Getting frustrated with this after lowering it

[white72c10]

Guys, I lowered the truck 3.5-4 in the front and 6 in the back. Used all good parts, moog ball joints and tie rod ends, ece drop spindles, springs, shock relocators and shocks and the super track bar. After it was done I had some nasty popping noises coming from the front end. Had the shop replace upper and lower a arm bushings which solved the noise problem for a month. Now the dam noise is back, seems like when the suspension flexes it gets noisy. Any suggestions on what to do next? I'm pretty sure they've replaced all of the suspension at this point.

thanks

[FRENCHBLUE72]

What about the steering items after I lowered mine the pitman arm was shot and started makeing a popping sound..

[white72c10]

Was it pretty loud popping sound? Is it easy to change? Was yours loose or how did you figure out that was the problem?

thanks

[FRENCHBLUE72]

I replaced everything and as usual its the last part you replace that stops the noise... It was all pretty easy had to use a puller to get the arm off but other than that it was simple.

[68gmsee]

......... the noises stopped after replacing the control arm bushings but resumed after a month. I wonder if the tight new bushings kept the truck from moving enough to allow it to pop. Then, after a month, it loosened up again.

Could be ball joints, tie rod ends or other component as FB72 mentioned. A ball joint or tie rod end develops a ridge from wear and if the angle is enough, it may cause a popping sound when it passes that ridge. At least that's what it sounds like to me.

I fought a nasty squeek for many months that I could not find until I got my football playing nephew (250 lbs) to jump up and down on the bumper.

I need to bring him back to jump on the back bumper. About once a month or so I get a noise from the back going over a pothole. I suspect the muffler??

[68gmsee]

reread your post and I guess all of the items were covered. So, the only thing left is to try to replicate it. If you have a big nephew or friend..

[soba_03]

if this onlt happens when the suspension is flexed, pothole or something like that might chck and see if your shocks are bottoming out. My father had a problem on his 33 plymouth. Rear shocks were not long enough and would bottom out. It may not be a problem at all but it's something to look at.

Good luck...

[hchad18]

I rebuilt the front end of my 83 and shortly after had a loud popping noise when hitting bumps, ended up one of the new ball joints was bad. Spring broke inside its housing.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Could be a few things. How did you lower the front? All spring? Drop spindles with some spring? Did you install lowering shocks?

[72BlckButy]

Give ECE a call, as they a know these trucks and should be able to help you narrow down where the issue might be occuring.

Just my $.02

EDIT

Here's their number: 888-777-0395

[67ChevyRedneck]

Reread your post, I have no idea how I missed the ECE stuff part

My bad

[Woobie]

Hey,
Did the 3.5/5 drop on mine. ECE parts, the whole bit. I replaced the upper ball joints only as it was Memorial Sunday last year and I don't have an arbor press. I got the popping noise after a bit, took it in to the shop and we discovered both lower ball joints were bad. Had them replaced, problem solved.
My 2 cents!

Paul

[cparman]

More than once, I have seen the new lower ball joints be loose in the control arm. In the past we have tack welded them in place and the noise is gone. I do believe that Moog, which is a top notch brand, also sells an oversized balljoint to correct this. If I were looking for this, I would put the truck up on a drive lift, get it up in the air, and bounce the suspension pretty good. Looking carefully at the LBJ to see if it moves in the control arm. HTH

[chevy_mike]

Originally Posted by cparman

More than once, I have seen the new lower ball joints be loose in the control arm. In the past we have tack welded them in place and the noise is gone. I do believe that Moog, which is a top notch brand, also sells an oversized balljoint to correct this. If I were looking for this, I would put the truck up on a drive lift, get it up in the air, and bounce the suspension pretty good. Looking carefully at the LBJ to see if it moves in the control arm. HTH

Yep, had this happen with a set of So Low dropped A-arms. Since they used, used parts in their build of the arms, it happened that the ones I got, the holes were worn enough that it wouldn't hold the ball joint tight enough. A couple tack welds solved that problem.

Then another problem showed up. Since these arms did not have the factory bump stops, I went through a dip too fast and over rotated the upper ball joint on the driver side. I fought for months, having new control arm bushing done and such. Ended up being one of the new upper ball joints. Replaced that and the problem when away.

Good luck but don't rule out new parts, just because they are new.

[white72c10]

Looks like I'll be doing some troubleshooting this weekend. It doesn't always make the noise so I'm hoping the ball joint isn't broken just moving around. Thanks for the help I know where to start now.

[68gmsee]

As I mentioned on my first post, if you can find a friend or relative (like I did) that's a football player or at least heavy enough to bounce the front end around, you may be able to find it.

In my case, the loud squeek was a ball joint (a suggestion from one of the guys in this forum). I always assumed it was the rubber bushings so I kept spraying silicone on the them...