Front end noise after new suspension installed

[hc803]

Replaced my 2004 SR5 stock struts and shocks this weekend with a set of OEM 2016 struts + coilovers and correct year shocks. Followed this tutorial on getting the 5th gen struts to fit and this video on how to install. Took it out on the interstate and there's this random intermittent clunking noise when I get it up to higher speeds. It almost sounds like I left something hanging loose and it's banging on the car but I pulled into a parking lot, crawled underneath, and saw nothing obvious.

I've read another thread which says new coilovers may rub against the upper ball joint bracket. I couldn't tell from visual inspection with the wheel on if this were the case, but I didn't see any signs of rubbing. Also, this was a smooth patch of road where the suspension wouldn't be going up and down too much.

Most of the noise seems to be from the driver's side (I could feel it in my left foot through the firewall) but I swear I heard it a few times on the passenger side. Any ideas? The ball joints and sway bar bushings seemed ok when I was under the car.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Did you account for the fact that the lower joints of the coilovers have a larger bore hole for the bolt than 4th gens?

 

[hc803]

I wondered if it could be a slipping bushing but thought maybe it would be from grinding down the metal too much, which I didn't think I'd done. Wasn't aware the holes were different sizes! Can I press out the current bushings and use the old ones? Or am I looking at a whole new set of struts?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I wondered if it could be a slipping bushing but thought maybe it would be from grinding down the metal too much, which I didn't think I'd done. Wasn't aware the holes were different sizes! Can I press out the current bushings and use the old ones? Or am I looking at a whole new set of struts?

If I remember correctly the bottom bolt for the strut on the 4th gens is a 12mm and the 5th gens went to a 14mm? So the hole is slightly larger... I could have sworn I read that in a thread somewhere... I'll go check.

Edit-
Maybe it was that they were wider than 4th gen shocks on the bottom? I know the LCA bolts are different between 4th & 5th gens, could have sworn the bottom shock bolt was a bit bigger also...

In any case it wouldn't hurt to make sure everything you touched is torqued properly and that the sway bar isn't rubbing on the coilovers.

 

[hc803]

If I remember correctly the bottom bolt for the strut on the 4th gens is a 12mm and the 5th gens went to a 14mm? So the hole is slightly larger... I could have sworn I read that in a thread somewhere... I'll go check.

Edit-
Maybe it was that they were wider than 4th gen shocks on the bottom? I know the LCA bolts are different between 4th & 5th gens, could have sworn the bottom shock bolt was a bit bigger also...

In any case it wouldn't hurt to make sure everything you touched is torqued properly and that the sway bar isn't rubbing on the coilovers.

The width was 2mm different, which I ground down with a grinder. I didn't even bother checking the diameter of the bore hole since the bolt slid in easily, but if you have those numbers or that thread I'd be interested in knowing. Sure would be easier to push out the current bushing and put the correct one in without having to tear the whole thing down again.

Will re-check torques and sway bar this pm. Thanks.

 

[hc803]

Checked the old bore diameter (4th gen), it's 14mm. Will have to check the 5th gens another night. Did not see anywhere that a coil was rubbing. Driver's side sway bar link upper link was shot. But did notice maybe I put the struts on the wrong sides. I determined the driver side by counting the coils (8) but maybe I should've gone with the other one. One has green paint on the coil, the other has orange. No clue. Ensured torque of what I could get to with wheels removed.

 

[hobosapien]

When I installed mine, the coilovers were rubbing against the front sway bar. I installed the swaybar adjustment kit and it was fixed.

 

[hc803]

When I installed mine, the coilovers were rubbing against the front sway bar. I installed the swaybar adjustment kit and it was fixed.

Did you install something with more than a 1.5" lift? That's about the difference between the old stock strut/coils and the 5th gen ones I put on.

Looking at BlackworksInc's thread on the sway bar rubbing: I've got about .75" between the coilover and the sway bar on both sides, so I'm doubting that's the issue. Would a bad link "clunk" like this on the highway?