Chasing an Elusive Noise

[Hondarider]

OK...I'm not going to lie...this is some extreme obsessiveness on my part...but I thought I might share. I've had a 2015 Trail since June and I've put just over 7000 miles on it. I absolutely love the vehicle, but I've had one nagging issue that's been making me mildly crazy. When I'm riding with the windows open...and I hit a bump...I hear a jingling noise of some sort from outside the vehicle. I've crawled around underneath...wiggling everything I can...tapping...banging...compressing the suspension...rocking from side to side...but I haven't been able to find it. I thought it might have been the chain for the spare tire so I secured that with a bungee cord to prevent rattling...that wasn't it. It's such a small noise, but what kind of OCD nutbag would I be if I just ignored it and moved on with my life. Today I pulled all 4 wheels off and put it up on jack stands...partly to clean the insides of my rims...partly to detail the wheel well areas...and partly to chase the little gremlin that's been taunting me. After an exhaustive search...laying hands on nearly every single suspension component...I think I might have found the source of the jingling. There is a c-clip on the upper ball joint that sits very loosely in its perch. Its completely free to rattle up and down...to and fro...at least a little bit. Enough to jingle when you hit bumps and the suspension does its thing. I checked both sides and they're exactly the same...loose. It appears to be fully assembled, but I can't be exactly sure.

Has anyone ever heard of this? Anyone hearing the noise? Anyone laid hands on their upper ball joint? I know its minor, but I figured I'd ask. Google isn't coming up with any hits so I suspect this is not a big complaint.

 

[Hondarider]

Yes, I did Armor All the ball joint boot while I was under there :help:

 

[Hondarider]

Sure, the dealership will rotate your wheels for free...but will they scrub the insides of your rims? More likely, they'll leave the 1/4" of brake dust and add some greasy fingerprints on top.

 

[Hondarider]

Is there anything sexier than a freshly polished 4-piston caliper?

Maybe a 6-piston caliper...

 

[mo_mo]

OK...I'm not going to lie...this is some extreme obsessiveness on my part...but I thought I might share. I've had a 2015 Trail since June and I've put just over 7000 miles on it. I absolutely love the vehicle, but I've had one nagging issue that's been making me mildly crazy. When I'm riding with the windows open...and I hit a bump...I hear a jingling noise of some sort from outside the vehicle. I've crawled around underneath...wiggling everything I can...tapping...banging...compressing the suspension...rocking from side to side...but I haven't been able to find it. I thought it might have been the chain for the spare tire so I secured that with a bungee cord to prevent rattling...that wasn't it. It's such a small noise, but what kind of OCD nutbag would I be if I just ignored it and moved on with my life. Today I pulled all 4 wheels off and put it up on jack stands...partly to clean the insides of my rims...partly to detail the wheel well areas...and partly to chase the little gremlin that's been taunting me. After an exhaustive search...laying hands on nearly every single suspension component...I think I might have found the source of the jingling. There is a c-clip on the upper ball joint that sits very loosely in its perch. Its completely free to rattle up and down...to and fro...at least a little bit. Enough to jingle when you hit bumps and the suspension does its thing. I checked both sides and they're exactly the same...loose. It appears to be fully assembled, but I can't be exactly sure.

Has anyone ever heard of this? Anyone hearing the noise? Anyone laid hands on their upper ball joint? I know its minor, but I figured I'd ask. Google isn't coming up with any hits so I suspect this is not a big complaint.

I don't think you're hearing that c-clip rattling, but you could put some RTV on the c-lip so it's not making metal on metal noise (it will still be free to rattle or it will make itself free to rattle shortly) like keys jangling or dog collars clacking.

Good luck!

 

[Boyds4Runner]

First Off, Amazingly clean brakes, wheels and UCA etc.! Nicely done!

I don't think mine looked that clean even when I picked it up new (although it rained as soon as I drove home from the dealer).

I went out and just checked the same C-clips on the upper ball-joints and mine are tight with no play at all. I have over 13K miles on mine so it has been put through some use.

You might be on the right track for the noise.

Good luck and let us know if you find it.

