Suspension pop while turning or hitting a bump

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Daltong2000

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Hi. I have a 2005 kj sport 4x4. I had a daystar 2.5 inch lift installed 3 days ago. After I had it aligned I noticed a loud popping noise when I turn to the left. But nothing when I turn to the right. Noise happens when I hit a bump as well. Before my steering wheel was tilted slight to the left while driving straight. Now it is dead center but this popping occurs. Even when having it aligned last year the wheel was tilted to the left. the guy at the shop said something about one of the nuts on the driver side being either in or out further than the passenger side. Had it all corrected and the wheel is straight. But now I have this popping noise that I can physically feel in my floorboard when making a left turn or hitting a bump. Could this be suspension related or maybe something to do with the alignment? Any help would be great. CV's look okay. No tears in the boots or anything like that.
 

tommudd

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Did you use new springs and shocks?
Who installed the daystar spacer lift?
Did you install new bumpstops?
Did you install new JeepinByAl upper control arms ?
Did you have the popping noise before ?
Measure left front from middle of the wheel to bottom of the flare and report back
Not even going to mention you choice of lifting your KJ
 
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Daltong2000

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Did you use new springs and shocks?
Who installed the daystar spacer lift?
Did you install new bumpstops?
Did you install new JeepinByAl upper control arms ?
Did you have the popping noise before ?
Measure left front from middle of the wheel to bottom of the flare and report back
Not even going to mention you choice of lifting your KJ
No to all of those. I had no noise beforehand either. A local shop near me called Freedom 4WD installed my lift. They said they've done multiple before and never had any issues out of them.
 

Daltong2000

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No to all of those. I had no noise beforehand either. A local shop near me called Freedom 4WD installed my lift. They said they've done multiple before and never had any issues out of them.
And I must add that my KJ rides miles better than it did on stock suspension with the daystar lift. the stock suspension rode like absolute hell. I had the front shocks replaced about 5 years ago. Lower and upper control arms replaced about 4 years ago. My jeep rides phenomenal with the daystar space kit. and looks great. I just need an answer on what this noise could possibly be. Shop says CV or control arm bushings. Jeep isn't bottoming out at all.
 

tommudd

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And I must add that my KJ rides miles better than it did on stock suspension with the daystar lift. the stock suspension rode like absolute hell. I had the front shocks replaced about 5 years ago. Lower and upper control arms replaced about 4 years ago. My jeep rides phenomenal with the daystar space kit. and looks great. I just need an answer on what this noise could possibly be. Shop says CV or control arm bushings. Jeep isn't bottoming out at all.

First if you did not replace the springs and shocks no way it can ride better
all it did was raise it enough to get it off the bumpstops
5 year old shocks are done by now

But let the shop figure out whats wrong , I know , but ...............
 

Daltong2000

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First if you did not replace the springs and shocks no way it can ride better
all it did was raise it enough to get it off the bumpstops
5 year old shocks are done by now

But let the shop figure out whats wrong , I know , but ...............
I would love for you to actually answer my initial question instead of being the way that you are. If you know what's going on, tell me. That's what this post was for. Not to be shamed for going with a budget lift instead of a $750 plus $400 installation lift. And yes. My jeep does ride better. You don't get thrown in the air by every bump in the road now. It's a lot smoother.
 

tommudd

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I asked you questions, to which you stated no, but those are some of the issues when you use sagged springs, worn out shocks etc.
Spacer lifts are the very worst way to lift especially when using old coils and shocks. So now its raised , more bounce over bumps and turning causing the creaking or popping you are hearing.
If you brought it to me I would start checking the upper control arms after checking that the spacers were indeed installed correctly, and all bolts were tightened with full weight on the ground.
Then would install longer front bumpstops , for one.
Then I would adjust the attitude given .................
 

