bump stops... is this the source of the bang bang banging... is it normal or no??

JayQQ97

MW surVivor ... clutched. 346k on the 0D0
i did some experimenting to see how much contact the front bump stops on the LCAs make with the frame whatever section up front there
it looks like major contacting going on from the HV woolWax they pulled off

bump stops woolWax test.JPG

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IMG_7013.JPG
 
Bump stops should rarely make contact. No, regular contact is NOT normal.

This indicates a problem with the suspension. weak spring, dead shock, ball joints, dead bushings......
 
TY!
Bump stops should rarely make contact. No, regular contact is NOT normal.

This indicates a problem with the suspension. weak spring, dead shock, ball joints, dead bushings......
By spring you mean front coil spring and not rear leaf springs?

Bushings as in control arms?
 
For reference when I applied the HV WW wax for testing I only put a good finger coating on the frame section and the hard round stops on the LCA were dry as a bone covered by a rag upon application
 
Bump stops should rarely make contact. No, regular contact is NOT normal.

This indicates a problem with the suspension. weak spring, dead shock, ball joints, dead bushings......
I bet those upper ball joints are roasted toasted :eek:

I do have some new oem ones inna bag already complete with grease pakcets
 
There are bump stops in the front and rear.

There are many bushings in the suspension.

At the age and mileage of your truck, it would be no surprise if all bushings were beyond their usefulness.
 
Actually there are 2 bump stops on each front LCA
This pic is the large round one closest to the front
I haven't managed to reach at the smaller one around the backside
Those are probably banging the frame as well :oops:
 
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There are bump stops in the front and rear.

There are many bushings in the suspension.

At the age and mileage of your truck, it would be no surprise if all bushings were beyond their usefulness.
Bump stops on the back spring I believe look triangle like a pyramid
 
Bump stops should rarely make contact. No, regular contact is NOT normal.

This indicates a problem with the suspension. weak spring, dead shock, ball joints, dead bushings......

so how does one tell if the bushings in the upper and lower control arms are roasted?

i did give that knuckle a good up and down wiggle last fall when i had the sway links and coilovers out for replacement and everything was free to move fluidly (knuckle UBJ LBJ and control arms)

i cannot find ANY info out there on the interWebs to give me some pointers, its frustrating AF
 
It is not the "free to move" that is a test. It is the movement within the joint itself. Any movement means the joint is worn out.

Best method I know is the get the wheel off the ground. Place a bar (lever) between the members the joint separates. Try to pry the members apart. Watch for movement between the joint halfs. Specifically, pry between the knuckle and the control arm. Any movement in the joint is not acceptable.

I just ran a quickie on "how to check ball joint play", it generated over 86 M hits. I'm sure one of those will provide details. Even Timmy has a 25 minute video on lower ball joints.
 
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i am more interested in the control arm bushing operations, which i am having trouble locating the best practice method for checking if they are too loosey goosey or too tight from worn bushings

or what is supposed to keep the bumps from slapping on the frame area, if this is what the noisy is
joints or the control arms, i get so confused anymore!
 
Sounds more like you have bad struts again.

well darnit! they only have 25k miles on them Monroes

same thing was happening with the bilstein 5100s at a time,

one bad thing i heve noticed with the Monroe Vs Bilstein
the Monroes are NOT corrosion resistant, half the coating is peeling off to rust on the bottoms lol
 
well darnit! they only have 25k miles on them Monroes

same thing was happening with the bilstein 5100s at a time,

one bad thing i heve noticed with the Monroe Vs Bilstein
the Monroes are NOT corrosion resistant, half the coating is peeling off to rust on the bottoms lol
Following your diagnosis process is like trying to follow a random number generator................

Dude, you're all over the place and bounce around never solving or repairing anything.
Your truck is in the high mileage range. It will/needs maintenance and repair. It ain't gonna fix itself.
You likely have multiple suspension problems.
Start with the front ball joints. These are critical. Then address the rear leafs. Then tackle the shocks.

Stop. Focus. Identify. Solve. Next.
It won't make 500 kmiles without spending some $$ on repairs.
 
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oh yes! i can definitely agree to being all over the place, i certainly feel like it constantly :oops:




 
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i must wonder WHY only one bump stop for these duroBumps
why not the big one in front, which is the one i tested for slapping
?
 
Following your diagnosis process is like trying to follow a random number generator................

Dude, you're all over the place and bounce around never solving or repairing anything.
Your truck is in the high mileage range. It will/needs maintenance and repair. It ain't gonna fix itself.
You likely have multiple suspension problems.
Start with the front ball joints. These are critical. Then address the rear leafs. Then tackle the shocks.

Stop. Focus. Identify. Solve. Next.
It won't make 500 kmiles without spending some $$ on repairs.

recently checked the upper ball joints (wheels on ground) with a 2ft prybar, did not notice any up/down play
fireStone did check the LBJs as good when i had the wheel alignment done a few weeks ago... alignment was horribly off

its been much too cold so i got all scattered brain and whatnots LOL

should i get those Monroe QuickStruts my nephew and I put on replaced under the warranty as weak springs
 
For some reason it seems you have weak springs or poor to no compression damping in those struts. I used them on my heavier tundra, and they were great. They took a couple weeks before they settled in as the front end of the truck had sat a little higher when 1st installed. I assume you may of noticed that when you first put them on your tacoma. Monroe did offer 2 Quickstuts types for my tundra at the time. I took the more expensive ones with a longer warranty.
 
For some reason it seems you have weak springs or poor to no compression damping in those struts. I used them on my heavier tundra, and they were great. They took a couple weeks before they settled in as the front end of the truck had sat a little higher when 1st installed. I assume you may of noticed that when you first put them on your tacoma. Monroe did offer 2 Quickstuts types for my tundra at the time. I took the more expensive ones with a longer warranty.

before the monroes i had bilstein 5100 on there with the original OEM springs... those rode like garbage too around the broken concrete roads here
after a long run on the freeway and stopping for gas i noticed truck was sitting higher like it had a lift onit
i can't explain the whys of why it looked like that... i have started to notice the Monroes doing similar after a long, (by long i mean 200 miles and more) and it sitting like it has a lift but not to the extent those Bilsteins did
 
All I can say our town roads are like a bombed out Iraqi airport runway. Took my tundra a couple weeks before the trucks stance looked more like it always was after installing the Monroe units.
 
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