front end noise after bilstein install

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workd4it

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Ok so shop put bills in at 2.1 and aligned.stocl uca's still in. Going over speed bumps at slow speeds Or small bumps at all I am getting a drivers side clunk. I have heard of this on forums before but not sure how to diagnose. The bills are installed properly as I checked that first. I am going to give them a call to take a look but I was hoping to point them in the right direction. I have heard it could be the bills not tight at top and clunking under compression. passenger side has no problem. anyway any advice would be great. truck is a 2016 qc 5.7 with 5100 miles on it.thanks
 

Addis daddy

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I had the same issue when I did mine on my other truck. Apparently from everything I saw online it seemed the top nut was not all the way tight? I got pissed and switched to rancho lol. But that's the only thing I could find
 

Trykonkid11

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You have to make sure the washer supplied with the shock was put on correctly. The washer goes on the shock before you install the upper shock mount.
This is how one gets the clunking noise, you described.


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workd4it

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ok guys I will let the shop know. Odd the passenger side has no noise so I am thinking they did it right and the nut is loose. Is it as easy as loosing the little allen head screw up and tightning the larger nut below it that I am seeing?
 

quietpeen

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the whole thing will have to be taken out and the spring will have to be compressed again to get the top nut off.
 

Trykonkid11

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If you can see in there( I know it's difficult) if there is a washer under the lock nut, they are installed incorrectly.
If they are not tight, you can try to tighten it. It's going to be tough though. Good luck with it.


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workd4it

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Ok this is what I found. when I put the allen key socket in the top it is spinning without much pressure what so ever. it is moving and the large nut is moving with it. So it is very loose. I am only seeing the allen screw and nut. so I can only hope that it being loose is the reason for the knock,clunk etc. Do you guys think so as well. At least now I can clearly point this out to them and of course have them check the other side as well. what are your thought. could this be my reason? thanks guys I would be at there mercy if it was nopt for you guys pointing these tips out.
 

Trykonkid11

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I'm going to say they definitely didn't torque the nut down before decompressing the spring, or didn't compress he spring enough when they put it back together. The torque spec on that nut isn't much. I think it somewhere around 35 or 40 foot pound.


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workd4it

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stopped at shop he can clearly see more threads showing on passenger side then drivers so it is clear drivers is loose. he is gonna fix it thursday after work.will keep you posted.
 

brandonjansen

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The location of the washer needs to be checked. If the shock rod is pushing up on the top and making it look loose on the top like you're describing it could definitely be from the rod pushing through the upper spring seat because of the washer not being installed correctly. This would damage the upper spring seat if that's the case. Both struts need to be pulled apart and checked. As stated above the washer that's supplied with the Bilsteins needs to be installed BEFORE the upper spring seat.
 
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workd4it

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thanks for the info on the washer again.
 
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workd4it

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ok stopped by the shop last night. the owner saw the issue in question. nut on top of bills was up 1/2" CAUSING CLUNK. anyway told him about washer going on prior to install . He was pretty embarrassed about this and said that this was on them and would make it right. had me leave the truck for the night and made the tech who did the work come out and apologize to me in front of other customers. they pulled it right in and will be checking the bills over.Anyway could not be happier with there response.takes a load of wondering how that would go. anyway will update when I get it back.
 

Trykonkid11

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If it was 1/2 inch above, sounds like the shock pushed through the upper mount. The mount can become damage from that. It makes the hole larger then what it should be. So after they take it apart, they should check it. May need new upper mounts.
I haven't seen this yet, just something to watch out for. Hope it all works out for you.
 
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workd4it

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ok here is the update. truck is home and clunk is gone. Showed me pics of it apart and wshers were installed properly just loose top nut on drivers side. Anyway mount hole seemed ok in pics but truly it is hard to tell. threads and condition of the bill was fine no damage that I saw. so maybe not a perfect install but at least they did what they could to reassure me it was fixed correctly. so I will put some miles on her and see if it all stays good. thanks guys for all the input it helped with me going there and knowing what was going on. again thanks.
 

Trykonkid11

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No problem glad all worked out for you. Enjoy the new shocks, I sure love them.


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