Daltong2000

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I appreciate the response and the advice. But I didnt give you any attitude until you said "not even going to mention you choice of lifting your kj". I was in contact with the shop today and they assured me they tightened the bolts to spec and the whole 9 yards. I understand that spacer lifting isn't the best way to go about it, but at the moment it's all I could afford. Money is tight and I had extra so I figured why not try it. I've had several friends run spacer lifts with no issue. So I figured why not. So first step should be looking at the upper control arms, correct? I would assume if it were the UCA's it would be both sides making noise, or am I wrong? The shop did say the front end was more difficult to reinstall after putting the lift in.
 

tommudd

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I appreciate the response and the advice. But I didnt give you any attitude until you said "not even going to mention you choice of lifting your kj". I was in contact with the shop today and they assured me they tightened the bolts to spec and the whole 9 yards. I understand that spacer lifting isn't the best way to go about it, but at the moment it's all I could afford. Money is tight and I had extra so I figured why not try it. I've had several friends run spacer lifts with no issue. So I figured why not. So first step should be looking at the upper control arms, correct? I would assume if it were the UCA's it would be both sides making noise, or am I wrong? The shop did say the front end was more difficult to reinstall after putting the lift in.

Its called saving up and doing it right, we all do it no matter what age. I've been lifting KJs since 2004, other vehicles since 1973 , its not instant gratification like some want it to be unless you have a big bank account.
Now spacer lifts are the worst way to do it since your springs and shocks are worn out, I won't even install any here but have removed them then had to deal with the other suspension parts that get destroyed in the process.
Just trying to get you started right is all
If they ( the shop ) had trouble installing it , clear sign they do not know what they were doing. Installed over 55 KJ lifts , no issues at all.
So with a spacer style lift puts more pressure on some parts , then you must tighten everything with full weight on the ground.
check ball joints in the upper control arms
check lower ball joints
check and make sure its not hitting anywhere, spacers tend to hit places that a regular lift doesn't
check sway bar end links
and no matter what they said check over every nut and bolt they touched
we're all human and maybe they forgot something
 

HoosierJeeper

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Tom speaks the gospel here...I’d say you have coil contact and that’s the pop going over bumps. With my set up I can fit a finger between my coils. I bet yours are too close for that. As Tom asked, if you can measure from the hub to the fender flare edge that’d help us see how bad the stock stuff is sagged out. Stock should be at 19”, so add a 2.5” spacer and you should be at 21.5”, which most KJs tend to sag to 17”-18” so you might hardly be at new height.

And the pop when turning is probably an upper ball joint. Now they’re working on a different plane than they were before and that can expose some weak links. I had a upper ball joint work like that.
Need new lifted springs and new shocks to fix the coil contact, and new control arms to fix the upper ball joint (I’d get JBA ones so you can replace only the ball joints in the future and not have to do the whole arm).
 

randymorris

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While I used a different lift than you (I had the rough country 3” lift), after less than 6 months I’ve had to replace all coils and shocks, upper control arms, lower ball joints, while I don’t know if the spacer lift contributed to it, I had to also replace my steering rack and pinion and outer tie rods. Reading through Tom helping other people out here and answering my questions when I was ready helped me actually get the right stuff to bring my truck back up to where I wanted it in the first place.
 

Daltong2000

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Update

Got in contact with the shop. They said it seems like the alignment guy XXXXXXX up. I noticed that it seems like on of the coils is hitting the bump stop at an angle and the strut assembly is leaning towards the top slightly. Shop said the alignment guy would realign it no charge. I'd that doesn't fix it they said they'd do whatever they had to do to make it right because they stand behind their work. Center of hub to bottom of arch is 19 3/4 in the rear and 20 1/4 in the front.
 
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tommudd

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Got in contact with the shop. They said it seems like the alignment guy XXXXXX up. I noticed that it seems like on of the coils is hitting the bump stop at an angle and the strut assembly is leaning towards the top slightly. Shop said the alignment guy would realign it no charge. I'd that doesn't fix it they said they'd do whatever they had to do to make it right because they stand behind their work. Center of hub to bottom of arch is 19 3/4 in the rear and 20 1/4 in the front.

So only 3/4 inch lift in the rear , 1.25 inches in front , sad
That is not enough to even notice really
alignment may be the reason but if so the alignment guy is a total loser and you should be able to tell from driving it . It would have to be way out.
YOUR springs and shocks are worn out, springs are stacking ( each coil is riding on top of the other one )
 
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tommudd

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That doesn't seem to be the problem though tom. I can fit a finger in the spaces between my spring coils

OK, sitting still yes, driving down the road they are though, springs get closer when going over curbs, pot holes, turning etc , the spacer is even putting more pressure on the springs so amplifies it
but then what do I know...................

