Snapping sound in front end when weight shifts

My 2015 that I only just bought in February is making a nasty sound up front. I'm going to call tomorrow and make a service appointment as it's still under warranty, but figured I'd see if anyone here has had a similar experience.

Basically what happens is when I approach a hill at an angle or really any situation where a lot of weight is distributed to one side or the other up front, I hear a metal snapping sound as if either something is broken and shifting or something is just maybe loose and shifting. The problem is getting worse and more and more predictable. I first noticed it when pulling into my GF's driveway which is a hard right turn off a hill on the road. Due to the terrain for a moment much of the front end's weight is probably distributed to one wheel; I hear it all the time now on this turn. But I have heard it while moving straight too, It's not only with turns.

I got down under there tonight with a flashlight when I had time. I didn't see anything obvious giving a quick look, but I did notice that it looks like oil may be very slowly leaking from the front diff at the driver's side front axle. Couldn't tell if it might be oil from when they filled it, but I don't think it is. Don't know if this two things are related or not.

I've seen the snapping sound is a semi common problem, but I see a variety of answers and haven't noticed anyone mentioning the weight distribution as the trigger.

ETA: I should also mention that I don't off road typically. The truck is stock and I drive it pretty easy.

 

Sounds like LCA bushings to me. Mine does the same thing when shifting weight. The oil leak is concerning though, definitely a good idea to get that checked out under warranty.

 

When you here the noise is your steering wheel locked one way or the other? ( all the way turned one side or the other).

 

Nope, not necessarily locked. And for example tonight I was headed down a hill in a lawn at an angle. When I reached the flat part at the bottom, most all of the front end weight was momentarily transferred to the right wheel, I heard the sound loud and clear twice. At that time I had the wheels straight.

 

Hmmm.

 

When I first saw the oil I thought maybe I spilled a little down there the last time I did an engine oil/filter change. But I checked by the fill hole and the filter, I clearly spilled nothing from either location. I would try wiping all the oil off and see if it shows up again. A friend considered it could be from when they filled the differential at the factory. I'll maybe take a look at that tomorrow and see if that would make sense based on where the oil is. But that snapping sound has me concerned enough to make a service call anyway.

Did you look into a solution to the snapping problem? It's definitely getting worse so it's not something I want to push too much longer.

Thanks

 

I noticed this noise too, but it seems a lot more sporadic than you're experiencing. Its just kind of random. I feel like if i went to the dealer, it would be hard for them to pinpoint the problem. I just got the truck friday too.

 

If you just got the truck and you're noticing it sporadically now, keep an eye/ear out for it. I didn't notice it at all when I bought mine in February. It's gotten progressively worse and more common.

 

this sounds very similiar to the issue that I had with my 2013 4X4... see the post below.... good luck with this and I hope you have better luck than I did... after A LOT of work at the stealership they sent it to a body shop who "tightened a bunch of things underneath that needed to be tighter than they were..." the noise mysteriously went away.... they could never tell me exactly what fixed the problem... it should be interesting to see whether or not the noise comes back with the next front end alignment...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/front-end-noise.367723/

 

Had a similar issue in my 2014 last year. However my noise happened when I hit something at an angle with my wheels turned either to the right or the left. Turned out to be the steering stops. Dealer threw a little grease on them and it helped for a short while but then came back. Since I knew what it was I didn't worry about it and eventually everything got quiet. Nothing broke, I guess it's just all worn in now. Just throwing this out there. You said your issue happens going straight too, so something else may be loose down there.

 

Well, when this first started happening it was when the wheels were turned hard usually. But I have without a doubt heard it now when the wheels were straight, so I don't think it's the stops.

 

I have the same sound when I have the wheel turned hard right and I hit a bump that compresses the suspension. I think it is my UCA bushing that is failing on the left side

 

The noise you experienced from the steering stops is common when turning the wheel completely and going over a bump. There's nothing wrong, it's just 2 big pieces of metal rubbing on each other preventing you from steering any further. There is no 'fix' to get rid of the noise for this. The only thing you can do is not turn the wheel to full lock and go over big bumps. Otherwise it will make a grind noise. You can throw grease on there, but that will only last a few times before the noise returns.

Older toyota trucks use to come with a plastic cover over the steering stops to prevent the noise, but as you can imagine the plastic doesn't last long between metal. They would wear down quickly and the pursuing noise would occur. It sounds terrible, but it just means the steering stops are doing their job.

The OP is definitely experiencing a different issue.

 

This is the steering stops making your noise.

 

These are the steering stops. If you see scrapes on them, then you know they are being put to use. They are noisy and sound terrible.

 

Agreed. My noise eventually went away though. I figured the parts making contact just wore themselves in enough for the noise to go away. All good here. I went back and re-read the OP's post and realized his issue is different than the one I had.

 

I had a similar noise, which went away when I tightened up the alignment cam bolts.

Separately I had a bad lower UCA ball joint, which made a similar noise.

AE

 

Made a service appointment and I'm taking it in in the morning. Normally I'd spend a little more time looking at it myself, but I want it fixed and it's under warranty, might as well let them look at it. Kind of worries me slightly, I don't have a lot of confidence in dealership service departments.