Going absolutely nuts over this rattle

[07TrailyLS]

Hey guys. Got my taxes in and three weeks ago I replaced both lower control arms/brackets with Acdelco. Replaced both outer tie rods with Acdelco and replaced my endlinks with the 33 dollar moogs that come with the thick washer that bolts to the lower control arm. After installing everything the truck rides amazing. My issue is that when I hit a bump there is a nasty, and I mean NASTY Clunk coming from this front suspension. I'm pretty straightforward and knew what I was doing during the install, and I've checked any and all torque specs 4 literally 4 times over. Even the 197 lb ft Luca bracket bolts. The rest of the front end such as upper control arms and upper ball joints and stabilizer bar bushings were all replaced either last summer or the summer before. So my front end is virtually brand new. I've narrowed the clunk down to crawling under the truck and punching the back of the wheel outward and it recreates the noise. The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't install the tie rod threads correctly into the inner tie rod. Maybe someone could shed some light on it. Other than that,I'm literally at a loss for words with what could be clunking

 

[Wooluf1952]

The inner tie rods are good? If the lock nuts on the inner to outer tie-rods are tight, I would jack-up the wheel so it is just off the ground and rock the wheel back and forth at the 3 and 9 positions and see if you can hear or see any movement. You'll probably need a helper as a watcher or rocker.

 

[mrrsm]

Loose Brackets on the ASB... ?

 

[07TrailyLS]

Thanks wooluf. When I pulled the outers off I tugged on the inners and didn't feel any movement at all. I'm wondering if I loosened the inner from turning that black shaft connected to the boot.

Edit. @MRRSM what is ASB?

 

[mrrsm]

Sorry...Anti-Sway-Bar

 

[Wooluf1952]

Loose Brackets on the ASB... ?

I forgot about those. Mine seemed tight, but after installing new ASB mounting bracket bushings the noise was gone.
07trailyLS: does it sound like a metal on metal clank?

 

[Mooseman]

Even though the end link bolts are tight, check that they are tight against the bar and the bracket in the A-arms. I've had holes that were egged out and were loose in the holes. One was so bad, I had to weld a washer to the A-arm.

Pry on the sway bar up and down.

 

[gmcman]

Check your upper control arm bolts. One of mine backed out even after torqing them down.

Did you by chance loosen the strut from the top and not retighten?

 

[gmcman]

Ok, something else comes to mind....

When you removed your tie rod ends...did you rotate the part that stays in the rack? I don't know how that part is attached, but when I change mine, I take a screwdriver and release some tension on the boot clamp...just a little and spray some silicone spray around it. Then I loosen the nut against the collar/nut whatever it's called on the rack and don't rotate it anymore. Then I remove the tie rod end from the spindle and unscrew it from the rack, but not turning the female end on the rack.

I don't know if you can rotate the part on the rack extensively.

Now IIRC.....when you tighten the castle nut on the other end, aren't you supposed to torque it down, THEN tighten more to the next cotter key opening?

Not sure what your procedure was or if that's the correct procedure, but I want to say you tighten beyond the torque spec if possible.

 

[Tiggerr]

Sounds like an inner tie rod.
Did you check the LCA bushing torque? Brake bracket? Caliper? Could a hub have taken a dump on you? CV? If your 4x4...as stated above sway bar/link issues....

 

[07TrailyLS]

wooluf, it does sound metal on metal.
gmc, i did spin the female end of the inner tie rod but thats on a pivoting ball joint after further investigation. you could turn it a thousand times and it would never loosen.
tiggerr, i did check all bolts, nuts and there torque specs. the only thing i found yesterday after posting this thread is that when i installed my brakemotive shoes and rotors, i DID NOT use the metal guides that rest above and below the new pads in the caliper. i jacked the wheel and spun it around a few times and i CAN hear (clank noise) and see the pads moving up and down in the caliper seats slightly. i'm thinking this could MAYBE be what i'm hearing being metal on metal i guess.. All i can do as of now is put the brake pad guides on, and align thefront end since my steering wheel is 3 inches to the right of center.
mooseman, i did have to use a metabo and cut my old endlinks off the ASB(thanks for the definition MRRSM) so its definitely a possibility that i accidentaly honed out the holes a bit. When i hit a small hole the front end squeaks like a bushing needs greased. But when i hit a decent hole at a decent speed the whole front rattles. But theres no give. Turning and jumping lanes is super tight and there's no side to side lean ver uneven pavement. Maybe i'll investigate the ASB further. Considering the same problem is happening on BOTH sides of the truck, that could be more of a possibility than most parts. its warm out today (finally!) so im going to jack the front end up and grab a hold of the swaybar and knock it around a bit.
Thanks ALOT for the replies guys. You're all super helpful. ill post back when i figure this out.
EDIT:
As it rains outside i'm just thinking to myself. Are endlinks on the 2007s the same ize on both sides? when i bought them from rockauto I never paid any attention to the contour and heights between them. i just assumed they were the same symmetrically in all aspects.

 

[Wooluf1952]

The left and right ASB end links should be the same height.
I know they were for my '03 Envoy.

 

[Mooseman]

They are the same height, they are just angled differently for each side.

I didn't see you mention that you actually checked them for tightness on the mounts of the A-arms and the sway bar using a pry bar.

