3rd set of front body mount bushings

I know this topic has been beaten like a bad child, however, I was able to mooch my friend's GoPro and record the front body mount bushing noise in action.

With the GoPro strapped to the power steering cooler, this is what I captured. Keep in mind, I typically will hear this noise when traveling over speed humps at speeds around 19 - 25mph.

My own personal experience shows that the OEM front body mount bushings seem to have a near 100% premature fail rate. I see a few people have replaced the front body mount bushings with the universal bushings from energy suspension. Some say they work fine, others report a squeaking noise replaced the metal on metal noise.

The first set of bushings was replaced under warranty at 7,800 miles, I installed the second set at 28,000 miles (out of warranty) and I will replace the 3rd set at about 31,000 miles. Removing and replacing the front of the truck is getting old, anyone have a personal experience with the universal energy mounts they can share with me? Good, bad or otherwise? Any help is appreciated.

The owner of the GoPro edited the video for me and in an effort to save time, he increased the play back speed of the video.

As you'll see in the video, the mounts seem to have a lot of play or movement, is that normal?

https://youtu.be/0-jFqCp6sQY

 

Best post in a long time!

 

Can't say I've had this issue at all on my 2017. I did look into it, however, when I thought I may have had it (turned out to be the driver of my LEDs not properly secured). It seemed like most people recommended the universal ones over OEM unless it was covered under warranty. There was a set off of Amazon recommended in another thread that people seemed to like.

 

I had to fight to get mine done the first time on my 2016 Sport. Dealer refused. They actually removed and greased the sway bar bushings and did not test drive. Made a new video. Sent to dealer and sent complaint and video link to corporate. Then the dealer fixed it but they would only replace the passenger side. That was around 5k miles. Luckily has been silent. Now at 25k miles. I just know at some point I will hear that junkyard squeal come back. Corporate blamed it on a robot malfunction and said it only happened to trucks on the assembly line on one day. So from what others have posted they apparently made 2016, 2017 and 2018 trucks on the line on that same day. To be sure they repaired that robot after mid December of 2015. Long story short I am selling my truck. I don't have faith in the 3rd gen Tacoma like I had in the 3 other gens of small Toyota trucks I had before. Might just go back to a 2nd Gen. This isn't just because of the bushing.

 

I’ve followed this issue but FWIW my Baja-built 2016 has almost 80K miles and no suspension/drivetrain noise or body rattles at all. Fingers crossed.

 

Now i need to check my truck, i legit just started to hear a similar noise/thunk from my front passenger side of my truck and thought it might have been some sort of suspension issue but my steering/ride hadn’t been affected and with 56k miles i thought it was pretty unlikely a suspension component had worn down that early.

 

The only anecdotal evidence I can give (from my experience with a 2012) is that there is way more movement in the body & frame than people think. The first test drive I did after installing my ARB bull bar (bolted to the frame with about 9 bolts per side) I pulled over cause I thought everything was still loose. There was that much moment between the hood and the top of the hoop visible from the drivers seat. Its noticeable enough that even some non-car people who ride in my truck will comment on it.

If you do go to the Energy bushings I would recommend that full kit that is meant for these trucks. Assuming the same P/Ns work with both 2nd and 3rd gens.. When I did the 'generic' bushings they didnt fit well and I still had noises & lateral movement of the bushings themselves.

 

I was very happy with the energy universal bushings on the front body mounts. The key is to get the black ones and not the red ones as the black ones have lubrication in the compound while the red do not. This keeps the squeaking from happening.

 

Thank you for that info. I had planned on buying the black universal bushings. Using your input, I'll order the black universal bushings.

Did the black bushings cause any misalignment on the body panels or vibrations? Looking at the pics, the universal bushings look to be thicker than the oem's.

 

So people bought 2017 and 2018 Tacoma's that were actually manufactured in December of 2015?

 

NO. I was saying that Toyota Corporate told me this was a one day issue when they built mine in December 2015. This was BS because the problems still exist in at least 2017 and 2018 trucks.

 

My 2017 TRDOR just started this nonsense at a little under 50k miles. Energy Suspension kit just arrived today and will be installed tomorrow.

OP's taco had it bad though. Thats' way too much play from body to frame.

I just get an annoying knock over speed bumps and such at very low speeds. Weeks ago I checked suspension components, lug nuts, exhaust, all over up and down and couldn't figure it out. Then a quick search on TW enlightened me.
See, even though this place has a lot of pricks and know-it-all's, and know-it-all pricks, it's still a pretty damn useful place

So yeah, I'll echo what a lot pf people have already said on TW - if you have a mystery knock up front, those front body bushings are likely the cause.

 

Drivers side stock bushing:


Passenger side wasn't much better.

Job was fairly easy though I had to pry just a little bit to line back up the drivers side.
Also my cali raised light bar was attached to frame and body. Had to do a little extra work to spread the frame from the body.

See the rust on that sleeve?
I live in Texas. No salt. That’s just shitty metal.

Energy bushings are on and no more speed bump knock. Feels more solid too while driving but that’s probably in my head.

 

I had mine checked out by the dealership during my mileage service. They greased it and said it should be fine. Still kind of makes noise but it’s better than before, but that pic makes me think i need to flat out replace mine.

 

I replaced mine with universal Energy ones. Been working great.


Old fronts:


Installed:

 

Self explanatory

 

I'm begining to think i have a similar issue. That appears to be the same type noise i hear from my 2020 tacoma when on a rough road. Great post.

 

UPDATE on bushing replacement:

So, I ordered the

$28 Energy Suspension 9.4101G UNIVERSAL MOUNT

Energy Suspension 9.4101G universal bushing kit in black. Upon receipt I noticed the top puck was larger than I expected. I did some measurements of the top portion of the OEM bushing as and the well or valley the top bushing sits in and decided 9.4101G was too much of a retro fit for me.

I then Googled a few online suspension dealers and basically, got lucky. I made contact with Stuart of Diverse Suspension Technologies 888-406-2330. I started to explained that my 2017 Tacoma front body mount bushings make one hell of a noise over speed humps and other roadway irregularities when he responded, "I know the problem."

He advised that I might want to try Energy Suspension kit 8.4109 for a gen 2 Tacoma. He further explained that he could custom order the bushings and associated parts for the front end of the truck. Basically, only purchase the portion of the kit that is needed for my fix.

I posted a copy of the parts order for anyone that might be interested. The 8.4109 front end bushings should arrive in about 2 weeks, seems they are back ordered. As soon as I remove and replace the front end bushings I will create another video and post my results.

 

why in the heck are these bushings wearing out so fast?, i've had vehicles with 150k on them and no issues? maybe a bad batch? 68k on mine and no issues so far....
i need to stay off this site because i am looking at things when you guys post this stuff...haha, drive myself crazy...

 

I would say it is much more than a bad batch. Mine went out in June 2016 on my 2016 with roughly 5,000 miles. You would think the problem would have been resolved years ago. They had the same issues in some 2nd gens too.