Rear Suspension Clunk RESOLVED

Hey all,

I have been attempting to locate a rear end clunking noise for quite some time. I tried torqueing everything again, checking the ft/lbs on the wheels, and tightening the bed bolts to figure out what was going on. I started to think I may had been hearing things from the front end after an alignment, but then I actually started to feel the clunk in my seat.

I primarily noticed this clunk when turning left or right and typically up an incline, but it was also present when turning left/right around town and on trails. I am posting my findings here in the hopes that it can help someone else either eliminate or identify a similar issue.

Today I removed and re-greased by OME leaf bushings/shackles, installed durobumps, and here is what I found...



This is the rear leaf spring shackle sleeve (drivers side). It was bent so bad I had trouble pulling the bolt out. It looks like the bolt was binding in the sleeve and breaking loose with a weight shift, which is what was causing the popping/clunking noise.

Sleeve replaced. Test drive complete. NO CLUNKS!

Note...I may or may not occasionally push the payload limit of this little truck. Lesson learned. Hope this helps someone else or at the very least...encourages them to have retaining wall bricks delivered instead of hauling them yourself

 

How my bricks did you haul?

 

About 20-25 per load. 72lbs each plus my other gear...not worth it.

 

Hey OP, I'm thinking that I'm having this exact issue too. At the time I didn't have any grease on hand to lube the bushings and sleeves, so ended up removing them a couple days later with some good stuff. Think I had maybe two or three of that were bent exactly like this but didn't really think much as I didn't have any replacements. My main question is, what ft-lbs did you torque all your leaf spring bolts to? Including the shackle bolts too please.

-Thanks!

 

maybe its a bunch of fat chicks?

 

Hey hey - it's been a long while since I worked on my Tacoma and have since sold it. If I remember correctly, the front and rear leaf spring bolts were torqued to 89ft/lbs (while on the ground). Drove for a while and re-torqued them just to be sure.

 

That would explain the crumbs under the seats