Front end noise

They have replaced everything in my front end from the transfer case forward and still no fix... drive shaft, both drivers and passengers side axles, differential... everything from transfer case forward (except transfer case)... my left front had a lot of play in it too and it's all tightened up with the new different and axle and no help... they admitted the play wasn't normal that's why they replaced it all...

 

Does the noise go away when in 4 wheel drive? Drive it in some grass for slippage and listen for said noise.

 

Yes the noise goes away in 4x4.


My dealer sent a video
Of my axle play to toyota engineering. I doubt that's the cause in the case of my noise but like the OP that's all they can come up with.

Another taco in the shop
Also had play. It's a known issue.

 

Any update from the OP?

 

???

 

See that is why I never took mine in. Don't need a bunch of new parts with no fix.
I tore my front end apart to install icons, upper arms, bump stops and alignment. Nothing loose or suspect.
I should have installed the east coast gear supply clamshell bushing when I had it apart but I ran out of time (11 month old at home with me). I can't believe the amount of loose play in the CV on a brand new truck. But I do suspect the noise is somewhere in that front axle.

 

I hear ya. That's definitely where the noise is. And if that's the case, a new diff will produce the same result.

This process will probably result In me doing that bushing.

 

Sorry for the lack of response guys... I've been out of town for a week... the truck is still in the shop... they have replaced all of the front driveline components to date... driveshaft, differential and both axles... the play (or slack) in the front axle is now gone and the noise is still there... I stopped in before going out of town to get a few things out of the truck and they still have it on the rack with the front end in pieces... I requested that they stop experimenting and get Toyota corporate involved ASAP... tomorrow marks the one month date... I know that there are some on here that think I am crazy for going through all of this and feel like I should just keep driving it... but without knowing where the noise is coming from there is no way to ensure its not a safety issue... I not only drive the truck myself but so does my wife and son and until they can tell me where the issue is I'm not going to risk our safety any more... much like the service department, all of us on here are only guessing at what the cause is and none of us know for sure... everyone has guessed the drive train but mine has all been replaced and that's not it... it's obvious there is an issue but it's not one that they can figure out... I really do hate to go through it all because I love the truck and will continue to buy the Toyota brand... because like I've said before this is our 13th in 20 years and the only one I've had problems with.... I don't think it's a common problem because there are 4 Tacomas and 3 4runners on my block and mine is the only one that does it... I'll keep you all posted with any updates..

 

I hope the last post didn't come off as a shitty response to any of you... it wasn't meant to be... I do appreciate the comments and things from you all and I know you're all trying to help... I'm just extremely extremely frustrated...

 

UPDATE!!!!! The truck has now been sent to the body shop... LOL the service department don't know where or what to look for now so they just decided to send it to the body shop... This is crazy...

 

spoke to the body shop folks today... they apparently are of the opinion that the noise is NOT drive train related and that it is something in the frame/suspension areas... not sure why they are thinking that as they do not have any reasoning behind that opinion other than they have replaced everything else...

 

Wow. Keep us posted.

 

I've gotta hear the end to this saga... Hope you do OK...OP..

 

I've got a ton of great info off of TW but never really felt like I've had much to contribute, until now. My 15 DCSB 4x4 had a front end noise that sounds very similar to what the OP describes. I came across this thread looking for solutions. I ended up taking it in to the dealer last Thursday. They had my truck for 6 hours but eventually found the cause. The transmission crossmember was making contact with the frame. When making turns over a bump the cross member would flex and the right side made contact with the frame resulting in a popping sound. They adjusted the crossmember to clear the frame and i have not heard the noise since.

You can see in this picture, the bolts were loosened and the cross member was biased to the left to clear the right side. I don't think I'm a big fan of this fix due to the exposed metal now on the frame as well as the fact that I have concerns about why a truck with 5000 miles would need such an adjustment. I was in a hurry to get my truck back from the dealer, had to get to work, so didn't have time to ask to many questions but I will be letting them know my concerns.

Not sure if any of you in this thread my have the same problem, but i figured I'd throw it out there.

 

Whoa. Can you provide a little more detail on where the thing was making contact??

 

Rich!!!! Thanks for the input!!! I'm gonna take this to the body shop first thing in the morning and have them take a look at it... I will let you know what is discovered...

 

Please let us know.

Rich
When you speak with your dealer can you advise as to what exactly was found.


I see no signs of contact on mine but I'm thinking this could be my issue.

 

OK.... I took Rich's post to the body shop yesterday to let them see what was found on his... they told me that they had worked on the truck and thought they had fixed it but wanted to keep the truck a couple of more days to drive it and make sure.. according to them they DID NOT make any adjustment to any cross members but did "tighten a few things that needed tightend"... when I asked what all was tightened he replied "I'll just say that there were several things that were tight but not tight enough. Kinda like you can tighten a bolt with a small wrench but you can't get enough leverage with the small wrench to get it as tight as it needs to be."... Does anybody else only have more questions with his very vague but curious answer??? Yea so did I.... So I have contacted the dealership GM (since the dealership sent it to this body shop) wanting a list of specific connections that were tightened.... I will say this about the body shop... They have worked on a number of vehicles of mine and family members over the years and they do a tremendous job... very top notch shop... so I trust what he is saying and the work they do... but I also can read enough into what he said to know that the stuff he found should NOT have been as loose as they were and that he feels it could have been something fairly significant based on his reaction... that is the long story but in short hopefully they have found the issue with mine and I will get it back soon... I will keep you posted with anything new...

 

PICKING THE TRUCK UP IN 15 MINUTES!!! THEY THINK IT'S FIXED... LET'S HOPE!!!

 

What was it?