Suspension Coil Popping Noise (Possibly Resolved?)

So I've seen a lot of threads about a popping noise from the suspension but I've never found a resolution for mine in 8 years+. I have 5100 with 885, stock UCA's.

I hear a popping clinging noise on the driver side every time I drop into a dip or go over a large bump. I thought it was the sway bar, as suggested here, so I installed the relocation bracket with no luck.

I just went out and jacked up the front end all the way and it looks like the UCA rubs the coil when jacked up (See Pics). The UCA is touching the coil in the pic.

Is this common with stock UCA's and lift? Would any aftermarket UCA resolve this?

 

That's not uncommon due to the extended length of those struts. Aftermarket arms have more inner clearance to prevent contact like that and would fix it up.

All of these we offer have more clearance on the inside.
https://exitoffroad.com/product-category/toyota/tacoma/tacoma-2nd-gen/control-arms-tacoma-2nd-gen/

Also, since it's just the driver's side, you probably have a strut spacer on top of the mount, adding extra droop travel on that side that the other side isn't experiencing.

 

Good call... I do have the 1/4" top plate spacer for the taco lean. Never thought of that.

 

Do you have skid plates? I just recently (yesterday) figured out I needed to torque my skid bolts that was causing a clanking metal noise on bumps and dips as well as full lock out of the driveway or parking spots.

 

I'm pretty sure that's your problem right there. It's not the UCA hitting on droop though... I had the exact same issue for about 8 years with my 5100s as well. The top hat isn't completely flat on top and sometimes the spacers have a slightly too small hole in the centre causing them to sit on the domed part of the top hat and not rest entirely on the flat part. Then they move around ever so slightly as the suspension cycles.

It took me finally replacing them with Elka to figure it out. Then when I was playing around with the coilovers after having them off the truck I noticed that there was no way for me to get the spacer to sit perfectly flat. It kinda rocked like when you have a warped frying pan on a stove. I was so mad at myself for not figuring it out sooner. Even took apart and rebuilt the coilover and replaced the LCAs and cam bolts hoping that was the noise lol

 

I was not aware of that. I figured everyone is running the little spacer for the gas tank ‘lean’.
Either way, after market UCA’s should prevent the rubbing if I’m not mistaking?

 

Only people running c-clip adjustable shocks, i.e. bilstein 5100 and 6112, would be running top hat spacers for taco lean. Everyone else will have a preload adjustment collar on their shocks and can just preload the drivers side more. So it's not as common as you'd think. And it won't happen with all spacers, you have to have the right (wrong?) combo of top hat and spacer like I explained above.

New UCA's would prevent that rubbing in your pics. But I don't think that's the noise you are hearing. There doesn't appear to be any wear marks on the coil, meaning it's not happening often. And unloading the suspension that much isn't something that just happens when driving around. You really gotta send it over a bump or something so that the front is nearly airborne.

 

That's what I was afraid of. I get the popping usually as I'm traveling downward (after a bump).

I don't see any rubbing marks and the sway bar has plenty of room. No clue what else it could be unless the shock or coil itself can make a popping noise.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/front-end-noise-over-large-bumps-fixed.389952/ This was what mine sounded like. See if it matches your noise. I posted updates on everything I tried too if you want to read through the posts.

If you are able to, try dropping the coilover and removing the top plate spacer. It's a little bit of work but not overly hard to do. You'll know right away if that was the problem or not.

 

I guess I could try removing the spacer… I think would require a re-alignment if I’m not wrong.

You had a spacer on both sides but you only had the noise on the driver side?

 

Shouldn't need an alignment, no. That little bit of lift difference shouldn't affect anything.

I had a 1/2" on the drivers side and 1/4" on the passenger side. So the side with the taller spacer is where I noticed the noise the most. Though I did hear the odd noise from the passenger side from time to time too.

 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this idea that the 1/4 spacer is causing the popping noise. Doesn't the spacer sit on top of the rubber absorber?

Do you have any pics of the spacer not seating correctly? And I assume you never tested the coils without the spacer to confirm? If I wasn't broke I'd just replace the damn things like you did.

 

No the spacer goes on top of the metal top hat bracket that you bolt to the truck. It goes coil, rubber bushing on top, top hat bracket, then spacer. Kinda like this. The top hat is a stamped metal piece, meaning that there are no sharp 90 corners. Where it changes from flat to vertical, there is a small radius at that transition. If the hole in the spacer isn't large enough to completely clear that transition, the spacer can't sit perfectly flat. It will seem like it is when the force on it is straight down, but actually teeters if you shift that force from one side to the other. Which is kinda what happens with shocks when the suspension moves up and down, that's why high end shocks use a pivot point on top. And because the coil is holding up ~1200lbs of weight, any movement will resonate through the coil and sound like the coil itself is making the noise.

I didn't try without the spacer no. Way too much work and I had new shocks going on anyway. But by that point I had confirmed that nothing else was causing the noise. I even previously removed the coilovers and took them completely apart and put them back together, making sure that there was no way the shock or coil itself was making the noise. So it wasn't the coil or the shock, and I had already confirmed it wasn't control arms or body mounts. Replacing with new coilovers made the noise go away completely. That only leaves 1 thing it could have been, and the only thing I didn't change. Top hat spacer. With them off, I could play around with the spacer and see how it didn't sit perfectly flat. I could make it rock slightly by pinching one side or the other. And there was paint worn away in a couple spots indicating something was moving.

I was broke too lol. I drove around with the noise for like 7 years before I could afford to finally replace the coilovers. If it is the spacer, it's not going to cause a problem for anything. Just really annoying. You could always just drop the shock and remove the spacer yourself if you are handy. Luckily you just have the 1 spacer to worry about.