Creaking or cracking noise coming from the lower front end - Solved

Hey everyone,

I recently got the Westcott Designs lift kit on my 2020 Tundra TRD Pro and it was great for a couple of weeks, but now I'm hearing a lot of creating coming from the front end. Only happens when I'm driving under 10-15 mph, pretty loud.

I'm calling the shop tomorrow where I got it installed and see if they could take a look at it, but wanted to see if anyone here has installed the Westcott kit on their Fox suspension and ran into a similar issue.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Can you tell which side?

 

It was hard to tell, it only happens when it’s moving and it sounds like it’s coming almost from the middle below the skid plate, but that wouldn’t make sense?

 

Here's a tough one that kicked my butt. Its worth a look. When removing the pivot bolt from the passenger side upper, I broke a plastic harness that is held in place by a hole in the body. The plastic harness clip was rubbing against the body and making a loud God awful squeak at low speeds. If you find that broken, wrap a cloth around it and go for a drive.

 

Solved!

It turns out IT WAS the skid plate...

Took it to Toyota for some scheduled maintenance and they didn't torque it correctly. They also stripped one of the bolt threads...

While searching online for the torque specs for the skid plate, I came across this article that solidified my hunch:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10181744-9999.pdf

For future folks who run into a similar issue, here are the torque specs and a handy diagram.

A --> 5mm hex --> 18 ft-lb
B --> 12mm socket --> 21 ft-lb
C --> 5mm hex --> 21 ft-lb
D --> 15mm socket --> 38 ft-lb
E --> 17mm socket --> 43 ft-lb