How quiet can a new suspension be? (1 Viewer)

[mrldcty]

I'm chasing a rattle/rumble in my truck, but am I chasing my tail? I have a virtually all new suspension. EMU with U-bolt flip kit. New Orion TC, balanced original drive lines with new bearings. Knuckles rebuilt. Rebuilt diffs (ARB lockers and new ring and pinion gears), rebuilt brakes and e-brake... on and on. I have checked and re-checked torques, but I still have an annoying rattle/rumble on rough surfaces. It seems worse when it's cold out, if that is any clue. I just checked my body mounts and they are fine.

So the question is: Is there a state in which the truck "should" be rattle free, at least in the suspension, or do leaf springs make noise regardless? I can't find any play in anything so far.

At one point I did discover that the hood was rattling, but I fixed that with some beefier rubber pads up front.

Any suggestions appreciated!

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Rear motor mounts?


Bushings in the hood hinges?


Seat belt latch rattling against the body?


Passenger seat belt receiver rattling against the center console?


Dash not 100% secured?


Tools, jack, cargo making some noise?


Tire carrier, fold down tray, hardware in the lift gate, the lift gate not 100% latched, or the latch needing adjustment.


Hood prop rod?


These are are some of the little things on my rig that have given me fits trying to chase down.

 

[B y r o n]

The trick is duplicating the condition(s) that cause the noise. Once you can do that you need a second person that can move around to try and pin point the location. They may need to be inside or even outside with you driving by. There are just to many things it can be; loose heat shield(s), tire carriers etc.

 

[South Texas 97]

Quote
"So the question is: Is there a state in which the truck "should" be rattle free, at least in the suspension, or do leaf springs make noise regardless?"
Unquote

Probably when its parked on a level surface......grin

 

[mattressking]

Fix them one by one and it will quiet down. @B y r o n is right, you just need a second set of hands/ears to pinpoint if you can’t alone. As you work through them it’ll get pretty quiet.

Don’t compare it to any other car because it will never be that quiet or squeak free.

 

[mrldcty]

OK, thanks for all the input! I'll keep chasing... and get a helper! I think I might try to eliminate the drive lines next, by removing one at a time and driving around with the other.

 

[Steamer]

GoPro camera on a magnetic mount could help also. Move it around and compare the volume on the playback and you might determine the proximity of the source.

 

[mrldcty]

GoPro camera on a magnetic mount could help also. Move it around and compare the volume on the playback and you might determine the proximity of the source.

Yeah... been thinking about using a remote mic too.

 

[brian]

I'm chasing a rattle/rumble in my truck, but am I chasing my tail? I have a virtually all new suspension. EMU with U-bolt flip kit. New Orion TC, balanced original drive lines with new bearings. Knuckles rebuilt. Rebuilt diffs (ARB lockers and new ring and pinion gears), rebuilt brakes and e-brake... on and on. I have checked and re-checked torques, but I still have an annoying rattle/rumble on rough surfaces. It seems worse when it's cold out, if that is any clue. I just checked my body mounts and they are fine.

So the question is: Is there a state in which the truck "should" be rattle free, at least in the suspension, or do leaf springs make noise regardless? I can't find any play in anything so far.

At one point I did discover that the hood was rattling, but I fixed that with some beefier rubber pads up front.

Any suggestions appreciated!

they can be very rattle free, if you put some effort into it.
i do not have many rattles in mine....a ball in the receiver and the spare tire carrier are the main culprits.

 

[Steamer]

Yeah... been thinking about using a remote mic too.

Decades ago, I envisioned a squeak & rattle detection kit which included a set of headphones hooked up to an amp that had a 12-position rotary knob and a dozen microphones wired into it. Today I’m sure it could easily be done with an app on your phone and a dozen wireless stick-on microphones. The key would be rotating through all 12 mikes to easily find the loudest. Or maybe the app could do that for you. I’m surprised this kit doesn’t exist. Or maybe it does. If it doesn’t, somebody go file a patent. I claim no rights but if it makes you rich, I’d like a freebee lol.

 

[Jdc1]

they can be very rattle free, if you put some effort into it.
i do not have many rattles in mine....a ball in receiver and the spare tire carrier are the main culprits.

Mine is in the spare tire carrier and a weird rattle at a certain rpm in the rear heater core that drives me nuts.

 

[brian]

Mine is in the spare tire carrier and a weird rattle at a certain rpm in the rear heater core that drives me nuts.

I had a nickle in the bottom of the windshield frame, up on end against the backside of it that would roll side to side a bit, around corners of a certain length, above a certain speed...drove me almost bat**** crazy trying to figure out what was...it sounded like a coin rolling side to side, but it couldn't be because how could that be...but it was as it turned out.

 

[mrldcty]

ha! Talk about things that go bump in the night!

 

[sterling]

Does your transfer case lever rattle? Goes away when you hold it?

From under the truck follow the linkage points attached to the x-fer lever.
I used wheel bearing grease on all points that moved, unbolted linkage where I could and added wave/spring washers where they would take up the slack.

Best thing I have done to the truck in a long time, no more rattle. Not a lot of $ and a very notable difference on every drive since.
Truck is hardtop/hard doors. May re-grease with the red-tacky stuff if it comes back.

Good luck!

 

[mrldcty]

Does your transfer case lever rattle? Goes away when you hold it?

From under the truck follow the linkage points attached to the x-fer lever.
I used wheel bearing grease on all points that moved, unbolted linkage where I could and added wave/spring washers where they would take up the slack.

Best thing I have done to the truck in a long time, no more rattle. Not a lot of $ and a very notable difference on every drive since.
Truck is hardtop/hard doors. May re-grease with the red-tacky stuff if it comes back.

Good luck!

Thanks for that... I have an Orion TC with dual stick. It doesn't change when I hold on to it, so I don't think that's it, but will double check.

 

[sterling]

Thanks for that... I have an Orion TC with dual stick. It doesn't change when I hold on to it, so I don't think that's it, but will double check.

Lol when researching the noise, the thread I came across mentioned your set up as a cure to the rattle!

 

[mrldcty]

Lol when researching the noise, the thread I came across mentioned your set up as a cure to the rattle!

My stock TC shifter did rattle...

 

[ryanwk628]

New leaf springs may be rubbing against each other. I dissembled the leaf pack and slip plated them and added a touch of grease to contact points when I installed my new suspension. I had to do the same to my 2016 truck when it started to squeak. Went away immediately

 

[mrldcty]

New leaf springs may be rubbing against each other. I dissembled the leaf pack and slip plated them and added a touch of grease to contact points when I installed my new suspension. I had to do the same to my 2016 truck when it started to squeak. Went away immediately

Interesting... I greased mine as well. The thing I'm chasing sounds more like a rumble... e.g., how I would imagine a loose U-Bolt or drive shaft might sound. Do new leaf springs make that sound, or is more of a squeak/chirp?

 

[pb4ugo]

Are your hubs locked? Is it in 4wd? Have you checked the pinion angle and compared it to the tcase output flange angle? A new suspension may have changed things. Are the U joints OK?