 

[07TrailyLS]

No, I did not use a pry bar. I lifted the front off the ground again this afternoon and grabbed the asb and endlinks by hand and there was no movement. A prybar probably would have been a much better tool lol. I'll give that a shot tomorrow. Hell, maybe I messed up and bolted the wrong link to the wrong side. looks correct from all the GM install pics tho. But anyway, I'll pry against the endlinks tomorrow with my prybar. Thanks moose

 

[gmcman]

I would think that loose brake pads would cause quite a rattle.

In your follow up post, you didn't mention the torque procedure for the castle nut on the tie rod end.

I can't remember off hand, but verify that you do or don't torque past the specified amount to the next cotter key opening.

 

[Sparky]

You'll need to pry them to see if there is slop.

I had to CRANK mine way down to get them to shut up.

 

[07TrailyLS]

Went out after work today. For gmcman the outer tie rod is torqued to 33 foot pounds. Its tight. I think being lowered is just not good on these new endlinks. I already have them torqued to over 114 pound foot but i could try to go passed that. Dunno if this is worth mentioning or not honestly, but when i installed the new lcas and bracket assemblies, the brackets were pre bolted to the lower assembly and i know theres a front bushing that sits in front of the main front bushing of each lca . (I really hope that makes sense to everyone.) I wonder if rockauto forgot to install that and its causing slop. The spindle was so damn heavy on my lap while i was pounding the lca and bracket assembly in with a mallet i didnt even bother to check. So onto the next day. Thanks for following guys.

 

[gmcman]

Went out after work today. For gmcman the outer tie rod is torqued to 33 foot pounds. Its tight.

Double check this, but 33 foot pounds is for 2002-2003, and 44 foot pounds is after 2003.

I already have them torqued to over 114 pound foot

I'm not sure that's a good thing for that coarse thread. May not cause a problem but curious why you torqued it that high.

 

[07TrailyLS]

Solved that damn rattle. Took the endlinks torque spec from 114 to about 118-120 foot lb. voila magic.

 

[Mooseman]

One more ft/lb and it'll probably snap, lol!

 

[gmcman]

Solved that damn rattle. Took the endlinks torque spec from 114 to about 118-120 foot lb. voila magic.

Here lies the question....

I never heard back about this, and I also haven't had time to check, but..... is the proper torque procedure for the tie rod end 44 foot pounds PLUS tightening to the next cotter key opening? If so, then this could possibly easily result in a final torque of 120 foot pounds...hard to say.

However, without knowing this, and I'm merely pointing this out on an uber-careful-overwatch situation that you have a bolt designed for 44 foot pounds of torque tightened to about 3 times that value holding your wheel straight.

Make sure the tie rod end isn't faulty in the manufacturing process and/or ensure the proper torque procedure.

Again, I admit it's a little over-dramatized but it's not a rear shock bolt, it's a tie rod end and that's a critical safety component.

Just my

 

[Sparky]

For what it is worth, I've always just tightened them down until reasonably tight, then turned to the next notch in the castle nut to put the cotter pin in. I've been doing suspension and brake work long before I had a torque wrench... Yeah, maybe not the "best" but over 200k miles of driving and haven't had something fall off, come loose, or break yet

 

[DAlastDON]

Gutund tight.

 

[07TrailyLS]

Gmcman. It sounds like your talking about the outer tie rod specs and confusing yourself or me idk. My outer is torqued to 44 foot pounds. No morr no less. Its tight and correct. My new moog endlinks are torqued at 118 foot pounds. Stock spec for my 07 is 114 pound foot. If my endlinks snap from an extra 4 pounds then they were junk to begin with

 

[DocBrown]

For what it is worth, I've always just tightened them down until reasonably tight, then turned to the next notch in the castle nut to put the cotter pin in. I've been doing suspension and brake work long before I had a torque wrench... Yeah, maybe not the "best" but over 200k miles of driving and haven't had something fall off, come loose, or break yet

Ha! I was thinking the same thing. I've been doing my own work since I was 16, over 35 years now. Not once have I torqued anything other than head bolts and the bolts for the valve body in my old TB's 4L60E. Never once had anything o south on me. I have had a clunk or two where I needed to revisit something...

 

[gmcman]

Sorry man, I had it locked in my head you were referring to your tie rod end when you mentioned "end links"

I've narrowed the clunk down to crawling under the truck and punching the back of the wheel outward and it recreates the noise. The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't install the tie rod threads correctly into the inner tie rod. Maybe someone could shed some light on it. Other than that,I'm literally at a loss for words with what could be clunking

When I read this I was thinking of your outer tie rod end, subsequent referrals to the end links and not the sway bar link had me thinking of the outer tie rod....that part is my mistake.

Went out after work today. For gmcman the outer tie rod is torqued to 33 foot pounds. Its tight.

Gmcman. It sounds like your talking about the outer tie rod specs and confusing yourself or me idk. My outer is torqued to 44 foot pounds. No morr no less. Its tight and correct.

I just wanted to be sure you had that value correct @ 44 ft. lbs.

Solved that damn rattle. Took the endlinks torque spec from 114 to about 118-120 foot lb. voila magic.

If my endlinks snap from an extra 4 pounds then they were junk to begin with

Agreed!..lol.

Again, you did mention both tie rod end and end links, I kinda bridged them into one somewhere along the line.