Low speed clunking noise?

I first noticed a front end clunking noise this morning while stuck in traffic. In first gear there is a rhythmic clunk that sounds like it happens with every rotation of the tire/axle. Almost like if I had a bit of tar stuck to the bottom of one tire (which I don't). I could feel this clunk with my foot through the gas pedal. I also noticed it a little bit when braking at low speed. Seemed most noticeable at 5-10 mph in 1st gear. I tried to replicate the noise in neutral but couldn't this morning, I'll try again later today. It was straight driving on new pavement so it wasn't bumps in the road. Seemed to go away at faster speeds. In the past I've also noticed a clunk noise that only happens when I come to a complete stop. Truck is a 2013 AC 4x4 MT 4cyl with 77k. Any ideas on what this could be?

 

wheel bearing or u joint

Clunk when stopping could be pads sticking to the pins

 

Sounds like a u-joint to me as well..

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I've read there may be a TSB about this but haven't had any luck finding it. If it's clunking now does it mean the u joints are shot? Or could greasing them help at all? Sounds like it's a pretty common Tacoma problem

 

I had rotors, pads and pins done about 2 months ago, but a dealership oil change 1-2 weeks ago. I haven't noticed it before, although I will say that any roads I drive on in RI in first gear are rarely smooth enough to be able to notice. I paid very close attention to it on the drive home today and I couldn't feel/hear the noise again. I got under the truck and tried to twist the drive shaft, but couldn't find any play in it (truck was in gear with e-brake on, not sure if that matters). I did notice that the drive shaft had some play within the carrier bearing. I'm not sure if that is normal or not, but I could move the drive shaft within the carrier bearing boot. In the picture you can see that the shaft rides a little low of center in the carrier bearing. Is that significant? Truck was new to me in December, but was dealer maintained its entire life. Not sure if they ever greased the u-joints though.

 

Id start by greasing them and seeing if there is any difference

 

Its normal for the carrier bearing to move a little bit 1/4"-1/2" but more than that is not.. the slightly riding below center has also been normal in my experience.

 

I think I have a similar noise with my 1st gen Tacoma. I changed out the driveshaft, wheel bearings and carrier bearing. Did you ever find what caused this noise?

 

There's a slip segment in the driveshaft covered by a black rubber boot - others have reported similar symptoms that were alleviated by cleaning and greasing the splines. This is not a normal maintenance item according to Toyota so it has almost certainly never been done even if all scheduled and recommended maintenance has been performed.

There's a thread around here somewhere that covers it but I can't find it, sorry.