Loud clicking at front mount on leaf spring

[Ol'Blue]

When stopping and hitting the gas I have a loud annoying click from the passenger side front mount where the leaf bolts through.

Rocking it back and forth it clicks in each direction. Everything looks good. The leaf isnt hanging up on the mount, no play in the bolt hole and bushing looks fine.

No clicking when bouncing up and down on the bumper or flexing the susp.

WH 3.5" leafs and bushings with only a few thousand miles.

I'm stumped. Anyone else have this happen?

Thanks,

 

[DirtDonk]

Are you sure it's not a case of the second wrap of the front eye hitting the spring hanger? I know you said it's not interfering, but did you look closely for any clues such as shiny metal up under there?

Just wondering since during acceleration the springs are twisting and "wrapping" because they're under a different set of torque inputs than when simply cycling normally while jumping up and down on a bumper.
If it's close enough, perhaps it is indeed hitting slightly.

That said, I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, EB owners that have experienced a clearance issue don't hear any clunking. They just discover it visually when they're under there.

When you experimented with the back-and-forth motion to get it to click, was that with putting the trans in forward and reverse gears alternatively? Or were you able to duplicate it manually?

Paul

 

[cs_88]

I have experienced something very similar in the same spot with my WH 2.5" leafs. My noise is coming from the wrap on the spring binding in the hanger like Paul said. It's a little annoying and it does help if I spray a little lube in there, but I figure eventually it will clearance itself.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Thanks for the input guys. The second wrap does touch the hanger but from what I can see, it doesnt catch or hang up causing the noise. Its loud!

See pics

Maybe its catching up at the top where I cant see it and the only way to find out is to drop the leaf.

Duplicated it by rocking it back and forth and not under power.

I will try some lube first.

 

[savage]

There's a lot of torque put on the leafs and with it that close it might be twisting enough to catch the edge of the eye. My son just got back from the dunes and put a gopro under his buddy's jeep, and you would be amazed at how much the leafs move with acceleration and deceleration.

 

[kholding]

I was having something very similar happen. Someone made the suggestion to re-torque the U-bolts. I thought there was no way that it could've been the cause but tried it and it solved the issue. Worth a shot.

 

[Rustytruck]

Jack up the frame and wedge a piece of plastic milk carton in there between the spring and mount. If the noise alters you will know for sure that's the problem. Plastic won't last too long but will help isolate the issue.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Jack up the frame and wedge a piece of plastic milk carton in there between the spring and mount. If the noise alters you will know for sure that's the problem. Plastic won't last too long but will help isolate the issue.

Did exactly as you suggest and noise is gone!

Any ideas on how to solve permanently?

I guess I could drop the leaf and do some light grinding on the leaf and mount, but I am afraid of weakening the parts.

Thank you guys for the help!

 

[DirtDonk]

That can work without compromising the components.
You can trim the leaf eye to make clearance, but that would only work if it's just catching the side edges.
Cutting the top half of the eye off DOES compromise it's function, but some double-wrap leaves for other vehicles are actually made that way. Not as secure as an eye that actually "wraps" around, but still a slight safety measure. Least desirable option and not to be done unless needed.

The best option i can think of are weld nuts. Or you can make your own using plate steel. But a weld nut like those from Ruff-Stuff Specialties is the ticket.
You enlarge the bolt hole, or drill a larger hole lower down (doesn't take much), install the weld nut or plate and violé! New lower spring position.
You do effectively lose some height, but it's only half the distance of the change, so if you move the bolt down half an inch, you only lower the vehicle a 1/4" or so. Not enough to notice.

Same thing can be accomplished even more simply if you're can weld. Simply fill in the existing holes, re-drill new ones, and away you go.

In most cases I've seen so far, the existing holes are fine and just hold the spring farther up into the pocket. But there are also cases where the original holes are wallowed out from decades of use and rust, and allow the spring to sit up higher into the pocket even than stock.
But the bottom line is that double-wrap leaf is going to be close no matter what, so lowering the bolt is a great fix.

Paul