Rear end knock after Ironman lift

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krisP

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depends on the size of the lift. Disconnecting it isnt needed ( youll have to reconnect anyway). Some have problems with it and some dont, but you are changing the angle on the bushings once lifted
 

tommudd

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How often does the trilink get shot due to the installation of the lift?
Would it be advisable for people installing a lift to disconnect the trilink before installing their lift?

How often? Well I torn them up pretty good in 3 months time with out the extension etc but then I'm harder than most on take-offs etc
No need to disconnect to install lift
 

jja

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I'm going WAY OUT on a limb here and predict the OP will find that at least one of the tri-link bushings is toast...probably the one on the passenger side...the bolt will be torqued just fine but the bushing material is history...

I triple checked these and they look mint. Tried moving them around with a prybar and they seem to hold really well.
 

jja

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OP ever figure out what was going on ? having a similar issue with same new lift.
I see the ebrake cable is at the very top of that guide on the boomerang so maybe when going over bumps its pulling the cable down some and smacking it up against the undercarriage :shrug:

Nope I still have no idea what's causing this. I am waiting for the weather around here to get warmer before digging deeper into this.
 

krisP

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Nope I still have no idea what's causing this. I am waiting for the weather around here to get warmer before digging deeper into this.

i have the same issue. i adjusted the rear gait and it went away, temps got to below 0 the past few days and the noise came back
 

jja

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I drove mine with the gate wide open over some cobblestones and the noise was still there so I assume it is not the gate.
 

jja

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OK the weather got better and I finally got to it.

It's definitely the shocks. I removed them and no more knocking. I put back the factory ones and no knocking again. Both of the Ironman ones though result in knocking. They fit snug. I can feel no play and they are firmly clamped in between the mounting points on the chassis. I put a shovel under the tire and have my dad rock the handle while I am under the truck. Then I can hear the knock (it's much, much louder inside though) and with each knock I feel a vibration in the shock. I can't feel any play of the shock with respect to the chassis though.

It's hard to believe the shocks themselves are shot. They've been doing this since brand new and I barely have 15000 mostly road miles on them. Besides there's much more knocking on the passenger side no matter which of the two shocks I install there. So it's gotta be something with the shock mounts or the bolts or something like that but I am really clueless at this point. I am gonna measure how the Ironman shocks dimensions compare to the OEM ones trying to find where some play might come from.
 

krisP

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i removed both ironman shocks last week and the noise also went away. Less than 5000 miles on mine and they have done it since first installed. They compress well just pushing with my own weight....much better than the OE ones that were on there. :shrug:
 

jja

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Now that you mention it the knocking seems to get louder when cold.
 

jja

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Well just measured Ironman and OEM shocks and there is virtually no difference in any dimension. So that cannot really explain any play.

The only thing that comes to mind is defective shocks. Both of them as weird as it might be.

krisP do you have the longer than stock Ironman shocks or do you have the stock length ones? Mine are stock length.
 

krisP

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Well just measured Ironman and OEM shocks and there is virtually no difference in any dimension. So that cannot really explain any play.

The only thing that comes to mind is defective shocks. Both of them as weird as it might be.

krisP do you have the longer than stock Ironman shocks or do you have the stock length ones? Mine are stock length.

i have the longer shocks. I do notice that in warmer weather the noise is a lot less, still there but not as loud or as often
 

tthompson442

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I have the same knocking. The dealer removed the IronMan shocks and the noise ceased. I took the shocks off and could see bolt thread marks on the inside of the upper shock eyelettes. I think there is just enough play between the eyelette and the bolt to cause the knocking. I'm working on a aluminum sleeve to put in the eyelette to tighten up the clearance. I'll let you know if that works.
 

krisP

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I have the same knocking. The dealer removed the IronMan shocks and the noise ceased. I took the shocks off and could see bolt thread marks on the inside of the upper shock eyelettes. I think there is just enough play between the eyelette and the bolt to cause the knocking. I'm working on a aluminum sleeve to put in the eyelette to tighten up the clearance. I'll let you know if that works.

noticed the same thing yesterday,threads left a mark at the top of the eyelet
 

tommudd

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the shock should not have any thread marks since it should be shouldered all the way through where the the bushing sits
Never had or seen that issue before
 

jja

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Play in the upper shock mount was my initial thought, too. But the upper shock eyelettes of the Ironman shocks are exactly the same diameter as the OEM shocks ones. Moreover, the OEM shocks had exactly the same thread marks.

The difference between the bolt diameter and the eyelette diameter was 0.2mm on both stock and Ironman. In theory that could cause knocking but why isn't it there on stock?
 

krisP

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any update from anyone? Tried new upper shock mount bolts and trying to sleeve the bolt with no success. Really stumped. Newer LCA, New rear UCA, no brake lines catching , not tailgate, or shock mounts. My only other guess is the UCA hitting its mount from up and down motion when hitting bumps/pot holes because of the sharper angle from the lift. Or we all have defective ironman shocks
 

tommudd

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any update from anyone? Tried new upper shock mount bolts and trying to sleeve the bolt with no success. Really stumped. Newer LCA, New rear UCA, no brake lines catching , not tailgate, or shock mounts. My only other guess is the UCA hitting its mount from up and down motion when hitting bumps/pot holes because of the sharper angle from the lift. Or we all have defective ironman shocks

If at only 2.75 inches highly doubt that it is the tri-link hitting, I've ran at 4 inches and never had a sound from mine
Remove rear shocks and drive ( very cautiously ) down a close by road to see what you hear
 

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