4th gen 4runner consistent squeak/chirp after OME lift

I've had a squeak or a chirping noise in the front off my car after getting a OME lift. I put 885's in the front and 886's in the rear. So far the squeaking is only coming from the front, I tried to put wd40 on my front sway bar bushings and the bucket just to see if it would stop it from squeaking, didn't seem to help. I also did a sway bar drop kit, but the bushings seem to be fine. Anyone know what I should do? It seems to be just when the suspension hits a bump in the road.

 

Have you tried checking the upper control arm bushings?

 

What should I check them for? I looked at it, seems to have some gunk building up. Could it be that?

 

We need a little more information here. Did you only touch the coilovers up front? Did you also upgrade the UCAs or anything else? If you've narrowed down the noise up front, is the sound only when you're moving, or any time the suspension cycles? As in if you grab your roof and make your runner sway back and forth, does it still make a sound? Does it sound like a knock, a metallic sound, a metal-and-something-else squeak?

Side bar, if you didnt swap your sway bar bushings from rubber to anything else WD40 will eat those away so... maybe reconsider its use. Non-rubber materials its fine to aid in cleanup, not good as a lube. There are drastically better materials to use for lube.

Immediate assessment makes me think there isnt lube where there should be, whether its your lower shock mount bushing needing anti seize, the bushing needing lube, your UCA bushings needing to be lubed, the big metal/plastic/rubber/urethane whatever washers dropping your diff don’t have lube… something is rubbing or sticking in a way it shouldn’t, after you adjusted your suspension geometry.

 

So for more clarification, my car is a 2wd, if that helps narrow things down. I didn't upgrade my UCA's. If i jump on the car or jump on the bumper (I have a metal front bumper) I can't replicate the sound. Its only when going over bumps in the road. Its not like a metal on metal sound, its more like a slight chirp, a little squeak. I'm going to try to upload a sound of it. I have already done a sway bar drop kit, so its not rubbing on my shocks at all anymore. I only have about 1k miles on the lift kit and this sound developed. It also seemed to develop after adding new wheelers superbumps, but I don't think its connecting the bump stop, as it squeaks at very little load.

Heres a link to a video I recorded. You may need to turn your sound up high, the video doesn't pick it up that well. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TWSeeQR3-SC2XXTL5VV8bhBuyh06z3Jo/view?usp=sharing

 

Hooey thats a weird one.. To be honest that kind of noise sounds just like when youre moving the cutting bit into place on a lathe when turning something metal down.

Either way to my ear that definitely sounds like metal on metal where there shouldnt be. Have you gone and put hands on every bolt and screw down there again, maybe something is loose, or just not torqued down right? Your ball joints and bushings all lubed up? Could your sway bar end link be touching where it shouldnt since you dropped it?

Just spitballing here... Whatd be ideal probably is finding a way to put a Gopro down there somehow.

 

Check that the radiator support bars are not hitting the sway bar. Rub your fingers ALL over the support bars to check for any indent/rub spot.

 

I think I've found my problem. I never upgraded my UCA's when I did the lift. I see that the ball joint for the UCA is leaking grease on both sides. Do I need to get a new UCA and balljoint? Or can I just replace the balljoint?

 

You’re probably better off getting aftermarket UCA’s.

 

What would you go with? I've heard a lot about SPC, but they're over 700 right now... I also saw freedom offroad which is 390. I'm torn because 700 is 300 off of what I paid for my entire lift kit.

 

I have SPC, no complaints. SPC offers more articulation than the freedom off road UCA’s, but if you’re not doing off-roading the freedom ones may be better.