Slight squealing/chirping noise while driving...

I have a 2011 4x4 tacoma and i just noticed that there is a slight squealing/chirping noise while I am driving. I notice it more when I am next to another vehicle or going at a slower speed. My OCD is driving me crazy and probably making ot louder in my head. What could be the culprit? Im thinking it could be a U joint or maybe the hub bearings....I'm no mechanic so any help would be much appreciated.

 

U joint popped into my head first. Could be multiple things. When have the u joints been greased last?

 

Im not sure to be honest. I bought the truck at 55k miles and now im at 73k. I was going to grease them tomorrow actually and see what happens

 

Good idea. Start there. It's cheap and easy. I had a shudder on acceleration. I actually just greased my joints at 49k yesterday. I bought the truck at 36k so not sure if it's ever been done. Shudder is gone..I would imagine they would have been squeaky over time. It also took a solid 7-8 pumps w/ the gun before I saw any grease purge so they are fairly dry.

 

How much did you pay for the grease and grease gun? What type of grease did you use?

 

I used valvoline. If you look in my build thread link there's a pic I believe of the grease and gun I used. My grease gun was $25 iirc. I paid $2 for the grease but I used my employee discount. It should cost more than 5-6 bucks a tube.

 

I took a look. Thanks man and keep it up with your build its looking good. Ill hit you up and let you know what happens after I grease those joints

 

Manual transmission? Does the chirping stop with any pressure applied to the clutch pedal?

If so then its your throwout bearing. Very common issue on manual trans tacos

 

I have an Auto.

 

Fan belt ???

 

Does the sound speed up or slow down with your speed? Or stay consistent? If it stays consistent I'd lean toward a fan or other kind of belt.

 

Are you referring to the timing chain? If so, I have read on this forum that the timing chain is good up to 200k miles if I'm correct

 

It goes with my speed. I notice that when im slowing down going up to a red light and there is a car next to me, it gets quieter until it stops when the truck stops.

 

Yeah then I'd think it narrows down to the driveshaft u joints or maybe something in a wheel, bearings maybe? Those usually make a whirring/grinding sound when they're going bad though, so I've read.

 

Yeah thats what i was thinking. Im going to grease the Joints tomorrow and see what comes of it. If that doesnt solve it Ill go to the wheel bearings next.

 

So I greased all the U joints and there is still that sound. Almost like a whishing/chirp noise but unnoticeable to anyone accept me. Maybe it could be the timing chain or even a pulley or the wheel bearings like mentioned before. I have no idea at this point, I'm no mechanic so I might have to take it into the shop unless you guys have any other ways to check for problems and solutions.

 

Betting on rear wheel bearing. Mine is currently at the dealer for replacement, failed just short of 70k miles and made the sounds you describe. No one else could hear it, thankfully service guy did as well.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkpjOafrU1Q

Does it sound like this? Your symptoms describe this perfectly. I never actually got it diagnosed (traded the truck in) but I'm 99% sure it was the carrier bearing. I also greased the U joints and it didn't go away. It happened the second time I went off roading and got stuck in a dirty water/mud hole. My guess was that some sand got in between the CB and the axle, and that's what was making the noise.

 

Mine isnt even close to being that loud but it sounds like the same thing but at the beginning stages.

 

Well I guess its time for me to take it in. Did they give you a quote w/ labor and parts on how much the fix would be?