrier bearing. Did you also replace the u joints? Have you ever had the drive shaft out? Had it balanced?
What speed does it occur at?

 

So if I was just going along & not thinking of the front as a possibility, I would say mostly rear left. & it happens whether I’m turning left or right. Once in a while the clunk is on the right. Also, it does seem to happen at very slow speeds. I wouldn’t call it a take off thing, however I notice it most, say once rolling & taking a turn (out of a driveway for instance). That said, I will check up front.

& now that I am able to clearly see both sides of the truck, as I am outside (my garage is a 1952 one bay - grateful for it nonetheless), the right wheel is back farther than the left by about an inch. Funny how it looks like it’s at least 2-3 inches dif. Anyway, kinda matches, yes, the bump stop difference as the right looks farther back than the left.

The vibe is up to 40-ish. I also feel it on deceleration.

I replaced one ujoint last year. I believe I did another many years ago.

yes. I have had the driveshaft out. I also took took it apart at the yoke, removed what grease I could & regreased. When I put it back on, I left the grease fitting off & went back & forth over my neighbor’s massive tree root driveway.

I have not had it balanced.

 

Gas tank is about 1/2 full.

I do most measurements on my neighbor’s driveway because mine is all well worn.

the garage floor itself is in good shape. A bit sunk toward the back. But I have taken a level to it & the front is holding up good. I’m just not sure if I would do angles & pitches, that kinda thing or at the very least, just use for some reference point.

yeah. I wish I had gone with them. Even if it turns out the springs are fine, my experience with ATS was pretty bad.

 

Odnesses though, in looking the GS site, the left vs right have no differences that I can see.
Right - https://www.generalspringkc.com/200...passenger-side-rear-leaf-spring-4-3-1-leaves/
Left -
https://www.generalspringkc.com/200...er-driver-side-rear-leaf-spring-4-3-1-leaves/