Are noises coming from new suspension normal?

I recently upgraded my suspension and I've noticed some noises coming from the front of my vehicle especially when driving slowly in parking lots. (mall crawling)

I hesitate to use descriptors such as "clang, pop, bang, etc." because the sounds I'm hearing aren't very loud and I can only hear them when the AC and radio are turned down.

I've never had aftermarket suspension parts before so I'm not sure if hearing new noises is just part of the gig, or perhaps there's a break-in period?

I took my 4Runner back to the place that installed the parts and they checked everything to make sure nothing was loose and they said everything looks great.

Parts List:
Bilstein 6112 shocks up front.
Bilstein 5100 in the rear.
SPC Upper Control Arms
3 inches of lift added.

Picture for attention.

 

I wouldn't say bangs or pops.

But more creaking for sure. I think I gotta lube my UCAs I get some noise when going over speed bumps.

 

I have absolutely no noise from my suspension replacement.

JBA UCA's
Durobumps front and rear
Eibach coilovers in front
OME 8295's in back

 

Ghost quiet for 20K+ miles with a ton of off roading.

SPC UCA
Icon 2.5 coil overs
Icon 2.0 rear shock with 2 inch coil springs

Did you ensure the shop pumped grease into your SPCs?

 

JBA arms with King suspension, not a sound.

 

Maybe I'll have to throw a GoPro under there and record myself driving around a bit to see if there's a culprit.

 

I discovered a clang sound if I have my windows down and am driving next to a short wall of some sort (say, a concrete wall on a bridge). Weird thing is that I don’t hear it if the windows are up. It happens when I drive over small cracks or bumps (on said bridge), but it doesn’t happen when going over speed bumps at low speed. Any ideas?

 

I have Bilstein 8112/5160 and the creaking is real! It was silent for like 5,000 miles but now it’s the same. Only when driving slow (small inputs). Took it to Toyota to do a very thorough check and all seems good. Maybe Bilsteins are just noisy

 

If it was stock then no, but modified, all bets are off.

 

I had no noise for a bit with my Ironman setup, then I started getting a loud clunk in certain situations, found my lower control arm bolts had become loose. But I would be concerned if my new suspension was making noise.

Edit: I am thinking the LCA bolts were due to the alignment folks not retourque them correctly.

 

Considering my 4R is at 93k miles, do you think it could be suspension related?
I’m obviously wanting the noise to disappear. I also want an excuse to upgrade to 5100s.

 

In that case, you better replace before the suspension blows up and destroys the entire 4Runner.

 

I needed an excuse to get my wife to allow a $1,400 suspension job. This works. Thanks!

 

It can and has happened. Catastrophic dampener failure dousing hot cats in dampener oil resulting a fire. Granted, you don't really see it outside of racing… but it can happen non the less.

 

Could be one of several things. Failed lower shock bushing in the front. Failed LCA bushing. Failed upper ball joint. Loose LCA cam bolts...

If your race car has cats, you're doing something wrong.

 

Thanks, man! I’ll have it looked at. These possibilities have me concerned because it means my car could be falling apart.

 

I did a ton of digging on this topic and it seems that polyurethane bushings used for UCA leads to noise most of the time. Mine creaks so bad that I am about to rip out the Bilstein UCA and go with Dobinsons since they use factory style rubber bushings. I sprayed some WD-40 on the bushings the. Went for a drive and all the noise went away. They are well greased from the grease fitting, the noise seems to be coming from the sides of the bushings where they contact metal.