Front End "clunk Noise" when transitioning into driveway

Today drove 432 miles = no "clunk". Tomorrow into the mountains towards Santa Rosa I go. Driving on uneven roads. Will see what happens.

 

My first gen did this as my driveway is pretty steep. It turned out to be my skid plate. If I didn't install it with weight on the tires it popped. Also my alignment cams were not torqued properly once and caused a clunk turning, snuggled them down and it stopped. Nothing so far on my 2015.

 

New sway bar bushings cured my clunk. Was an easy job until both welded nuts sheared off inside the frame on the drivers side.

 

675 miles since fix = clunk gone

 

Had a "clunking" noise coming from the driver's side, started when the half shaft went bad at 50K, dealer replaced the half shaft on Toyota's dime. Clunking was noise still there, took it to the dealer and they are now replacing the front diff and rear springs on Toyota's dime.

 

I too have the driveway clunk. No clue what it is.

 

Fix update
My mechanic found a technical bulletin mentioning the "diffential needle bearing" issue and found it to be out of spec when he replaced it.

Two weeks ago I returned from a 1,300 mile road trip. Only heard "clunk" once on front drivers side. Lower ball joint may be some of clunk. If sound continues may replace them next as there is a tech bulletin on them also. No recall on either issue.

Back home routine driving heard it once in front couldn't distinguish which side.
G

 

I had the exact same thing on my truck....till today.

Apparently the lower control arm cam bolts on these Tacomas seize up when they get old. Basically, these cam bolts go through the steel eye of the two bushings in the lower control arms. Eventually, water and crap gets in there and they rust. This causes them to seize to the bushing sleeve. When you hit a gutter, driveway, turn into a parking spot your LCAs move a good bit and the bushing sleeve holds tight till it breaks loose making the noise. You can feel it too.

What I did was I pulled out the cam bolts one at a time and stripped the rust off with my dremel and a sanding attachment. Very quick work to get them cleaned up. If you can, it's a good idea to clean out the inside of the bushing sleeves too. Get as much of the rust and grit out as possible. Then lube up the bolt and the inside of the sleeve before reassembling. This will allow it to rotate around the bolt like Toyota originally intended.

You'll need a jack to put the truck in the air, a 12mm socket to remove the skidplate, and a 19mm socket (and breaker bar) to remove the cam bolts. That's it.

 

Subd

I've got the same shit going on.

 

Mine has been doing it since the day I brought it home new. Dealer checked it twice and said it was fine

 

Mine has been doing it since the day I brought it home new. Dealer checked it twice and said it was fine

 

I've had a clunk for several months now and finally figured it out. Initially I thought it was the sway bar so I bought relocation bars and then I thought it was my LCA bushings. After reading another post I checked the body mount bolt behind my passenger tire and sure enough it was loose. Tightened it and the sound was gone! No harm in taking a look for the guys that still can't find where it's coming from.

 

Right on! I'm gonna a have to check this in the morning.

 

Good luck!! Clunk drove me insane...lemme know how it goes

 

Same here.


Had it since last October.

 

What would cause a cab bolt to get loose? I'm curious.

 

I authored the thread that @TacoPhil linked. What was ultimately the issue your mechanic found on your truck? Leaf spring bushing?

 

Mine were "extremely loose" from factory. Toyota blamed it on the guys who sprayed the Krown.

 

Checking cab bolts is part of the regular maintenance regimen per Toyota so I assume that they could have a tendency to loosen up periodically due to vibrations, road conditions, off roading. Ect.

 

Mine happened right after I went off roading.