Carry on :birgits_tiredcoffee
 

Daltong2000

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I'm not saying you dont know what you're talking about. im just telling you what I've observed. just got off the phone with the alignment guy and hes saying theres no way it's an alignment issue. Which I figured. They're trying to play the blame game and I just want to get this sorted out.
 

tommudd

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We have told you what is wrong
believe it or not spacer lifts are terrible
plus as you can clearly see your springs and shocks are worn out as well
If not you would of gotten 2.5 inches of lift, but you didn't SINCE your coils are sagging badly.
Can not get any more clear that that
Sorry but that is just the honest truth if you want to believe it or not
spacers put more pressure on weak springs, which in turn puts more pressure/ wear on other parts that are used and wearing out so more noise, more wear more issues

Oh and no more "F" words on the forum, be courteous to others who have children and those who do not like that being on here
 

JasonJ

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Got in contact with the shop. They said it seems like the alignment guy XXXXXXX up. I noticed that it seems like on of the coils is hitting the bump stop at an angle and the strut assembly is leaning towards the top slightly. Shop said the alignment guy would realign it no charge. I'd that doesn't fix it they said they'd do whatever they had to do to make it right because they stand behind their work. Center of hub to bottom of arch is 19 3/4 in the rear and 20 1/4 in the front.

Coils hitting bumpstop should not be physically possible unless something is VERY broken. Bumpstop should only ever contact the top outer portion of the upper control arm.

19.75" rear is not even an inch above stock, when new. 20.25" front is bad too.. with a 2.5" daystar spacer, you would be sitting at 21.5" on all four corners if your springs were in good shape. They are not.

Regardless if you had shocks replaced 5 years ago (springs too, or just shocks?), you have tired, old, worn out parts and all of this is contributing to your issues.

That doesn't seem to be the problem though tom. I can fit a finger in the spaces between my spring coils

While parked, sure you can. Driving down the road, do not forget that the spring compresses and rebounds according to the road surface.. a half inch of coil spacing to stick a finger through seems fine in the parking lot, but that half inch get's taken up quickly on road, and then the coils hit each other (stack) and makes for all sorts of hell.

I'm not saying you dont know what you're talking about. im just telling you what I've observed. just got off the phone with the alignment guy and hes saying theres no way it's an alignment issue. Which I figured. They're trying to play the blame game and I just want to get this sorted out.

Sounds like you're stuck. Look, I get the budgetary constraints thing.. OK, fine.. if you're going to insist on the spacer lift, please resolve to the fact that you had a spacer lift installed on worn out parts that are now under a lot more stress and have less room to move.

You need to replace shocks and springs- even stock, OE spec ones will be better than what you have now and if the control arms and balljoints are OK, should help or fix the issue.

Of course, OE spec parts now.. even though new... will again, only last you about 3-5 years (just like the recently replaced shocks you are riding on now). And then you'll be doing it all over again. This is why it's more advantageous to get the better quality stuff now, pay 2-3x as much.. but only need to do it once every 100k miles.

It took me 4 years of saving and finding the right opportunities to get a good spring lift installed on my KJ... sometimes going cheap with a spacer lift, just costs you more over the long run. You can't afford to do it wrong two or three times.
 

Daltong2000

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I apologize for using that word. I didn't know it was an issue. So I should be fine if I replace springs, shocks and all?
 

tommudd

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I apologize for using that word. I didn't know it was an issue. So I should be fine if I replace springs, shocks and all?

IF,....you replace with new coil springs that are stock height etc and your spacer lift it will work for a while. Of course you need new longer shocks as well.
But herein lies the issue, stock front springs are rated at 310 lb, very weak from the get go. KJs should of had at least 340-350 lb front springs to handle the weight and give a good overall ride.
Spacer lifts by design also put extra wear on front end parts especially the upper ball joints, so to take care of that you need to use aftermarket upper control arms like the ones from jeepinbyal so there is extra expense.
going with a full OME lift, 4 new springs and shocks does of course cost a bit more but worth it in the long run. Ride and handling will be better and they will last a lot longer. Personally have ran one OME setup to 100,000 miles and sold it to a buddy for his KJ.
 

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