Torque suspension question

Hello all,

I had to replace my defective coilovers with a set of replacements and ever since I've had this new squeak\groaning noise develop and I think it's coming from where the coilover bolts to the lower control arm. I've always heard that you are suppose to torque the suspension when the vehicle is on the ground which is what I did. I'm now wondering if perhaps that rule only applies to certain parts so I did some research and am getting conflicting results.

So, my question is, does the truck need to be on the ground when torquing the bolt that connects the coilover to the lower control arm or does it even matter with that particular part. Also, does it matter if I put the torque wrench on the bolt or the nut?

I also put a bit of Super Lube in the eyelet of the coilover before attaching it to the lower control arm. Bad idea?

 

Anytime I’m torquing anything with a bushing I do it with the weight of the vehicle on it.

 

Interesting, so no bushing=no need to reload the suspension? There are no bushings in the eye...just an o-ring and reducers.

 

FWIW I torqued mine while resting on the weight of the truck, but it shouldn't matter since that rule mostly applies to parts with bushings as mentioned above. You can torque it from either the bolt or the nut as long as the other end is held in place (so you're not just spinning the bolt).

If your new coilovers are like those in the diagram, are you sure you put the misalignment spacers in correctly? Most or at least some are directional (one spacer is bigger/longer than the other) so each has to be put in on the correct side. Hopefully that makes sense...

 

Interesting...the instructions do not mention them to be directional but it's certainly worth investigation.

 

What exactly did you install on the truck? You say coil overs but are they adjustable like fox, icon or king, or are they stock replacements like OME or Bilsteins?

 

OME BP-51

 

I am not familiar with them personally, but on my Icons there were two different sized spacers for front and rear (same with my fox coilovers). They are solid bushings so no need to torque with weight on the vehicle. Did you loosen anything else like the sway bar links or LCA's that could be making the noise? I would assume that being new the bearings in the BP51's are still good and should make any noise.