 

[Antman]

You cleaned your UBJ boots with Armor All. There is nothing that can help you now...except for these.

 

[Saker]

You cleaned your UBJ boots with Armor All. There is nothing that can help you now...except for these.

View attachment 172378

And meds for the other more prominent problem! j/k

OP, You may be on to the culprit for the rattle you are hearing....

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Run some electrical tape (or a zip tie in the groove just above the c clip) around them and take it for a spin, see if the noise is gone!

If so, that's your problem! If it is, get a circlip pliers, pull it off, run some tape around it, put the clip over that and call it a day. Just needs something to keep it from rattling I suspect.

 

[Hondarider]

I spent some time out there tonight...tinkering with it...and the rattle off of these things is pretty loud...like a quarter inside a soda can. I can't figure out why they are such a loose fit, but its the same on both sides. I tried to wrap it in electrical tape, but the access is too tight to actually wrap it around and the Armor All has made everything slippery...no adhesion. Instead, I put on liberal globs of black RTV and I'll let it set up overnight. Tomorrow, I'll take it for a test drive down a bumpy road.

Thanks for the advice and for reading my silly thread.

 

[Jhalko]

I spent some time out there tonight...tinkering with it...and the rattle off of these things is pretty loud...like a quarter inside a soda can. I can't figure out why they are such a loose fit, but its the same on both sides. I tried to wrap it in electrical tape, but the access is too tight to actually wrap it around and the Armor All has made everything slippery...no adhesion. Instead, I put on liberal globs of black RTV and I'll let it set up overnight. Tomorrow, I'll take it for a test drive down a bumpy road.

Thanks for the advice and for reading my silly thread.

Well, if you can't fix it and that's the noise you can always buy new UCA's. :bounce:

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I'm guessing you're one of those customers where I'm craning my neck out the window to "hear" some faint barely audible sound that even my autistic superpowered hearing has difficulty pinpointing?

LoL

I wonder why they're so loose...

 

[Hondarider]

I'm guessing you're one of those customers where I'm craning my neck out the window to "hear" some faint barely audible sound that even my autistic superpowered hearing has difficulty pinpointing?

LoL

I wonder why they're so loose...

Ha! My dealer is a friend of mine and I like his mechanics too much to make them chase down nonsense like this. Its one thing for me to poke around for hours on end to satiate my obsessive gearhead nature, but I wouldn't wish that on someone else...especially someone who has to make a living. Its just what I do.

 

[Hondarider]

Well, if you can't fix it and that's the noise you can always buy new UCA's. :bounce:

I've modified 20 vehicles past the point of practical use. My motto has always been "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is", but I'm trying really hard to leave this vehicle as close to stock as possible while I play with other things. I need at least one dependable daily driver that's capable of idling at a red light, picking up kids at school, or driving cross country.

 

[Rlawdawg]

Hearing the same noise on mine. Kinda sounds like chains jingling around down there...

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Mine has the same noise too. It's been driving me crazy. I'm going to check mine in the morning and see if they're loose too. Good work this far OP

 

[Rmack]

Have not looked real close at mine yet but, is it possible that after putting the truck weight back on the UCA it will not be loose? Is there room to check it once it is back on the ground? Just a thought if it helps

 

[Hondarider]

Have not looked real close at mine yet but, is it possible that after putting the truck weight back on the UCA it will not be loose? Is there room to check it once it is back on the ground? Just a thought if it helps

Good question, but no, the condition exists even when under load.

 

[Hondarider]

Well folks...it seems that the root cause of my jingling noise has been confirmed. I went out to breakfast with the fellas this morning and came home via the bumpiest dirt road available...I rode with the windows open and I intentionally hit every bump, hole, and rock...complete silence...not a jingle...not a squeak...not a rattle...just the smooth articulation one comes to expect from a Toyota (my JK sounds like a grocery cart full of empty beer cans and wind chimes going down this same road). I think we've got it.

The fix wasn't exactly professional looking as it was executed by the light of the moon with the wheel in place, but it did the job. Smearing some black RTV around the c-clip has prevented it from rattling.

 

[Antman]

Damn! Who would've thought that clip could make so much noise?

Nice job.