Humming noise and vibrations

So i got all of my wheel bearings replaced a little over a year ago. Everything has been fine up to now. I will be driving and a loud humming noise and vibration throughout my whole cab will happen but it will only last for about 5-10 seconds at a time and it happens randomly. It will occur maybe 3 or 4 times a week. i for sure know it’s not me driving over something in the road. any ideas of what it could be. maybe alignment issues? i don’t know if it would be alignment becuase i just got alignment done about 2 years ago.

 

I'm curious whether you ever figured anything out here? Can you reproduce the vibration, or is it really completely random? Does it happen at the exact same speed every time? Did you replace all four wheel bearings, or just the front wheel bearings?

Other potential things that commonly cause a vibration in our trucks--
-Needle bearing
-Driveline (e.g. a failing universal joint, carrier bearing, and/or damaged driveshaft)
-Any chance it could just be related to tire wear?

I'm chasing something similar on my 2009. So far, had a shop tell me it was most likely front wheel bearings or needle bearing. I replaced those (ECGS bushing for needle bearing, new OE front wheel bearings), and the issue persisted. I then convinced myself that my ~2" lift has caused some excessive wear on my driveline, so I replaced the 3 u-joints in my driveshaft and replaced the carrier bearing, all with Toyota OE parts. Still have the same issue. I had checked for play in my rear wheel bearings, but couldn't detect any... but I'm now reasonably convinced that one or both of those is the culprit. I can't think of what else it could be. I replaced all suspension components and CV axles about 20k miles ago.

 

Replaced with...

What kind of bearings? OEM toyota original? If not, what exact make & model of bearing did you use?

Another thing to look into, esp. if the noise mainly happens during turns at low speeds (<15 mph) and low rpms is the driver's-side front diff needle bearings. Note, this needle-bearing issue applies to both 2nd and 3rd gens:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/needle-bearing-yes-replace-it-ecgs.716338/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...with-ecgs-bushing-shop-recommendation.788550/

 

Yeah. I figured out what it was. It is my diff support mount bushing. The rubber rotted out and nothing is holding one side of the diff up. Which makes my driveshaft move and my cv axle move. I can make it happen if i slowly accelerate up to 30-40 mph and keep my foot on the pedal in the same spot and not lift up or down. if i take my foot off the pedal it will stop and if i accelerate more it will stop. i also replaced my front and rear bearings.

 

Nice, thanks for the reply! Were you able to replace that bushing and correct the issue?

 

i just ordered a new diff mount with the bushing and a new cv axles. the cv axle on the side where the diff mount is off has grease coming out of the boot as well. once i replace it i’ll let you know if it fixes it

 

so replaced both diff mounts and it still does the vibrations. any ideas on what it could be? cv axles? i put in in 4wd and it vibrates as well

 

So it’s a vibration and not a hum? I see you did the test for the needle bearing, which I see you replaced with the ecgs bushing. Does it do it more if you sway back and forth while driving? If it’s a vibration and all bearings where replaced properly, I’d lean towards driveline.

 

Or tires

 

I had been chasing a similar vibration and just finally solved it (well, 80% better anyways) with a 3 degree axle shim. When I spoke with Headstrong Offroad before ordering the shims, they said it's sorta a guess-and-check game, and most people start with a 2.5 or 3 degree shim. I might continue chasing 100% better with other shims, but I'm super happy to finally be getting close.