Troubleshooting help...pop while turning (1 Viewer)

[Bighead]

Just did a test drive trying to get this to happen again. The pop happens on an angled surface (like my driveway video showed) and on a flat surface (local parking lot). I can turn full right with a little forward motion and the pop will happen once I start turning the wheel back to the left. So far I have nothing with a full left turn.

 

[2000UZJ]

The real question is...does it do it in reverse?

 

[Bighead]

The real question is...does it do it in reverse?

Dammit....

 

[UltraFJ40]

Are your T-bars cranked pretty tight? Perhaps to give you more lift?

If so, I would guess that cranking them too much changes the geometry of the front just enough to allow too much tension to be placed on the components.

End result is a popping at or near the UCA.

Please keep us posted.

 

[2000UZJ]

My next thought. It may not be the suspension. It could be the inner tie rod, may be loose, worn, or a number of things.

 

[UltraFJ40]

I think I might have found something...It's here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/popping-noise-when-turning-with-a-bump.339076/

"Had a very similar sound and mine turned out to be the sway bar.

It had gotten torqued in the bushings and the corner would catch on the rib of the control arm. When I loosened the sway bar bushings it sprang back with a loud twang.

If it has been doing it for a while it will have some scuffs on the corner of the sway bar and control arm."

I remember that noise and if I remember correctly, it sounds like two solid steel objects scraping against each other. The tone makes it sound as if they are barely catching each on the corner.

I have put OME Heavies on the rear, cranked the bars and put OME Meds on the front. I think I had it when I was initially raising the front to rid the stinkbug look. Not sure but I think so.

 

[Bighead]

Are your T-bars cranked pretty tight? Perhaps to give you more lift?

If so, I would guess that cranking them too much changes the geometry of the front just enough to allow too much tension to be placed on the components.

End result is a popping at or near the UCA.

Please keep us posted.

The current T-bar height was set by Slee a while ago to their recommended settings. I' don't think they did any height adjustments when the new UCAs were put on but I'll check.

My next thought. It may not be the suspension. It could be the inner tie rod, may be loose, worn, or a number of things.

I was thinking the same thing (steering related) since the turn, or actually the return to center of the wheel, is causing the issue. I did notice the sound was worse (seat-of-the-pants measurement) when doing the turn on pavement than it was on a dirt road. Got me thinking about the steering rack...AFAIK my LC still has the original on it (~105K miles).

I've never had a rack issue in any of my Toyotas so don't know what the symptoms are for a bad tie rod.

 

[UltraFJ40]

I spent a little bit this morning trying to safely loosen front end components that might cause this. After an hour or so I was able to duplicate what I think is your pop.

Mind you, this is what I created this morning. It sounds exactly like yours. It is much denser or heavier than the sound of a poorly sitting coil spring, in my opinion. It was also repeated four or five consecutive times while making an elevated full turn to the right under slight acceleration.


The turn stop on the passenger side has likely loosened itself (coming outward). My retaining nut was about a 1/8" from the lower control arm. During the hard turn right, the loose stop makes contact with the receiving knuckle creating a fraction of movement in the stop itself but not the knuckle. This movement, even thought minimal creates the hard sounding metal on metal pop.



My solutions, hopefully yours too: Tighten the stop inward (increasing turn radius) using the retaining nut to secure it in position, add a little grease to the knuckle and stop itself. Be sure to check for any rub issues from your tires after adjusting.

You should be all set.


*I wish I had recorded my pop before I greased it. Sorry but it was an after thought.

 

[Bighead]

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look tomorrow.

 

[UltraFJ40]

I've got my fingers crossed for ya.

 

[paflytyer]

I think we're only 10-15 miles away from each other. I can give you a hand tracking this down this week. All it would take is another set of eyes, ears, hands. I'm off Wed-Fri.

 

[Bighead]

Unfortunately didn't get a chance to look today while dealing with a minor family emergency.

I think we're only 10-15 miles away from each other. I can give you a hand tracking this down this week. All it would take is another set of eyes, ears, hands. I'm off Wed-Fri.

Didn't realize you were that close...thought you were a Denver-area guy. I appreciate the offer but I already have an appointment with Slee on Tuesday for them to take a look at it.

 

[UltraFJ40]

Sorry about the emergency. From memory, I can't recall any of them being minor unless it was the ex's family.

Please keep us up to date. We need one thread (maybe in the FAQ) that helps the user identify his/her suspension noise and list the possible causes/solutions.

That'd make it much easier to sort out.

 

[BadReligion]

I am experiencing a very similar sound that is coming from my front end...but I think it might be my steering rack. I was under the truck torquing everything down and noticed a pretty good leak on the DS of the rack (144k mi on original). I usually get the clunk when taking off from a stop, or turning the wheel and moving very slowly (like pulling into a parking spot). Doesnt matter if its on a flat or uneven surface. Hopefully we can both get this figured out!

 

[Bighead]

Well...it was the passenger side steering stop. Joe at Slee showed me where the stop was rubbing, added a little grease and we couldn't duplicate the noise.

Why have I not noticed it before? A habit I got into with my old 3rd Gen 4Runner on 35s was to never turn to the stops because of the rubbing I had due to not trimming enough in the wheel well. I never went to the stops in the 100 due to that force of habit until my wife mentioned the noise and I tried to duplicate it.

What did I learn?

1. I don't know nearly enough about the 100-series front end and it's quirks. Need to fix that.

2. I feel like an ass going to Slee for what turned out to be such a minor issue.

 

[UltraFJ40]

Do I get bitcoins or sumthin'?

 

[Bighead]

But thanks to everyone that took the time to help out.