Rumble on Front right when decelerating

I have a 95 Tacoma with 4wd, whenever I am doing 60 or more and let off the throttle, the right front of the truck starts shaking and rumbling. it stops at about 55. Ive tried it in both 4th and 5th gear as well as in neutral and it still happens, doesnt Matter if I’m coasting or braking it still happens, I have 245/75 R17 121 Goodyear Wranglers so the wheels and tires are oversized for the truck but there is no rubbing unless the wheel is turned all the way to lock, I figured since they are A/T tires they would ride a bit more rough, but I figure it would happen on both sides front and back. I thought it might be a wheel bearing going out but there is very minimal play in the wheel and tire when I had it jacked up. Not really sure what it is and I would like to know before I go start spending a lot on parts. Hopefully someone can help and if anyone has any questions about the truck I’d be happy to answer them.

 

You shouldn't really have any play at all in the wheel, so if you were able to detect play, you need to determine what was allowing that play and address that. You'll want to be checking upper and lower ball joints, upper and lower control arm bushings (if it's not the wheel bearing, this would be my bet), alignment cams, outer and inner tie rods, and wheel bearings.

I will say that I noticed no notable play in my front wheel bearings, but did have a persistent squeak per rotation. After doing all the other stuff, the wheel bearings were all that remained original. A very well regarded toyota shop here told me the squeak was coming from the rear, so I did those bearings first- They were wrong. The point is, it's hard to diagnose bad front wheel bearings unless they are very bad and allow a lot of movement.

 

Yep any play is bad... are you moving the whole hub (which would indicate UBJ/LBJ or bushings) or is the hub not moving/moving less (indicating a wheel-bearing)?

 

Double check your lug nuts are tight. Happened to me once upon a time

 

Im moving it with the wheel and tire still on the hub, should I take the wheel and tire off to check for any play?

 

I can say the lugs are tight, Ive put about 500 miles on the truck since I last did some work to it and torqued the lugs to the Toyota spec of 83 ft lbs, and about every 150 miles or so I checked torque on them and none of them have loosened up at all. So im pretty sure that the lugs are not an issue.

 

Sorry, wasn't clear. No, leave the tire/rim on the hub.

Raise the truck so the RF wheel is off the ground. Grasp the tire at the 3.00 - 9.00 position and pull outward/push inward, then push with one hand, pull with the other. Repeat at the 12.00 - 6.00 position. If you detect any movement/play get a helper to repeat the process while you watch from behind. If you see the hub moving, then other suspension components are likely the culprit. If the hub doesn't move or moves less than the tire, than it's likely the wheel bearing. In other words, if the wheel bearing is good, it will transmit the movement to the faulty component; if it's bad, it will absorb the movement.

This is NOT a certainty, but it's generally a good indicator. Also, worn bushings or ball-joints do NOT rule out worn wheel bearings. You could easily have several components which are starting to wear contributing to the problem.

 

Alright, I'll check and see, I dont have a jack and stands right now so I'll probably check on it later. The truck has a little more than 260k miles on it, so what in your opinion what do you think is more likely the problem? I know that first gen are notorious for having Lower ball joint failures, and I dont think that it was ever taken into a Toyota dealer to have the recall addressed, but with 260k miles on it, it could be like you said where there are multiple components going out.

 

The lower ball joint recall was limited to certain years (around 2001). It was more to do with a manufacturing defect than the general vulnerability of the LBJ. That being said, at 260k, regardless of the recall you probably should have replaced those around 3-4 times by now. So if you're still rolling on your original lower ball joints, they are extremely overdue.

 

I’ve only put About 650 miles on the truck since I’ve bought it but I would assume that they would have been replaced at least once but I could be wrong. As for the lower ball joint issue I think it was the majority of 1st gens, a guy I watch on YouTube, Bern Romulus, has a 97 and his had ball joint issues that I believe were covered under the recall and multiple people have submitted claims of ball joints snapping. I dont really know the service history of the truck that much, only one recorded time of it being serviced by Toyota and that was in 2007 at 160k, nothing serviced for any suspension components. I’ll check and see and hopefully can figure it out. Thanks everybody!

 

TW universally advises: if you don't know when they were changed last, or what brand part was used, to change them out ASAP with OEM ball joints.

Here are the results of ignoring them:
I take my truck to the same garage for repair, but my front end seems to get worse.

We probably see one or two threads about failed LBJs a month. It's a lot cheaper to replace them while they are still in one piece. Otherwise, you're replacing a lot of other things (if you're lucky enough to be going slow while it happens).

 

Is there any way to tell by just looking at it that it may fail? Or is it just one of those things that you cant really tell and should just replace it.

 

Without knowing the history of the truck, how it was used what was replaced... impossible to say.

 

Update- Jacked it up yesterday, there is some play left and right but that feels more like the wheels trying to turn, no play at the 12 and 6. Rotated the tires and the rumble is About 1/2 as bad as it used to be. I’m gonna put another Set of wheels and tires that are about the same size as stock on to see if it for sure is a tire issue. That being said I’m hoping to get a 2.5” lift and new leafs so if I do get that I will probably replace the ball joints.

 

mmm I guess the bold above didn't sink in.

maybe this will help:


If you don't know when the lower ball joints were changed last, or if quality parts were used, you should change them ASAP. Not in a little while when you're lifting your truck or doing other work.

 

Its been a while but I figured out the actual problem and fixed it, turns out it was the carrier bearing and I replaced it and the rumble is almost entirely gone. My guess is the little bit that is still left is because of the oversized A/T tires on it right now.