Icon Stage 3 Billet Lift Problems

Hello all! Brand new here and new owner of my 4Runner for the past 2 months.

Need some experience/advice pretty fast! Had an Icon Stage 3 billet lift put on a fairly new 2023 4Runner SR5 4x4 (non KDSS). The shop hasn't been able to get everything right just yet. Install was done about a week ago. I went back after 350 miles because of some annoying creaking in the front, but also to generally make sure everything is still tight & looking good after some settling. It seemed the front sway bar was also cockeyed and slightly closer to the coil overs on one side. Originally, it drove really well aside from the annoying creaks when weight of the car shifts (mostly noticeable hitting the accelerator from a stop and any movement at slower speeds). During this "check up," they tore a CV boot and had them all replaced at their expense. I am grateful for this. I've got the truck back and now it's pulling very hard to the right even though the alignment specs show it's correct. I've also noticed this whole time that the sway bar end links are pretty tweaked looking. The lift uses sway bar relocation blocks in the front. However, Icon told me the kit is designed to work with OEM end links. I have since ordered some longer adjustable ones and waiting for them to arrive. At this point, both the shop and I have struggled to get things properly aligned, sounding normal, and driving good. Any advice would be great! Planning to go to a different shop that works on only trucks/4x4s ASAP.

Does this seem to be an install issue? Am I missing any supporting parts or something that may need to be replaced? Could there be some other problems introduced causing it to pull so hard to the right? Any advice to get the truck back on the road in proper working order is greatly appreciated! It just seems like we've struggled more than necessary to get everything looking and driving straight. The thing has been aligned at least a half dozen times and it's currently driving more crooked than ever before.

Front Driver Side Sway Bar End Link:



Front Passenger Side End Link:



Rear Driver Side End Link:

 

Adding another picture. Just noticed the front sway bar is touching something else behind the front skid plate. I'm new to lifts, but this just seems off to me?

 

Take that bracket off, I'm sure your creaking noise will go away. It just unbolts.

 

@Guppy1301 Thanks for your reply, greatly appreciate it! The bracket touching the sway bar, correct? Do you happen to know its purpose? Wouldn't want to remove anything that is necessary due to my ignorance lol.

Do the end links look like they are struggling to keep geometry to you? This was the main reason for my post, although all these things are helpful to get a resolution.

A lot of the parts are all banged up now. I think some due to the sway bar literally falling off when they were test driving it without the links attached. Front sway bar, one of the springs, even the UCAs have some decent dents around the edges. Have to say, very disappointed. An expensive set up to get botched parts before being able to drive down the road confidently. And as much as I hate to admit, it'll be many years before I decide to rag on it in the mud. Wish I could start over with a mechanic that has a bit more experience in these situations.

 

What UCA's do you have?

I had Icons and sold my 4R because I got tired of the terrible bushings always making noise. New bushings properly greased and torqued and still made terrible noise.

 

@Dillusion Thanks for your reply as well! They are Icon. It's the Stage 3 billet kit (SKU :K53063).

That sucks though. I could see how it would drive you crazy, I'm feeling the same way. How loud were the bushings in your experience? What did it sound like and in what situations did you hear it?

It seemed wise to go with components that were from the same manufacture, designed to work together. At least I didn't have to cut anything, no rubbing. But starting to think my choices were a mistake.

 

It was a loud squeal only any flex of the suspension at low speeds. Doesn't even need to be a speed bump. You could hear it inside with the windows up and radio on. Not the minor squeaks you can only hear from the outside.

I cleaned and re-greased and was good for maybe a couple days then it turned into a squeal like a pig dying. Changed the bushings. I assumed they were not installed correctly or greased correctly by the shop. Sound went away for maybe a week and the squeal was back.

Wife wanted a RX350 so the squeal just helped me make up my mind and we got rid of the 4R and got the Lexus.


Yes I could of changed the UCAs but at that point I was done. Rest of the suspension though worked like a champ and I liked it while it wasn't making noise.

