Another good ol' 'chirping sound' question

So, after sitting here searching for a while though all the 'chirping sound' threads both on here and throughout the internet believe it or not I haven't came across one that describes the one I've been noticing in my newly purchased 98' V6/5-speed 4WD Tacoma.

Here's the best description I can give: After cold-starting my truck, I can drive for about 5 miles when I start to notice a high-pitched chirp coming from what seems to be the general transmission area. Here's the odd part: it's happening as I'm driving in gear. When I fully depress the clutch all chirping goes away. I shift into another gear (any gear) and about 5 seconds later it's back with the same consistency. After said time driving it chirps while idling at a stop light with the clutch not depressed, but goes away when the clutch is depressed all the way. It(the chirp) does seem to be directly related to the engine speed; while driving it does change it's tone with certain actions, especially downshifting(even with rev-matching) becoming more intense.

So... Wonky description, I know. Could it be a TB/IB issue? Bushing going bad? It doesn't seem to affect the truck at all mechanically; it's just annoying to hear! Thanks for any input

 

first off if you are at a stop light with the clutch not depressed the engine cannot be running? when the clutch is depressed it is disengaged from turning with the engine flywheel.

I will assume you were trying to say the clutch was fully depressed and not engaged with the engine when it makes this noise but you seam to be saying it does it in gear with the clutch fully engaged as well so it sounds like what you describe is a slipping clutch and/or the throw out bearing making noise as well for the times it makes noise at stop lights. its very odd and unusual for both to happen together so I would look at worn fan belts as the problem.

worn belts can look brand new and still be slipping because the "v" grooves have rounded off and slip. I chased a bad a/c belt for a while and finally replaced it to solve the problem but just by looking at it you wouldn't think it was bad until you took it out and turned it over to see the grooves no longer had a sharp edge to them.

99.999% of all chirp sounds are from worn belts or bad idler pulley bearings.

if there is any "wiggle" of movement to the idler pulleys, then they are bad.

 

Sounds like the throw-out bearing. when you depress the clutch, pressure is put on the throw-out bearing causing consistent pressure, keeping it from sliding/grinding/chirping. letting the clutch out will put little to no pressure on that bearing, possibly allowing it to "scratch" metal to metal internally. that slight scratch is enough to cause a chirp. it's probably just all dried up from years of use. they're not cheap or easy to replace. so im not surprised if it hasn't been done so yet. like, ever.

 

This was my thought... Do you know a ballpark of how much I'll be looking to spend?

 

depends on if you're doing the work yourself, but that involves specialized tools your average garage mechanic/DIYer doesn't have, like a tranny jack. bearing alone costs about 82 from napa. if you can remove the tranny yourself and replace the clutch on your own with an alignment tool, that's the only the price. a clutch kit with the bearing costs 300, you're already there, if you can do it, you might as well get a new one if you know it hasn't been changed in a while. a mechanic will charge you around 300 (im just guessing i have no real clue) for the labor. so not cheap!

parts are from NAPA so cal, my local pricing. that should be a good rough price for you to consider. I personally couldn't do this alone, or even with my buddy who is a 10 year toyota tech mainly cause we don't have those specialty tools. food for thought. good luck!

 

Hey thanks allot for the info! I may check out my local Napa shop for this.

 

Lol come on keakar? Neutral....

He never said it chirps with the clutch depressed either...

 

he never mentioned testing it in neutral, only that he was stopped at a light. we are both having to fill in the blanks and "guess" as to what he is meaning because as he said himself,

only you are saying it was in neutral not him, had he described it as the clutch being "engaged" or "not engaged" it would be much easier to follow the description.

when the "average" person describes the clutch as "depressed" they mean they are pressing in the clutch pedal and the clutch is not engaged

 

That's what he said.....

Also he has a manual....a manual idiling while not in gear means neutral. I'm not filling anything in or putting words in his mouth. Its only obvious...

 

I have the same pickup as OP. 98 SR5/v6 5 speed. Throwout bearing/pilot bearing. Mine does this. I slightly depress the clutch noise goes away. Looks like clutch kit time!