Front end suspension clunk

[sparkyy192]

Happens mostly with low speed bumps.

Bilstein 6112 up front with SPC UCAs. Have had the same setup for years. Recently went up to 285s, got an alignment where they pushed the wheels forward and the clunk started after that.

I've scoured all the threads here and at first I thought it was the slight play in the CV axle. That turned out to be normal. Then I thought stabilizer bar but the endlinks look fine.

Then I took this video. It's gotta be the LCA bushings right?
clunk - YouTube

EDIT - FIXED - it was the cam bolts. Torqued them to 130 and noise is gone. Lazy alignment techs...

 

[CavPro]

Yeah, that's a ton of play.

 

[Jeremy556]

It most likely not the LCA bushings. They have a lot of movement in them, even brand new. I have also broken one completely (250k miles), and it didn't make any noise.

If the noise started after the alignment, that's probably where the problem lies. Check torque on the LCA cam bolts. Also check the upper ball joint nut on the SPCs.

Go Pro video has sent me down a lot of wrong paths when diagnosing suspension noises.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

It most likely not the LCA bushings. They have a lot of movement in them, even brand new. I have also broken one completely (250k miles), and it didn't make any noise.

If the noise started after the alignment, that's probably where the problem lies. Check torque on the LCA cam bolts. Also check the upper ball joint nut on the SPCs.

Go Pro video has sent me down a lot of wrong paths when diagnosing suspension noises.

Second vote here for torquing the LCA bolts, especially since it started right after an alignment job. If the bushings were bad, the alignment shop should have refused to do the job.

Q: What year is the truck and how many miles on it?

 

[Pedro367]

Check tie rod ends too. They may not have tightened the jam nut. I had that problem after an alignment too.

 

[Ascole]

If you watch the video, clunk corresponds with the movement of the LCA. Go to .12-.13 of the video and you can see the Control arm moving laterally a good amount at the same time it clunks. Just an observation…


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[sparkyy192]

Second vote here for torquing the LCA bolts, especially since it started right after an alignment job. If the bushings were bad, the alignment shop should have refused to do the job.

Q: What year is the truck and how many miles on it?

2015, about 90k

 

[JustATallDude]

I had a very similar noise in my 19 when I put the lift in it. It ended up being the LCA bolts weren't tight enough. I set my torque wrench to 130lbs and I haven't heard it since. I'd say give that a shot and see what happens. Good luck!

 

[CutthroatSlam]

I had a very similar noise in my 19 when I put the lift in it. It ended up being the LCA bolts weren't tight enough. I set my torque wrench to 130lbs and I haven't heard it since. I'd say give that a shot and see what happens. Good luck!

Same thing for us, but after an alignment. They only torqued to 90 ft/lbs and it was clunking away.

 

[sparkyy192]

wow. It was the cam bolts. Took it to 130 and yep, noise is gone.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Another issue solved by the 4Runner internet posse.

 

[LeekT4R]

Hell yeah. I have this same issue after a recent alignment.

Im fixing it tomorrow

 

[WEAK_E90]

mine have gotten louder since winter... got an alignment setup for tomorrow:bluejump:

 

[8000m]

Slow speed clunk started recently. I had it aligned but thought it was due to a bad front sway link that I damaged during a front hub/bearing replacement at the same time.

Checked the cam bolts today-- three of the lower bolts were torqued to less than 60 lb ft so I torqued them properly. Clunk gone.

Also, the day after the alignment I discovered all four tires were inflated to 60 psi. Gonna have a discussion with that shop tomorrow.

 

[WEAK_E90]

another +1 for properly torqueing LCA's.

Alignment done saturday and made very clear to torque bolts to 129ft lbs..

All quiet now :drama:

 

[tylertenny]

I had a clunk and started by removing the sway bar. Clunk was still there after removing the sway bar so I had my local shop torque the lower control arm bolts. It definitely made a big difference but there is still a little bit of noise over big bumps. I can especially tell over railroad tracks. The shop tech pointed out that I had some play in the upper control arms. I'm not sure how much play is normal for SPC but I've only had them installed for about a year and definitely don't abuse them. When I put my sway bar back on I'll check them over again and see how they look.

 

[88maroon]

For the front lca. Do I just torque the rear nut? No need to hold the front bolt? Worried about the alignment. Thanks in advance

 

[osideplayer]

Just came here to say thanks. I just picked up a used 5th gen and noticed that it would clunk when going reverse and turning. I thought it was my sway bar, but no ended up being the cam bolts on drivers side.

I would have never guessed this to be the issue had I not looked at the carfax and saw someone did an alignment. Blows my mind that some techs fail to torque these bolts. Albeit its possible they got loose over time.