My Front End Growling/Noise Experience.....

hopefully i get a call with good news. been waiting

 

i just rotated my tires and my floor vibes went away

not that i was complaining about them.

 

in your case, did the vibe go away in 4hi?

 

Read the PM I just sent you, print it out, and take it with you. Before you take the tech for a drive, find a road nearby where you can do 35-40 mph and reproduce it easily yourself. Then have him drive on that stretch. The likely excuses the dealerships use (when they don't know what the problem is) is tires, lift, or wheel bearing. But none of those will go away in 4wd. Have the tech read the PM if he doesn't appear to figure it out himself. I hope that helps.

 

can you send it to me to?

 

I would if I could. Seems I don't have it automatically saving my sent messages. I've asked deadbolt to send it back to me and I'll just post it here. Basically, it's a summary of what to do to get the tech to "feel" the vibe and an explanation of what the problem is and why it has to be that side based on how the 4wd system engages when you flip the 4wd switch. I'd rather not retype it all, so I'll wait for it and just copy and paste it here.

 

Now my family is loaded with Toyota mechanics (mostly retired now), but anyone that knows their stuff should be able to figure it out if there's a history of the problem. What you're all dealing with are separate mechanics that haven't been trained on this problem or haven't been exposed to it personally. If you get one that's really good, then they'll be able to diagnose it themselves just from the test procedure (they'll mentally figure it out by process of elimination as to what it can only be). With that said, here is what I sent deadbolt:

You should be able to keep the speed constant on a smooth road around 35-40 mph and feel it as a pulsing vibe in the floorboard/pedals. It becomes really noticeable if you switch it to 4HI and then back again after a few seconds. Doing this a few times (leaving it in each one for maybe 5 or 10 seconds before switching it back again) really highlights the vibe. Some say it happens more when the oil is colder and goes away when it warms up, but mine's actually just the opposite right now.

My suggestion would be to ask the tech to drive and focus on the feeling through their feet (it'll feel normal to them until you flip the 4wd switch). Get them to drive it at that speed range and then flip the switch for them while they're concentrating on the feeling. Wait a few seconds and then switch it back. That should do it.

If they feel it go away, but don't know what it is then maybe that's the time to educate them a little more on the whole situation. Might even want to print this out and take it with you.

From those that have had this problem diagnosed by multiple dealerships and through research, it's the driver's side needle bearing that the driver's CV Axle rests in. The diagnosis procedure of flipping the 4wd switch points out that it's the driver's side because the vibe will go away after the transfer case kicks in (the moment you flip the switch) and it won't matter if the front diff locks via the solenoid to lock in the passenger's front wheel. Just to restate how this system works in case that wasn't clear:

Flipping the switch does two things consecutively. The first is it engages the front driveshaft via the transfer case. This immediately begins driving the driver's front wheel. The second thing it does is trigger an electric solenoid in the front differential to lock the passenger front wheel. If you ever see the 4wd light flashing after you flip the switch, that means it's waiting for the solenoid to lock the front passenger wheel. This can take awhile if you're under load or the gears aren't meshing (sometimes you have to turn the truck for them to line up and engage). The vibe will go away even if the right front wheel hasn't locked (light is flashing). That's how the original mechanics diagnosed which side was the problem.

Hopefully, that's enough information for both you and the tech.

 

Thank you so much. I will try again.

 

i never noticed the few times i used it over this past winter

sorry

 

one of the mods erased that long ass thread we had going with the various write-ups of people changing out the bearing.. idiots...

BUt check out this thread from Jeep owners.. very close symptoms... their issue was worn out u joint.

http://www.wranglerforum.com/f5/vibration-that-goes-away-in-4-wheel-drive-22069.html

 

Damn! You're right. I even click on the link we had over on TN to it. It could also be that Krookz deleted it. Maybe he couldn't figure out how to unsubscribe and was tired of seeing it? That was one of the most valuable threads on TW for 2nd Gen owners and now it's gone...

EDIT: I just sent the link to jhodge and chris4x4 asking them about it and providing the url to the thread hoping maybe it's in a trash can somewhere. I'll post back when I hear something.

 

The mod banned krookz and in a newbie fashion, deleted every thread he started without even bothering to look at the content of the thread..

See the thread here http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/gr...happened-front-differential-clunk-thread.html

 

My request got forwarded to tcBob. He's got a copy of it and will reassemble and put it back out there. It may take him awhile though because it's 19 pages.

A big thanks to tcBob.

