i hear noises after i lifted 2.5 inches..

[Skindiggers]

Hi.. I have a Tb ltz 2003 . I lifted the front 2.5 inches and the rear 2 inches by adding spacers at the springs and now i hear some noises when i accelerate on straight line and also when i'm driving on a bad street . Can it be from the front axles ? Do they have a too short angle ? Or from the sway bar links ?
Thanks...

[The Roadie]

Adding lift alone wouldn't cause good suspension parts to clunk. But anti-sway bar and links go bad. Have you ever replaced them? The strut upper nut sometimes doesn't get fully tightened when you're putting the struts back together if you didn't have the spring compressed enough when you added the spacer. Rear spacers can clunk if the rubber isolator deteriorates. You might have loose shock mount bolts in the rear.

Can you pull up on the front or bounce it around and try to localize the noise while you're not driving?

[Skindiggers]

I replaced the sway bar links about 2 years ago , but they were not making any noise before lifting the car . I'm afraid that the noise is coming from the axle because i can see that the angle is different now ! Is this possible ?
I made the spacers and i didn't open the spring i just put them on top of it and i just made those 2 screws that tight it to the body longer , so my front suspension is like original ! I will make some photo tomorrow . I don't know if you can understand my English...

[Trail X]

It all depends on how you designed your front lift blocks.

Please post pictures, you could be overextending your suspension.

[bartonmd]

I replaced the sway bar links about 2 years ago , but they were not making any noise before lifting the car . I'm afraid that the noise is coming from the axle because i can see that the angle is different now ! Is this possible ?
I made the spacers and i didn't open the spring i just put them on top of it and i just made those 2 screws that tight it to the body longer , so my front suspension is like original ! I will make some photo tomorrow . I don't know if you can understand my English...

Wait... you made OUTSIDE spacers? The other question is, how tall are the spacers? If you made the spacers 2.5", you lifted the suspension 3.75", which will put the upper ball joint in a bind on acceleration, and possibly cause it to come apart on you...

Mike

[Trail X]

Ah, I didn't see his edit.

Yeah, that's not sounding good - I'm guessing CV tripod joints are binding.

Vali, lift your front end off the ground by the frame and see if you can spin the front tires, I bet you can't.

[fishsticks]

Ah, I didn't see his edit.

Yeah, that's not sounding good - I'm guessing CV tripod joints are binding.

Vali, lift your front end off the ground by the frame and see if you can spin the front tires, I bet you can't.

Retool your spacers to fit inside the spring assembly and you'll be in much better shape.

[Skindiggers]

Guys you are right.. when i lift the car off the ground i can turn the right wheel but the left one i can only turn it half a turn . What should i do now ? I like the height of the car ... If i reverse the upper arm from left to right will this help ??Today i realized that the noise is coming also while driving over small bumps but is much louder when i'm accelerating and even more when i'm ascending and accelerating !
More than this today i noticed that is leaking fluid from the front diff were the axle is coming out ,on the driver side . I don't even know how is that part called in English . If someone can help me with that ...
Thank you guys very much 4 all the help ...

[Me007gold]

Take that spacer out ASAP. Thats the cause of all your problems. If you like the height, use a smaller spcar and put it inside the spring assembly

[Skindiggers]

If i will do that , the car will be lower in the front and i don't want that ..

[Trail X]

Vali, the way you have your lift setup currently is unsafe.

The setup is allowing your suspension to move too far downward, which is making your CV shafts lock up. Your engine is strong enough to overcome that lockup, and is eventually going to ruin your front differential or CV shaft because your lift is allowing the front tripod joints to lock up. It is also putting too much pressure on the upper ball joints, and those could eventually break off. The effects of that are disastrous.

If you flip the upper arms, it will only make your case worse for the tripod joint. Currently the upper ball joints are what is keeping your CV shafts from binding up entirely. If you reversed the upper arms, the limiting element would no longer be the ball joint, and your binding problems would get worse.

You need to redesign your lift.

Most of the lift needs to come between the spring and the upper shock mount. A small amount can be added above the shock mount.

Below is a picture showing how the lift SHOULD be done. As you can see, there is a block between the shock mounting plate, and the spring. Then there is a separate spacer above the shock mounting plate that is much shorter.

To test your new design, lift the front of the vehicle off the ground entirely, and ensure the wheels can spin freely, without locking the CV joints.

[Skindiggers]

Ok .. what other solutions can we find in order to keep the same height ? And if i have to cut them how much should i cut ? I can not build the other spacer because is not so simple as mine and i have to buy it from US , witch is very difficult for me ...

[Skindiggers]

this is the car...
The tires are 265/65/17 Good Year

[Gordinho80]

BDS kit or MarkMC's kit... Also stiffer springs is an option. But that spacer looks like a death trap...

[Skindiggers]

I know that.. But unfortunately i live in Greece and is impossible to buy them here.
Let me tell you a story..
Last year the water pump broke and i asked a local dealer if they have it ... he told me that i must wait 2-3 weeks and the price is 280euro(374.5 dollars) ... hmmm 280 euro , when i saw it in internet with 20 dollars ??? Ok.. i sad f..k him i'll order it my self from US .. and i found it with 20 dollars, cool , the transport was 75 dollars.. still less than the price from here.. after 5 days the pump was here , but i had to pay another 125 euro (167 dollars) customs commissionaire and import taxes ! This taxes because the US online shops have a contract with DHL or UPS and in Greece this companies pass through customs and this are the prices ..If the parts would been sent with USPS or Fedex..there are no taxes to pay !
So in the end i payed 238 euro(318 dollars) for a water pump , but still cheaper than at the local dealer in Athens . This year i wanted to change the oil and i couldn't find in all Greece 1 oil filter.... I found it in Romania with 10 euro and i took 2 , one for next time !
I think i have the right car in the wrong Country...

[Gordinho80]

I'm sure Mark can send without as many customs. He ships from his home I believe...

[Skindiggers]

Thanks a lot ...

[fishsticks]

Mark ships USPS if I recall correctly.

[markmc]

Mark ships USPS if I recall correctly.

yup, USPS is way cheaper than any other carrier..
i have sent stuff all over the planet with no issues..

[TangoBravo]

Take that spacer out ASAP. Thats the cause of all your problems. If you like the height, use a smaller spcar and put it inside the spring assembly

That doesn't make sence, I have all of my lift coming from and outside strut spacer. I have to say that it was engineered for the TB but it gave me 3" of lift and I used blocks in the back. After roughly 20 thousand miles and about 100 hours off road I have yet to have any problem. So I don't agree that a front lift needs to come from inside the strut. Just my opinion