Bad Rear Diff, Clutch Pedal Assembly at 5k

Interesting day at the dealership. I brought my truck in for a noisy clutch pedal and a howl at highway speeds. I test drove the vehicle with a technician and duplicated the discrepancies. Surprisingly, they are changing the clutch assembly including the master cylinder and the rear differential. With only 5k on the truck hopefully, this is the last of its issues. Anyone else had a rear differential replaced this soon?

 

I had the gasket replaced on mine and I think it's possibly weeping again. Doesn't concern me though at this time. There have been other members that have had their rear diffs replaced and turns out the noise is completely harmless according to Toyota.

 

I wonder if yours was undefiled. Mine was by over 25%. It is also weeping/sweating in few places. I showed it to my friend who used to be a master mechanic at Toyota (now owns his shop), he said it was nothing to worry about. I may re-torque the bolts at some point. Have them check the fluid in the front differential too, mine was 30% low from the factory.

 

I have read that usually the howling noise is considered normal or harmless. However, if it normal or harmless I question why there has not been a resolution implemented to stop the noise from occurring. Regardless of its flaws, I am still happy with my truck. Is there such thing as a perfect 3rd gen Tacoma out there ?

 

Thanks for the heads up. I will have them check the front diff as well .

 

Its a harmonic resonance, they do have a TSB for it.

 

Both common problems that will likely reoccur by installing the same parts.
I use a tube of white lithium grease on the clutch spring pivot points and rod pivot every so often, and silicone grease on the master cylinder rubber boot. Keeps the clutch super smooth and quiet. I'm planning to do this every oil change from now on.

 

Yeah no shit.

Specifically - what was wrong with the clutch? Just noisy when actuating the pedal?

 

White Lithium and silicone greases will usually melt away and the noise will return, try using High Temperature Disc Brake Grease instead.

 

Not to rain on your parade but the diffs don't start making noise until after a few hundred to a few thousand miles. It's a normal, albeit annoying noise. Nothing to be concerned with from a driving/longevity/safety point of view, just a quirk of these trucks. It will likely reemerge at some point down the line, so don't be too alarmed.

 

Because if Toyota has deemed it "normal/harmless" then it doesn't make much business sense to spend millions of dollars on a redesign that might annoy a small fraction of owners. All of these trucks in stock form have the noise, just that some people are more aware of it/annoyed by it than others. If I hadn't of joined this forum, I probably would have never noticed it.

The only reason I believe Toyota here is because a faulty diff that could fail early would be massive liability for them. We would have also seen many cases of seized diffs/rollovers/accidents by now given that these diffs have been howling since 2015 and some people have well over 150k miles on their 3rd gens.