Been chasing a suspension squeak; possibly shocks?? (1 Viewer)

[Spook50]

I have an OME heavy/heavy on my 62 with no extra weight (honestly I love how it rides), but for the last several months I've been chasing down an annoying low-tone squeak that happens when going over bumps at just the right speed, or at the exact point I either come to a complete stop or get moving. I've thoroughly greased all shackles multiple times over the last month, and have even jacked up the truck to unload the suspension so I could ensure I'm getting grease into the leaf pads, then made sure the plastic liners on the spring retainers are all good (one was actually busted and had a leaf rubbing against the retainer, which I was able to replace but had no change in the squeak). After that I checked all my hardware and everything was good there too.

This leaves me down to the last thing I would suspect as a possibility; my shocks. They're Bilstein 5100s that I've had installed for just shy of five years now. Ride quality still feels just fine, but I'm starting to wonder if that damn squeak is coming from them.

Has anyone had a low pitched suspension squeak that they've traced to their shocks (of any brand) before?

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Check the u-bolt torque. 90# IIRC for OME.

 

[Spook50]

Check the u-bolt torque. 90# IIRC for OME.

Ah that's another thing I haven't checked for several years. I use a U-bolt flip kit too so I'll add that to the list to check this weekend.

 

[toy_tek]

Spray a little wd40 on the shock shafts (one axle at a time) and see if there’s any change. Ditto for anything else you think might be causing it.

Also your drive shaft torques up and moves a bit during start/stop so check it out as well. Don’t forget the slip joint.

Are your springs contacting anything they shouldn’t? I found the military wrap on mine was touching the spring hanger and made a noise at the same you describe.

 

[Spook50]

Spray a little wd40 on the shock shafts (one axle at a time) and see if there’s any change. Ditto for anything else you think might be causing it.

Also your drive shaft torques up and moves a bit during start/stop so check it out as well. Don’t forget the slip joint.

Are your springs contacting anything they shouldn’t? I found the military wrap on mine was touching the spring hanger and made a noise at the same you describe.

Springs are all good, save for ensuring the U-bolts are still good.

I sprayed down the shock bushings yesterday with silicon lube, which made no change. Lubing the driveshaft is on the list for this weekend too, though I doubt that's the cause of the noise since I can duplicate it when I rock the truck back and forth from the side. Thinking tomorrow I'll disconnect the rear shocks entirely (if I still have some good bushings to swap in because the rubber is fairly worn) and rock the truck to see if I still hear the noise. That should help narrow down the noise I'm hoping.

 

[OSS]

remove the shocks and see.
Polyurethane bushings on the spring gear can squeak like hell. I know you said you greased them but maybe the grease isn't getting to the squeak.
I reverted back to the original Toyota rubber bushings because of too squeaky poly bushings. Silent after that.

 

[Spook50]

remove the shocks and see.
Polyurethane bushings on the spring gear can squeak like hell. I know you said you greased them but maybe the grease isn't getting to the squeak.
I reverted back to the original Toyota rubber bushings because of too squeaky poly bushings. Silent after that.

The shock bushings are rubber, though I can't remember if I ordered OEM or if there were rubber bushings that came with the Bilsteins.

IIRC I still have the poly shock bushings that came with the OME kit, but like you pointed out, better to stick to rubber for those since they can't necessarily be lubed. If the current rubber ones are bad I suppose I can swap them out with the poly (if I still have them) to run until I get some new OEM rubber to put in.

 

[dbbowen]

man. im crazy about creaks and squeaks. You gotta go down the list over the course of a week and complete douse a different part in silicone spray and try and see if the squeak goes away. Only do one thing at a time. So you could top shock bushings one day, check to see if its gone... still there... spray where the shaft enters the body of the shock. Still there? Do lower bushing. Then move to the leafs. Then do the front shackles. Then do the rear spring hanger on the frame. Then do the body mounts. Then do the steering stabilizer. Then do your ubolt flip plates etc. When you spray the silicone spray really hose it down just to be sure. You can always wash it off later.

 

[Spook50]

man. im crazy about creaks and squeaks. You gotta go down the list over the course of a week and complete douse a different part in silicone spray and try and see if the squeak goes away. Only do one thing at a time. So you could top shock bushings one day, check to see if its gone... still there... spray where the shaft enters the body of the shock. Still there? Do lower bushing. Then move to the leafs. Then do the front shackles. Then do the rear spring hanger on the frame. Then do the body mounts. Then do the steering stabilizer. Then do your ubolt flip plates etc. When you spray the silicone spray really hose it down just to be sure. You can always wash it off later.

Y'know it would be a lot easier to find if I had someone who could rock the truck back and forth so I could get down and pinpoint the origin of the noise

Problem is, those nearby who are as tall as me to push against the gutter and rock the truck aren't strong enough, and those who are strong enough aren't nearly tall enough!

 

[DrRock]

Ah that's another thing I haven't checked for several years. I use a U-bolt flip kit too so I'll add that to the list to check this weekend.

Interesting you say you have a flip kit as I just installed one a few weeks back and now I have a similar low squeak coming from the front drivers side at low speeds in forward or reverse. I'm going to re-torque my U bolts to the spec TrailTailor recommended and see if that cures the issue. I'll report back on my findings.

Cheers, James

 

[Godwin]

Interesting you say you have a flip kit as I just installed one a few weeks back and now I have a similar low squeak coming from the front drivers side at low speeds in forward or reverse. I'm going to re-torque my U bolts to the spec TrailTailor recommended and see if that cures the issue. I'll report back on my findings.

Cheers, James

What is spec for this recommended u-bolt torque?

 

[DrRock]

Trail tailor stated 90ft/lbs but since I have a flip kit I’ll confirm with the vendor for that application.

 

[Godwin]

Trail tailor stated 90ft/lbs but since I have a flip kit I’ll confirm with the vendor for that application.

90 is what I've used for OEM setup and also what I go with for 4Plus u-bolt flip kit. I don't think loose u-bolts will cause a squeak, a clunk or some other noise if loose.

 

[DrRock]

Here is the response from the vendor, 4Plus in this case, I used for my flip kit. It's a great explanation and will hopefully help others:
"

same as stock 100-105 ft/lbs. Stock uses 14mm. We use 9/16 which is about 14.25 mm. USA made, grade 5
If your are being technical, a 9/16 bolt, unplated ( as these are) will be torqued to 109 ft/lbs, If you oil them on install, 80-85 ft/lbs
Torque specs on bolts vary based on oiled, plated or dry. Plated, the same bolt spec is 90-95.
You'll get discrepancies in torque values from sight to site. I've seen torque charts listing the torque value as high as 125. I just go with the Toyota spec.

 

[toy_tek]

Flip kit: I did 105 on my 62 per the FSM