 

This fixed my front driver side sway bar rub. I would hit the prior bracket while the suspension articulated and had forward, downhill motion. Would be more of a metallic clunk though. Your UCAs use poly bushings, correct? Is it quiet when turning the wheel slowly?

 

Also, you’d probably want some new rear sway bar end links that are longer or adjustable to be longer. I’ve read that fronts don’t typically need to be swapped out for 3” and under lifts, but not 100% on that. Doesn’t look like the fronts are stressed per the pictures.

 

@Dillusion Yea it rode really nice for a while before all these issues presented themselves. Better than stock... less body roll, less "nose dive" when braking, etc. I'm not ready to give up just yet. I'm hoping there are still ways to reduce strange noises to a certain extent.

But getting the parts installed properly still seems to be a battle for me. I think my shop might be outside their comfort zone. I'm no expert with suspensions, however everything just seems tweaked/crooked. Both visually and way it drives. They definitely struggled many more hours than anticipated, and still are.

I'm curious for any opinions about the OEM end links with this lift. Do they appear to be too short and therefore cockeyed to anyone else? And would adjustable ones allow me to reposition the sway bar where it doesn't hit that other bracket? It's odd that's even happening when Icon provided relocation blocks for some reason and also claim the lift is designed to work with OEM length links.

 

The creaking noises are in the front only and sound like bushings to me. Steering does not have as much impact as shift in momentum forward/backward (especially under 30 mph). The sway bar hitting was only recently noticed. I don't think this is the sound I'm hearing, just indication that perhaps the lift was installed improperly.

But what's weird is Icon states they use poly bushings for that lift. The tech that installed the lift was telling me the UCAs only use the delta joint on the curved end, which doesn't have a traditional bushing. And he claimed the heim joints on either end don't have any bushings, it's just metal on metal. This sounded crazy to me. Seems like there would have to be some sort of buffer between the touching metal? Or maybe Icon was talking about the track bars or whatever is on the rear suspension.

 

Thanks, understood! I did order some SRQ Fab adjustable end links for front and rear. They look bada** but they are 1" longer than OEM at their smallest adjustable size. Hopefully they help some, was a bit of a gamble.

So what could cause the sway bar to hit that bracket now? One would think that their provided relocation blocks are supposed to account for these things. Unless the "short" links are restricting the option to pivot the sway bar a bit differently.

 

I had to come back to your reply to check out that link. Very interesting, thanks! I can see how the shape of that bracket could resolve the contact with the sway bar. Might get me one after getting the lift straightened out!

 

What I’ve read is that the heim joints provide more range of motion, also more feedback to the steering wheel since you don’t get as much deflection as you would from poly, and then rubber UCA bushings. Because of the metal on metal
Though, it can make more noise, and therefore require a spray of PTFE dry lube. You could try jumping up and down on your sliders, or just door sill to see if it makes the noise with the vertical motion. For my total chaos UCAs, I’ve found that when the uniball goes bad, slow speed steering is creaky as, and when the bushings need greased, it’s mostly that vertical motion that causes the squeak. You could also try spraying some silicone lube or use some compatible grease between the sway bar and sway bar bushings to see if they’re the culprit.

 

Also, yeah, I think most manufacturers say it’s OEM compatible, under most driving conditions. That sway bar touching that bracket probably doesn’t occur most of the time and probably slight manufacturing differences change how close it sits. What did you end up with in lift? 2-3”?

 

@JtotheZ Yep, it's vertical motion for sure. I've learned much of what you've said through this process as well, and it is interesting. This lift is supposedly 3.5" in the front 2" rear, which is level. But who knows the actual number after adjusting the front coilovers.

After some thought this week and especially this evening, I'll likely take the path of @Dillusion and sell the car for a Lexus or another Japanese car. As much as I love building cars throughout my life, pretty sure I just hit my breaking point or tolerance level. Suddenly value reliable, quiet, comfortable. The last 2 months building this thing was all consuming.

Thank you all for your feedback! Greatly appreciate this online community and will be back if I continue to keep this vehicle.