 

thanks tcBob.. Dunno who did the deletion, but please for future reference.. a quick sort by # of replies will show the more significant threads the user had started.. 5 mins is all one needs to analyze whether there is something worth keeping.

 

I dunno how long its been, but the owner of the dealership finally called and said they would replace my front differential.
He explained that he recently had some time with a new Terr Rep.
Said it was more of a "Good Will" replacement.
He also said that if something with the Differential went wrong again, they wouldnt replace it.
That right there tells me I need to go back to my stock suspension, as I dont want them to blame my lift if I have another problem.
Will be selling my lift after I get my suspension replaced back to stock.

 

Why was the other "clunk" thread deleted? I'm still waiting to meet with the regional rep over my diff problem. Got a quote from the shop that installed my lift for $413 to replace the bearing. I want to take it as far as I can with Toyota before paying for the work. I'm driving across the country and back in August for my wedding! So ridiculous! 32k on the truck with a professionally installed 5100 Bilstein front end at 2.75.

Side note: Fiancee and I were looking at Venzas the other night and I couldn't help but think of my experience so far.... It's my 4th Toyota truck but the company is slipping IMO.

 

sucks that the thread got deleted, but if they can put it back together that would be awesome! I"ve got the same problem, on the third tacoma I've owned, 2 lifted, one not.they all have the problem, just not all of them show it. I figure I'll try to get toyota to do it under my 100k warranty and if they wont, I guess I'll just be spending 500 bucks every 20k miles to change out the needle bearing until they have a TSB cause I'm not giving up my lift...

 

Indeed, there was a lot of valuable information in that thread. Would be a shame if it can't be resurrected. I was planning on attempting the bearing replacement later this spring or summer, and need every speck of info I can get.

 

ive came to the conclusion that dealers are useless. how could they not possibly feel the vibration?!! or how could they tell me that the axle excessive play is normal? ridiculous man.

 

Just finished my OME lift w/885s and OME shocks, w/Wheeler/s 1 1/2" AAL, on stock wheels, w/ BFG AT KOs 265/70 R16 tires. My truck, 2006 4X4 TRD Off-road, DC short bed, is 3 months out of Powertrain Warranty, with 35K miles. I had been experiencing some vibrations, not too severe, and had them worked out mostly with flipped carrier bearing and rear diff 3 degree shims, but still some vibration remained. Upon finishing my OME front lift, the vibration was quite noisy, like running mud tires, at 35mph. Post lift, I went to Toyota of the Desert, Cathedral City, Ca. (where I bought this truck new)to do the alignment, (they did it twice), and the best specs achieved were: Camber .1 degree, Toe .04 degree, and Caster .1 degree. The Caster is out of spec, as I wanted 2.1 degrees, but Toyota line mechanic foreman, said not possible due to running out of adjustment in lower control arm. At least the positive Camber corrected.

Then, on to my 2nd request about the front vibration. Thanks to 05Moose, many posts on this subject, I had checked to see if my front vibration stopped when engaging 4wheel high, and sure enough, the noise disappeared in 4 high, and then returned in switching back to 2 high. I detailed this with the dealer, and it was EXACTLY the Front Diff Driver's side bearing problem. I also requested to closely inspect the removed CV axles for any damage. The Drivers side CV axle was damaged with a lot of scoring, and it has to be replaced also. The passenger side CV Axle is fine.

Unfortunatley, my truck is just out of Warranty 3 months, at only 35K miles, and the cost is on me. $1850 for new front diff, + gear oil, other related parts +tax + labor = $2500. The good news is the dealer is paying for the new driver's side CV AXLE at $500.

I contacted Toyota Corporate Customer SVC to see if they would help defray some of my costs on this premature major component failure, but no word yet. This scenario has been a real confidence breaker for me on durability/quality of Toyota parts. I have been a Toyota customer for 27 years, with 6 Toyota vehicles, including 4- 4X4s. Never a major component failure until now....

Anyone here with vibration issues needs to first check their truck, with engaging 4wheel high to see if the vibration stops. If the vibration stops, it is positive evidence of a problem with the front differential. If that is the case, and the diff is being replaced, or just the bearing, you should also inspect the CV AXLE for any damage also, or the vibe will return, and you could have to do this job over again.

Hopefullly, Toyota will resolve this problem, issue a TSB on Tacomas, and redesign the bearing for the drivers side of the frt diff, IMHO.

Thanks to all who have posted on this subject, and nailed my problem diagnosis!

Sure hope we can get better product reliabilty in the near future. Best to all!