Vibration In Drivetrain?

Went on a 250+ mile round trip Friday. Started off no problem. Probably 50ish miles into started noticing a droning sound and getting louder all the way to my destination. I couldn't really place where it was coming from. I was prepared for the possibility of it reoccurring on the return so I was paying attention.

The return trip started off fine zero hint of any issue then the same thing but not quite as loud by the end of the trip. There was seemingly some sort of droning vibration coming from somewhere in drivetrain. It sounds like you are running big off road tires. You really hear sorta feel it at 55ish and up but it takes a while.

I just had the 10k service and weld spatter recall at 10,400 miles and I just turned 11,100 miles. The oil is overfilled maybe a quarter of an inch. I noticed there used to be a slight high pitched whining "bearing" sound from the drivetrain at highway speed that would go away when you lifted off the gas. My Ridgeline did the same.

Any insight or thoughts?

 

Sounds like typical Toyota Tacoma ownership

 

If it's a whine that changes with throttle it is likely the very normal rear diff whine/resonance.

Any constant drone is somewhere else. Does sound a bit like a wheel bearing or brake/hub issue. Jack up the truck and rotate tires by hand to try and isolate where the issue may be.

 

Yes if you lift off the gas the whine went away and I thought that was "normal".

This new issue has resonance to it. At some points you could feel it in the steering wheel and through the floor. It doesn't seem to be related to cornering or turning the steering wheel. It seems to build the you farther you travel. Didn't know if this issue could be related to the weld spatter recall since they had to replace 2 of the 8 bolts.

Also my brakes didn't seem to stop as well and had to press harder to stop after the 10k service but is OK normal now.

 

Check to see if all the nuts are tightened down .

 

UGH!
I found before I went in for the 10K service that one of my tires' lug nuts were a little more than finger tight. I hate people working on my vehicle that I don't know.

 

An update. Took vehicle back yesterday for 25k miles service and have the vibration looked at again. This time I requested to have the tech come along for the diagnostic ride. He pretty much said immediately said it a wheel bearing. Great! Then he said was it making that noise when I brought it in the last time, I said yes but not quite as loud as it is now. He was surprised that the last tech didn't notice it since he's a good tech. When we got back he had to get another tech and try to diagnose which one it was. They determined it was the right rear.

Now I have some questions for Tacoma World. Since this all came on shortly after the weld spatter recall (less than 1k miles) could this be related to the recall notice repair? The service coordinator told me they replaced 6 bolts on the recall. Honestly though the wheel bearing could be bad, I'm not sure that is the whole story. I used to have the pinion whine but that's gone now. There was someone who posted with a same symptoms and his turned out to be a driveshaft. Lastly does the diff fluid come in contact with the rear wheel bearing? If so does the rear diff fluid need to be changed? I'm still driving it waiting for the parts to be ordered and schedule for an appointment.