Infamous Tacoma Rear Suspension Squeak

[tguil]

Before I take my 2005 Tacoma 4X4 to the dealership for a rear suspension squeak, what can I do pror to scheduling my appointment? I don't want to take it in more than once. I've thought about thoroughly cleaning the suspension and then lubricating all the possible components that might be causing the squeak with some type of lubricant. (Heavy duty silicone spray?) By the way, it seems to be squeaking at the front of the leaf spring -- both sides.

Knowing my dealership, they'll not pay all that much attention to any TSB's that are out there. They will try to first fix it as simply as possible.

Tom

[TacomaOffRoadGrl]

Print the TSB out and take it in with you. They can't just ignore it. If they try to...ask to speak to the manager...

[NHTundra]

I had the TSB done to my truck 10 days ago. Noticed this weekend, it sounds worse than it did before. Take it back to the dealer and ask if they did both sides. He says "Yup". Tells me that lubing the springs is part of the 5K/10K/15K service. Does any know the Lube points and what kind of lubricant is used? Looks like I'll have to take care of this myself.

[tguil]

I hosed all the crud off the rear suspension. It temporarily has stopped the squeak. I am pretty sure that it is coming from both rear shocks. The truck is driven on ten miles of gravel road every day. We recently had lots of mud -- really fine clay stuff. I'm going to give the underside of the truck a thorough pressure wash before I head to the dealer. If I take it in dirty, I'm sure that I will be told that's the reason for the squeak (and it might be). However my Hemi goes over the same roads every day and it has no suspension squeaks.

By the way, the aqueak was so bad tonight that it would sound off when I got in and out of the truck. There was almost zero suspension travel. Just by giggling the bed of the truck I could get the squeak from the shock absorber area.

Tom

[rivalred]

I had the TSB done to my truck 10 days ago. Noticed this weekend, it sounds worse than it did before. Take it back to the dealer and ask if they did both sides. He says "Yup". Tells me that lubing the springs is part of the 5K/10K/15K service. Does any know the Lube points and what kind of lubricant is used? Looks like I'll have to take care of this myself.

Not! Never had a truck where I had to lube the springs.

[TacomaOffRoadGrl]

Sounds more like it is your springs than your rear shocks...
Mine does this too BTW.

[kwalk63]

I had the same problem, it is the rear springs rubbing together, on the 06 models they have a pad between the springs to stop the noise. The fix I did on mine was to get a 26" thorn resistant bicycle innertube, cut 6-8" pieces and split in half on the thin portion so it opens flat. Jack up the back of the truck 4-6" (just enough to keep the wheels on the ground), this unloads the springs and opens the gap between them. A little super glue on the inside of the tube and slide between the ends of the springs until flush with the ends. Lower truck and let springs compress back together, makes good seal for glue. Problem cured, no more squeak, have had mine this way for about 8 months now with no problems, doesn't matter if off road, speed bumps or anything else I might drive over. About two months after I did this I saw the changes they did on the 06, bet Toyota's change cost more the the 6.99 for a TR Tube.

[TacomaOffRoadGrl]

Ha! Good tip. Spring fix on a budget. I love it! I was actually considering just "fixing" this problem myself too. Just need to get off my toosh and do it.

[tguil]

Thanks for the tip. My wife is an avid biker and I have bunches of old tubes laying around. This will be one of my first retirement projects. Going to the dealer is always a hassle that I try to avoid. I'll probably use a silicone adhesive rather than super glue.

Oh, what's a good location for the jack?

Tom

[kwalk63]

I used my hi-lift jack under the receiver hitch to take the weight off the springs. Just need to lift high enough to open the springs up, wheels don't need to be off ground, gives more stability with the hi-lift jacks that way and the vehicle doesn't roll forward or back while your working on it. (Chock blocks on the front wheels work also. ) Thx.

[cole45]

The simplest way is to cut the spring clamps at the top and use an air gun to get the grit out. The clamps removed shouldn't really be an issue, that's what the dealer did to mine before the tsb came out and it never squeaked again. It doesn't matter now because I have the Deaver 10 pack, I highly reccomend it. You can lubricate the bushings if you take the springs completely off and dismantle them, but I don't think that's what the tsb calls for.

[tguil]

Thanks for the advice. When I have more time I'm going to take the truck to the dealer, make sure they know about the TSB and let them fix it. What I do appreciate about this forum is that you are "well armed" with information when you hit the dealer's door.

One of the main reasons we bought another Tacoma is that Toyotas are high quality vehicles and the factory has stood behind its product. I just don't like making more than one trip to the dealer for a repair.

Tom

[Turtle]

Rear shocks yes! I had the TSB done and the sqeek seemed to get worse. This time the tech had a guy jump up and down in the truck bed and he said the sqeek was coming from the shocks. They replaced my Bilsteins with the stock black Toyota shock(by mistake) and the sqeek is GONE! So now the question is should I have them put Bilsteins back on the truck and hope the squeek doesn't return or stay with the Toyota shocks? Any advice????

[NLJ16]

hey im havin the same problem as you. everytime i sit down in the truck you would here it sqeak. when ever i got over a bump or something it makes the sqeaking sound. also when i mash the gas a little too hard.

[SIGNOSIS]

Ahhh.....so thats what the sound is.

I took my 07 tacoma to the dealership and they said the squeaking or hissing sound is the typical sound a "shock" makes. I personally thought that was BS. Shocks do have a "hissing" sound but isnt something you can hear while driving.

What do I need to do to get this "fixed"? My vehicles still under warranty and would like to get this annoyance out of the way.

Thanks!

EDIT:

Would this have anything to do with the "Rear Spring Harsh Ride" TSB?