OFFICIAL 2nd gen 4x4 front differential bearing vibration thread

So Brett, was your truck still drivable? If it really was "exploded" then it would be the first one that actually "failed."

 

my truck had it at 1.75, i installed a diff drop kit and it went away, so......... diff drop bash all you want but it fixed mine

 

That means yours if very, very mild. The slight angle change of axle going into the diff due to the diff drop took enough vertical pressure off the bearing so you don't hear it (essentially, the axle is not pressing as hard against the bearing). Eventually, you probably will hear it even with the diff drop (I bet you'll hear it after another 20K-40K miles). I've said all along that the diff drop does help with it. If it had been worse and you installed it, the noise would have been lessened (I've tested this out many times back when I had the problem...both times).

 

Yes the truck was still drivable. the tech said it exploaded, but I waven't yet seen the parts that there going to save for me. What do you mean by actually "Failed"? The dealer told me the parts were 3 days away so i figure i'll get the rig back next week sometime. thanks again.

Brett

 

By "failed" I meant having it come apart inside which would then have the axle riding on no bearing...and needle rollers all loose inside the front diff. If it was drivable, it probably wasn't as bad as he made it sound. Hopefully you'll get a good look at the bearing.

 

if this noise comes back again i'll probably sell my truck and never buy a tacoma again, complete bullshit that anyone should have to deal with such an issue and i wont, love my truck, dont love tearing into the front diff at 100k

 

Hi TW, I'm still waiting on the dealership for updated information, they said the parts were 3 days away and that was 2 days ago.I told them to keep all the old parts and i hope they do, i guess i'll have to wait and see. I only drove the pickup 2 mile's to the shop after this happened. Do you think it still could have had exploaded like the tech said and just had the axle riding on the race? or? Noise was pretty $hitty but i'm anal too. I bought this truck because of my expanding family (wife pregenat) expecting in Feburary. And to be able to go on 4wd trips, camping, offroading, 4 doors, e locker etc etc. I was unaware of this serious problem when i bought this truck. I hope something (Toyota) will be resolved and i (we) can have years of maintence free issues with the trucks we love the trucks we call our TACOMA's. Great trucks!

P.S. My rental vehicle is a 2010 dodge 4 door Dakota 2wd V6! Crap compared to our trucks! Moose do you go to Yosemite alot? Off of 120 right?

Brett

 

05 DCLB - 1.5" up front, 1" in the rear, Diff drop, Carrier bearing. 600kms later... still noise that disappears in 4H but returns in 2H?? Took out the front and diff drop today. Noise gone. WTF. I'm not going to mess with shims etc.

 

Good to know that not putting a diff drop on is better for the front diff. Anyhow, your bearing is still tore up even though you remedied the prob. Shims n carrier bearing drop won't affect your front bearing noise.

 

Don't go to Yosemite too often...it's a good 5 hour drive from here.

I think you missed what he said. While he removed the diff drop, he also removed the lift. Removing the lift is what eliminated the vibe. A diff drop will lessen it, but if it's bad enough it won't eliminate it.

I removed my diff drop yesterday since I replaced the bearing. Still silent.

 

I did miss that.

 

I am going to see the toyota turds now to pick up my truck. they installed a new diff for the second time. unfortunately, the mechanic who did the work has left for the day. I will see if they will let me inspect the old diff while i am there. I had the factory rep call me when he was driving it to discuss the issue. he tried blaming it on the front leveling kit i have installed. then he tried the tires. then some b/s about the diff oil, which is original, haha. anyway, they said they would replace it again in good faith, but if it comes back again, they would probably not. F150 with ecoboost sounds good right about now.

 

I have a 2010 DBLC and recently lifted it via Eibach/5100 @.85 and the first drive after lifting the vibration was very apparent. I kind of thought it was my 305's but from the looks of it I think I may have the same issue. Kinda sucks that I didn't see this thread before buying it. I may have chose something else. With so many lifted Tacoma's out there I'm surprised there isn't more complaints though.

 

It doesn't happen to all tacomas for some reason. Only a lucky few get the issue with the front diff vibe. Even with toyota replacing the diffs, it only fixes the problem for a few months. Your best be, along with everyone else with this issue, is to replace the bearings yourself. If only toyota would be smart enough to do this then there may not be the recurring problem. If everyone took the time to call the customer line and complain then something might be done about this. Here is some info
http://www.toyota.com/help/contactus.html
Feel free to voice your opinions on this issue to these folks, and I imagine a strongly worded letter from a numerous amount of people would get there attention.

 

After doing some more searching I feel the diff drop I installed may be the culprit too. Doesn't seem to help the 05+ models so much. I didn't have any vibes before the lift. I installed everything at the same time so hopefully taking off the DD helps.

 

Actually, expect the vibration to be a little worse without it. The ONLY true solution is to replace the bearing and cv axle at the same time. Whether it comes back or not, we'll see. For some it did, others it didn't. I've got 6K miles on the new bearing/axle and so far it's completely quiet.

 

I have a howling noise at 60-65 mph and I think this is what the problem is. I only have 19xxx miles on it but it is lifted so I'm going to a reputable dealership to have it looked at

 

My truck is now doing this.....just about to hit 100,000k and it has a vib from the front axle. So what is the cost to replace axle and diff bearing? Is mostly the drivers side bearing that goes out?