Recurring Suspension Squeak

[hyrepower]

Add me to the squeaky club. Been a couple of months like this, not too optimistic about the dealership doing anything to take it in for just that. I too have been holding out for a gen3 specific race series shock from Fox but there hasn’t even been rumors of that being released anytime soon.

Are we sure the squeak isn’t coming from the trailing arm pivot bushings? Been meaning to spray a little ptfe dry lube on them to see if it works

 

[mobob]

I drove 500 miles this weekend after only the shock was replaced on Friday. Squeak is gone. I asked the Service Manager to use the ears before replacing it and the shock was much noisier than the rest of the suspension. It was the only change, outside if the reassembly and torquing of everything.

 

[So-Cal-Al-52]

I pulled my collars off today and had Eibach springs installed. Truck rides much better with less roll and nose dive. 2 things I noted doing this today, when we pulled the struts it was noted that the spring had rotated inside the top hat and the spring was not seated against the rubber mount, I had noticed a squeak and thump over the last few weeks. Now I know why, the spring was touching the shock bucket and causing noise. I only drove 15 miles home tonight but my suspension squeak and thud seems to be gone. Also noticed the top hat bolt was not totally tight either. Probably worth checking. I will attach a couple pics. So far really happy with the springs.

Driver side spring.

 

[Jesse1983]

I pulled my collars off today and had Eibach springs installed. Truck rides much better with less roll and nose dive. 2 things I noted doing this today, when we pulled the struts it was noted that the spring had rotated inside the top hat and the spring was not seated against the rubber mount, I had noticed a squeak and thump over the last few weeks. Now I know why, the spring was touching the shock bucket and causing noise. I only drove 15 miles home tonight but my suspension squeak and thud seems to be gone. Also noticed the top hat bolt was not totally tight either. Probably worth checking. I will attach a couple pics. So far really happy with the springs.

Driver side spring.

View attachment 447560

woah! that is nuts! I'm almost certain i would have noticed that on mine but i'm definitely going to take a second look now! Also, not sure if it's just the pic, but your spring looks kinda jacked up in several places? are you the original owner?

 

[So-Cal-Al-52]

woah! that is nuts! I'm almost certain i would have noticed that on mine but i'm definitely going to take a second look now! Also, not sure if it's just the pic, but your spring looks kinda jacked up in several places? are you the original owner?

I am, I tried to bang on it to get it back in place. So those marks are probably from me. But something shifted at some point, it was not like that when the collars were installed, the thump and squeak started about the time I noticed the issue. After driving again today I am very glad, it feels so much better with the springs.

 

[Jesse1983]

Squeaky right front shock replaced yesterday. Just the one, not both sides. And they didn't do a ride height adjustment. not sure if that is necessary or not. No observations to share yet other than the noise is gone. I didn't notice a difference in ride characteristics as others have reported, but maybe that's more prevalent when both sides are replaced.

 

[hyrepower]

I would be upset only having one shock replaced instead of both, it is like replacing only 1 tire.

 

[Jesse1983]

I would be upset only having one shock replaced instead of both, it is like replacing only 1 tire.

I sort of feel that way too. I may call Ford and see what they say.

 

[jm77]

Fixed my suspension squeak in 5 minutes. Like many of you I’ve been experiencing an annoying suspension squeak for sometime. Seemed to be from the passenger side, possibly front. Occurred anytime the suspension moves and was loud.

Sprayed some Maxima SC1 (silicone spray) on the shock shafts/wiper seals and cycled the suspension a couple times. Then used WD40 PTFE Dry Lube on all the pivots (top/bottom shocks, all trailing arm pivots, and upper/lower A arms). I cycled the suspension a couple times after applying with my floor jack but you could easily just drive around the block. Wipe any excess after. Truck is silent like it should.

I suspect the culprit was the front right shock shaft/wiper seal. It’s common practice to use silicone spray and cycle suspension to clean out any contaminants in mountain bike suspension to clean/lubricate the seals. Doesn’t seem ideal to have the shock body on the bottom like the front shocks on these trucks. Seems like it would contribute to ingesting contaminants into the seal but that’s just my uneducated opinion.

Ps. Reading this thread I see some guys are spraying “grease” or regular WD40. That’s not what you want to use on the shock seals or the pivots. Anything that stays oily will attract dirt and lead to increased wear. Dry lube is what you want for the pivots and silicone wiped clean for the seals.

 

[hyrepower]

Fixed my suspension squeak in 5 minutes. Like many of you I’ve been experiencing an annoying suspension squeak for sometime. Seemed to be from the passenger side, possibly front. Occurred anytime the suspension moves and was loud.

Sprayed some Maxima SC1 (silicone spray) on the shock shafts/wiper seals and cycled the suspension a couple times. Then used WD40 PTFE Dry Lube on all the pivots (top/bottom shocks, all trailing arm pivots, and upper/lower A arms). I cycled the suspension a couple times after applying with my floor jack but you could easily just drive around the block. Wipe any excess after. Truck is silent like it should.

I suspect the culprit was the front right shock shaft/wiper seal. It’s common practice to use silicone spray and cycle suspension to clean out any contaminants in mountain bike suspension to clean/lubricate the seals. Doesn’t seem ideal to have the shock body on the bottom like the front shocks on these trucks. Seems like it would contribute to ingesting contaminants into the seal but that’s just my uneducated opinion.

Ps. Reading this thread I see some guys are spraying “grease” or regular WD40. That’s not what you want to use on the shock seals or the pivots. Anything that stays oily will attract dirt and lead to increased wear. Dry lube is what you want for the pivots and silicone wiped clean for the seals.

I bought some Maxima Plush Dynamic that I am going to try when I get 30 minutes to jack the truck up and apply to all 4 shocks, my mountain bike and Harley fork tubes.

I hope this fixes the issue.