Unexplained Noise - Differential?

Hey, glad you found the problem.... you will really enjoy those Michelins now, I had the same ones on mine before going to the AT2s....

 

OP, If your mechanic says it is coming from the rear. When was the last time your def fluid was changed? Your profile doesn't state much so it is hard to know. If you have a mec LSD it could be stuck due to old fluid. Mine was doing that... Chirping, humming. Changing my fluid helped mine.
Also, if you are a 4x4, ever think of removing your rear driveshaft(transmission to dif) and drive in 4wd? To rule out your carrier bearing and ujoints gone bad. It may really be noticed with the new m/s2. They are very grippy. The additional torque could have effected them.

(Odd thing is your troubleshooting early on ,left to right, in this thread described the front driver side bearing being bad not the passenger. )

 

subscribed...same problem...

 

Subscribed as well. I've had the same issue for the past few months, opposite side. The noise goes away when I cut the wheel to the left, still there in 4WD and if I coast in nuetral. I replaced the front left wheel bearing, no change. There's no slop in the U joints. I just cruised over 138k, everything drivetrain is stock. Gonna try replacing the CV axles next. It sounds like I have mudders on it at 20-35 mph.

 

Subscribed. I have the same humming noise as well. Mine is speed dependent and noise increases with speed and coasting. My truck is an 06 TRD Offroad with auto trans. I recently changed both diff and transfer case fluids. Noise still there afterwards. Tomorrow plan to check the driveshaft and U-joints. I bought the truck used with 105,000 on it. Don't believe the maintenance was kept up with by previous owner so I am replacing and upgrading as I am able to do so.

Matt

 

Have you replaced the front right wheel bearing?

 

It may be your front wheel bearings, check those out....

 

Thanks for the reply. Not yet, but I do have the assembly from the front left. I could press a new bearing onto that hub and replace the right side. What baffles me is the fact that it goes away when turning left. It also sounds like it's coming from right in front of you, whether you're in the driver or passenger seat. I'm aiming to do front brakes and CVs soon. There was a bit of "chunkiness" when I turned the front left axle with the hub removed.

 

yaaaaaa, soooooo, ummmmmmm my front right wheel bearing is so loose, I don't know how the wheel hasn't come off yet....

 

Just an update on my end...I dropped my truck off today to get some new tires and the tech informed me that I had some bad right front bearing noise. I'll be replacing it this weekend, along with some new brakes. It still seems odd that the sound goes away when I turn left, but at least I'll know what the problem isn't!

 

^ Yep, replaced both sides with pre assembled hub from a dude on here. Holy crap my right bearing was coming apart. at only 70K mi. WTF Toyota...

 

I finally got around to replacing the right front bearing, and the noise is gone! I knew the bearing was bad as soon as I had it in my hand, all kinds of chunky and loose. Truck is as quiet as it was 8 years ago when I bought it. I got the assembly from Marion Bumper Two Bumper on the forum. Best price and he packs the bearings tighter than they come from the factory.

 

Glad you found the problem and got it fixed.... mine is starting to make a little noise but both are still tight with no play in them.

 

I couldn't tell if there was any play until I had the assembly off the truck and in my hand. There was always a little bit of noise when I turned it on the truck (maybe brake pads rubbing on the rotors), but then again, it made absolutely no noise when turning left. It's kind of a shot in the dark as you won't really know until you remove it from the truck.

 

Finally resolved my noise problem. I brought the vehicle to a different NTB than my January 2014 visit. I figured I may have gotten a bad set of tires and was going to ask them to try swapping the tires out. The manager felt otherwise, because he'd never received a single complaint or problem with Michelin LTX MS/2 tires. The tech diagnosed a driver's side front wheel bearing. They didn't have time to fit me in that day, so I returned the following day. They replaced that wheel bearing, and solved the noise problem.

Note: Prior to returning to NTB the following day, I stopped into a local dealership to get their opinion. They were quite helpful in that they gave me an exploded parts diagram of the bearing, which included all the part #'s for the seals and o-rings. Unfortunately, they were also $300 more expensive than NTB so I gave the work to NTB. Prior to NTB beginning the repair, I asked to inspect their bearing kit only to see that it didn't include new front/rear seals or a new o-ring. They had planned to reuse my old parts. After I insisted, they ordered a proper kit that included all of the parts.

I'm glad my noise is now resolved, but wish the process had gone smoother, and customers shouldn't have to show them an assembly drawing w/ part numbers in order to get them to order all of the correct parts.

- Kevin

p.s.

My 2005 Tacoma has only 61K miles and has never been off-road. The NTB technician remarked that he's seen a lot of low mileage Tacomas require new wheel bearings. Something's not quite right with the original parts or how they're installing them at the factory.