Hummm 05 Tacoma 4x4

Hello,

My son just and I just purchased a 2005 Tacoma last night (private party). It has 92,000. miles, 4.0/6 speed. While driving it home it sounded like the tires were very noisey even though they are not very aggresive looking (17") radials. So I jacked it up and found that the drivers front wheel was a bit tougher to rotate and there was a little growling noise. I disassembled the drivers side and it feels like the wheel bearing is bad or going bad, not very smooth. The larger issue I noticed is the diff side of the axle shaft had much more play than the same area on the pass side. I could grab the axle shaft, thick area next to the diff, and wiggle it up and down. I removed the axle shaft and the bearing in the diff feels smooth and tight, but using a large prybar gently, I can move the female diff spline up and down 1/8" or so. Is my diff bad also or a bearing in my diff?

The other two items is there is a whine from the engine like the power steering pump or AC compressor is going bad. Anything common there?

The shifter is also a bit loose and produces some resonance noise unless you hold it away from its resting area. Is there an aftermarket shifter that is popular?

Thanks,
Damon
Big Lake, MN

 

I think you are correct about the wheel bearing, some of them including mine are going at 60-70K. I also think you are right about the whining sound, either the pwr steering or a/c. I will let someone else chime in on your differential. I have not had to work on mine yet.

 

A lot of guys on here have had problems with the front diff bearings. Most say it's a poor design and usually gets noticed when the truck is lifted. You probably aren't hearing that if the truck is stock. I would leave that alone for now.

The wheel bearings are a common wear item at that mileage. There is a writeup on here about how to change them, although it sounds like you have that covered. That probably should be your first repair.

The idler and tensioner bearings for the serpentine belt are a common issue too, mostly when the truck has been off roaded. The bearings are not sealed against moisture.

6 speed shifter is sloppy. There are a couple upgrades that are popular. The URD short shifter and TRD short shifter are the most common. They both have their pros and cons. Read up on them both before you decide. I know a couple guys have had them come apart, can't remember which one, or both.

 

Hello,

Thanks for the tips. I did replace both front wheel bearings and even located a front differential from an 09 wiht very low miles. Reassembled this morning and in 2WD all is great, no more noise. 4WD.... The gearing must be different and the tires are skiding and binding in 4WL and 4WH.

The door tag says : GRN245L-CRFDKA which I thought meant 3.72 gears.

The original front differential says H25 05-04-11 A1 019 with a red dot *H250*

The new front differential says H45 08-05-16 B3 163 with a red dot and *H450*

The original and extisting rear differential reads Only LSD and C^ 051105 0014

Any decipher experts?

The original front diff has a bad bearing

Thanks,

Damon

 

It is normal for the drivers side to have more play in the cv coming out of the front diff. Drive it till it breaks or clicks...its fine.

 

You can go crawl under a 2011 or 2012 and observe the same issue with the amount of play it has. I did it myself when I was questioning that same issue.

 

Are you in 4x4 on dry pavement trying to turn when the wheels are skidding and binding?

 

Hello,

I was in 4WD on asphalt and the truck barely moved so I put it back in 2WD hi. The door jamb code says A04C which says 4;56, could that be? I took the original diff into a shop to be looked over before I put it back in...

Thanks again for all the replys.

I am now moving on to my shifter, the rubber insulator bushing between the chrome handle and metal stud is all but shot, plenty of play and noise when driving. Can this be repaired or is replacement necessary?

Thanks,

Damon

 

These are not made to be in 4WD while on pavement or asphalt or any type of dry hard road. Meant mainly for offroading, loose gravel, snow etc. Every Tacoma binds up in 4WD on pavement, its not good on them. I would say not to test 4WD unless a loose surface is below its feet

 

If I'm not mistaken its because of the LSD "Limited slip" diffs we have, they are meant to slip, not catch on dry asphalt road. So it can mess the diffs up by doing that....

 

bearing the front diff is probably fine, you have 3:73 gears unless its ran huge tires and a huge lift.

LSD = Run Amsoil gear oil with the 4 oz LSD additive

 

How can you tell I have 3:73 gears?

I drove it about 12" in 4 WD and it was binding really bad so Im sure the gears are mix matched.

The door tag code is A04, isnt that 7.5" 4:56 LSD?

It certainly feels like I have 3:73 up front and 4:56 in the rear when driving in 4WD

 

It is a 2005 Tacoma, 4.0 V6, 6 Speed, TRD, 4WD, access cab with 17" alloy wheel if that helps.

Thanks again.

Damon

 

change the fluid on both diffs, look for excessive metal shavings. if you tried the truck in 4wd on pavement, and had binding issues, then went offroad, and had continued issues. Maybe something broke while you were on the pavement.

 

Do you know what type of truck the new front diff came out of? I am not sure, but if it was a 4cyl truck that donated you the new front diff, maybe thats why there is a mix match. Looking at the numbers you posted, there is definitely something up.

 

It was a v6/auto 09 Tacoma 4wd

 

The door tag code is A04, isnt that 7.5" 4:56 LSD?

 

Im just not too stoked on the 2nd gen 6-spd when daily driving to work and back, but when it is in 4-Lo on the dirt, it redeems itself. I went from a 1st gen 97 5-spd to the 05 2nd gen 6-spd and noticed a ton of differences. Most of them bad. I also get the resonance sound when the stick is just in its resting position and am wondering when that is going to start amplifying. My truck only has 52,000 miles on it.

And the bearing thing - I noticed a little bearing growl from the front right after a good day off-roading too. Seems Toyota dropped the ball on this issue considering my older Tacoma went 260k without a single bearing issue. But I have heard of 2nd gen owners having to replace both front bearings before 60k and thats just sucks.