Another one! Front End Suspension Rebuild

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Popper864

FRF Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Posts
83
Reaction score
33
Location
South Carolina
Following up. Checked the middle shock shaft bolt on the top of the hat and went ahead and checked the other 3 bolts around the hat. All bolts were tight, and clunk is still there. Just had shocks rebuilt by TSW about 5k miles ago. Any chance its the shocks and i should make the expensive upgrade to 3.0s? Next to be replaced are my upper control arms? If that does not fix it, then 3.0s may be an option. Or at least an excuse to upgrade:cool:
 

SuperExplorer

Active Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Posts
55
Reaction score
81
Location
Bay Area
I run fox 3.0s, camburg upper arms, replaced lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, removed front sway bar and I still have the clunk and it’s driving me insane. Only thing left is replace lower control arms..
 

Jeff550

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2021
Posts
79
Reaction score
55
Location
California
Following up. Checked the middle shock shaft bolt on the top of the hat and went ahead and checked the other 3 bolts around the hat. All bolts were tight, and clunk is still there. Just had shocks rebuilt by TSW about 5k miles ago. Any chance its the shocks and i should make the expensive upgrade to 3.0s? Next to be replaced are my upper control arms? If that does not fix it, then 3.0s may be an option. Or at least an excuse to upgrade:cool:
Take the shocks off and the springs and see if the shock is making the noise.
 

TomDirt

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Posts
3,674
Reaction score
10,500
Location
Hesperia CA
There have been a couple of different threads pointing out how close the tolerances are between the very bottom of the front shock and the lower control arm mounting point. Some can see rubbing and feel that that a clunk is coming from there…. I didn’t see anything on mine though. But like most have stated, there are several points of failure that could all be contributing to the clunk. I’ve come to terms with telling my self, I’ve replaced upper/lower ball joints and bushings , shocks rebuilt, upper shock mounts replaced, sway bar links replaced. And after all of those new serviced parts, if there is still a clunk it’s just meant to be …..
Are the LCA bushings the same as regular f150 bushings? I can't get a straight answer on this. I'm 99.9% sure they are just regular F150 parts.
 

weimer

FRF Addict
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
Posts
1,506
Reaction score
8,188
Location
VA
Following up. Checked the middle shock shaft bolt on the top of the hat and went ahead and checked the other 3 bolts around the hat. All bolts were tight, and clunk is still there. Just had shocks rebuilt by TSW about 5k miles ago. Any chance its the shocks and i should make the expensive upgrade to 3.0s? Next to be replaced are my upper control arms? If that does not fix it, then 3.0s may be an option. Or at least an excuse to upgrade:cool:
I replaced my upper control arms and lower ball joints. Clunk is pretty much gone. Did you install the shocks yourself? Torque everything?
 

Popper864

FRF Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Posts
83
Reaction score
33
Location
South Carolina
Everything was installed my-self. Taking everything apart sometime soon to throw on a set of Geiser coils i got locally for a good deal. Planning on replacing the UCAs and the upper spring insulator while ive got it all in pieces. Will keep yall updated after all installed. Thanks for the info
 

TomDirt

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Posts
3,674
Reaction score
10,500
Location
Hesperia CA
Removed the 11 year old lca bushings. A little quick tip: get a short piece of 3" sch40 pipe to fit over the bushing and against the lca. (The generic ball joint service kits don't include that size). My local Steel yard was nice enough to cut off a 3-1/2" section of pipe (off of a larger rem).... for $20. Easy Peasy.
 

Attachments

  • 20220409_101641.jpg
    20220409_101641.jpg
    131.3 KB · Views: 42
  • 20220409_114859.jpg
    20220409_114859.jpg
    291.5 KB · Views: 41
Top