New lift loud clunking on speed bumps

Just got a 3” suspension lift front 1” rear on my brand new 2023 4Runner 600 total miles and maybe 30-40 on lift. Looks great! Function…. Not great. Anytime I go over even a small speed bump there is a loud clunk from the front struts. Not sure if the shop didn’t torque the top but down or of the upper shock mount is misaligned. Also when I am backing out of my driveway and turn, it sounds like my right side front clunks down and the tire rubs. I’m running 285/70r 17’s and with that lift height I didn’t think they would rub at all.

Any suggestions?

 

Have you taken it back to the shop that installed the lift?
They should give it a once over if you paid them to install it. Thats if its a reputable place...

 

I would take it back to the shop that did the install.

 

Not yet, but I plan to on Friday. Just seeing if anyone has had a similar experience and any ideas to be prepped in case they try to tell me everything is good.

 

Without the details of the lift, i.e. brand, type (spacers/coils/combination), wheels, tires, etc., there's really not much to go on to offer any advice. Not all 3/1 lifts are created equal. Upper control arms? Need a lot more information. Also photos of the new setup would be very helpful.

Definitely a trip straight back to the shop that installed it is step one.

 

Depending on what the shop did, you could be just about out of down travel. Result? Uncomfortable harsh ride over bumps. As for the 285s, a lift doesn’t help fit larger tires in a practical sense.

What to do? Learn about IFS and apply those principles. You can fit 285s with a stock suspension (no lift). There’s a lot of good information here and elsewhere on how to go about it.

Best of luck!

 

Took mine to the dealership to get my last free oil change, should have known better. When I pulled out of their lot I heard a clunk.
Then most anytime I was turning and going over a bump at the same time it would clunk.
I installed my own lift so I figured I better pull the RCI skid off and make sure something didn't come lose that I did.
Nope, the two center bolts of the skid were about ready to fall out. Tightened them up and all is quiet again.

 

I did my own lift and installed a sway bar relo kit from Dobinson's which is meant to eliminate the exact issue you are describing. It is just simple spacers and something that you can easily do yourself: https://www.dobinsonsdirect.com/products/dobinsons-sway-bar-relocation-kitse59-525k

I had the same issue on my spacer lift before I went to full lift and installed this kit.

 

Spacer lift? Now your shocks are to short.

Did you install aftermarket upper control arms?

 

Ha, I had a spacer lift for a few years. I recently installed a Dobinson's lift 3.5"/2.5" and installed a sway bar relocation and a diff drop at the same time per Dobinson's recommendations. The sway bar would knock on the coils (I think) when I had the spacer lift and no sway bar relocation when going over speedbumps, etc. Edit, yes, I also installed new UCA's.

 

It is a Rough Country 3” suspension lift with N3 struts, and no spacers installed. Also I still have the stock upper control arms installed since it says it should be bolt on without any needed upgrades. I don’t mind getting different upper control if needed, but shouldn’t be necessary.

Tires are Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T 285/70rx17 on the stock 17” Toyota rim with no offset.

I hopped under and checked all bolts were secure. Couldn’t find anything loose.

 

If you have 3" of lift, I recommend getting uca. But thats probably not your clunking issue.

Maybe jack up the front end and see if its hitting anything.

Your rubbing, you just need to trim. Easy since its just plastic....

Are you close to rubbing on the body mount?

 

I think for the tire rub it just needs a plastic trim like you mentioned. I have a lot of clearance where the body mount is. Its the front when the tire is turned and the suspension compresses where the tire hits the plastic from the bumper. That should be a quick and easy fix.

 

When you were checking for loose bolts, did you happen to notice any evidence of two components, i.e. springs/control arms rubbing? It would seem a clunk might mean two pieces of metal meeting that aren't supposed to...

 

Here is a good presentation on IFS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tTelhdEiM

This should you appreciate some of the issues involved with your suspension.

Good luck!

 

See, that's just deceptive marketing, and why people generally think that rough country is junk. Regardless of the brand, it's widely recommended that over 2.5 inches you are going to need new upper control arms. To sell a 3" kit and then claim that it works with stock control arms is just BS.

 

I'd stay away from the rough country uca....far away.

But how's the ride quality with the lift installed?

 

The lower shock bolts and LCA arms can clunk if they are not torqued to spec. The torque spec is pretty high, so it wont look loose at all. My bet is that something is undertorqued.

A three inch lift on stock UCAs is not ideal because you wont be able to get the caster on the alignment to factory specs, but I doubt that’s the reason for your clunk. You may or may not like difference in straight line stability at low caster numbers. I’m on stock UCAs with 2.5in of lift, and slightly under caster factory specs. I can tell, it’s a lot more “lively” on bumpy straight roads, but I like the slightly more hyper feel. If you dont like it, the only way to fix will be to get aftermarket UCAs. Get ones with quality ball joints, because that keeps everything together.

 

Thats good info, I will look into getting some. Any recommendations?

 

Jba

 

Feels just slightly stiffer than the stock set up which I like, although I still feel a decent amount of body roll.

 

Everybody seems to like JBA. I don't specifically have any recommendations, I haven't looked into them too much. I ordered a 2-in lift for mine, specifically because I did not want to mess with UCAs.

If I were looking for them, for a daily driver I would recommend getting something with a standard replaceable ball joint, and standard type bushings.

Tinkerer's Adventures did a pretty good video comparing UCA's, I would check that out.

 

First off nice Anni Runner dude! In regards to running 285/70's on 17s, I personally have ran that exact tire & wheel size on my 2020 4runner. I was on a 3" toytec kit with an additional 1" body lift to attain 4"which was the goal. I also was running the 14-16 OEM all silver trail wheels. Tires still rubbed slightly at the inner portion of the front bumper. I am a frim believer that 285/70/17 will rub between 0-4" of lift, UNLESS some minor trimming has been done. In some rare cases, if the tread pattern isn't an aggressive one, you might be able to get away with it.

As for the clunking... When I had my 7" Pro comp kit installed on my 2021 T4R, it seemed like everything was installed properly to the eye. BUT, I was stuck searching high and low for a horrible clunk that would happen over bumps. Had 2 alignment shops check it out and nothing could be found. 3rd times the charm... Took it to a reputable suspension shop and loose sway bar end link bolts were the culprit. Funny thing is, the bolts were just a "TAD" bit loose and it created such a huge problem. No clunks since then. Just a recommendation. Good luck on the find bud!

 

Thanks! I love this runner so much! Just got back from the shop and they still couldn't find anything wrong. Did exactly what you did and went to another local off road specialty shop. Guy hopped under the truck and found wear/scratches on the coil behind the UPC. Looks like the clearance on the stock UPC's isnt enough to clear the coils when the suspension is compressed and when they extend back out it rubs and causes the clunk sound. Going to replace the UPC's and hopefully that will fix the noise. Probably best anyways since there is so much out there that you should replace the stock ones with a 3" lift anyway so I should have just done it up front.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!