2002 4Runner rotationl noise

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xcmountain80

New member
Gentlemen,
I have the worst fluttery whir ca clink noise I can best describe. It is a rotational noise and ceases when the vehicle comes to a complete stop. I’ve checked the brakes on all four corners and everything is spinning fine with little resistance. I’ve felt the hubs, axles, diffs, and rims hoping to find a hotspot and the problem. I took another test drive and my mother in law pointed out it sounded like it was coming from the middle of the vehicle. I stopped and then grabbed each end of the driveshaft. The axle end was warm like everything else in normal operation, the diff case end of the drive shaft however was hot to the touch. I recently had the double cardan rebuilt about 6k ago. I’ll double check the grease but I’[m wondering about the t-case. Is there a bearing at the top end that could be worn out and causing this massive noise ? There is no leakage and the oil level in the t-case is perfect.
 
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While the potential failure of a wheel bearing lingered in the back of my mind turing the wheel hard or light while driving has no effect on the noise. I greased my u-joints and still have noise. I have manual hubs and am certain the front drive shaft is not turning and nor are the CV's.

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A friend and I were able to get the rear jacked up this morning and put the truck in gear and listen for the bird squeak. We listened and listened and determined the chirp was coming from the double cardan joint that I had replaced. As you may or may not know there is a spring and a bearing in the center of the knuckle. On my no OE but something like OE (modified cardan that uses servicable u-joints) there is also a zerk fitting or oil needle port on the center bearing/ spring thing. I'll try lubing that up and see what happens.

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I'm good to go, I removed the 4 14mm nuts on the t-case side of the rear driveshaft did the wiggle and got the shaft loose. Jammed the needle greas fitting into the center and injected the gravy. tightened everything back up and it is quiet. I also removed the dampening thing on the t-case because it wobbles and seems like it would make a hell of a noise, on my list for replacements.

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hey man im having the exact same issue on my 02 4X4, the only difference is i have an OE driveshaft. the weird thing is right now i have the drive shaft out and when i rolled it out of my garage with the driveshaft out i could still hear and feel the clunk. It was more faint than usual (most likely because it wasnt under power). Anyway since you've dabbled in the area do you have any clue what could be happening to mine??
 
USCG_ET09 said:
hey man im having the exact same issue on my 02 4X4, the only difference is i have an OE driveshaft. the weird thing is right now i have the drive shaft out and when i rolled it out of my garage with the driveshaft out i could still hear and feel the clunk. It was more faint than usual (most likely because it wasnt under power). Anyway since you've dabbled in the area do you have any clue what could be happening to mine??
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Have you fully greased yours? That is always the place to start, and solves alot of drive shaft problems.

Some handsome devil here wrote up a thread on grease: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/97006-drive-prop-shaft-greasing-guide.html

Seriously though, lots of guys have come on here with clunks, and the vast majority of them solved it through proper greasing of the drive shaft.
 
Keeping your shaft lubed is very important :girl: It sounds stupid but a little greas goes along way. I replaced the cardan unit about 6k ago and whatever grease was there from installation it gone. When I had my 95 Pickup there was a card that would tell you the frequency at which your shafts should be greased by the conditions you drive in. It's simple PM that most of us forget about. On a side note i use an App called Road Trip to track all kinds of crap from services to rotations to fill ups. A little anal retentive but if you take care of your gear it will take care of you.

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yea actually i just replaced my driveshaft as a whole and greased all the joints but whats stumping me is with the drive shaft removed from the vehicle i can still here the noise when i put it in neutral and push it around the driveway. The noise sounds and the clunk feels like its coming from right underneath the center console which is what makes me worry its a t-case issue. Im just not very familair with drivetrain issues and diagnosing them.
 
USCG_ET09 said:
yea actually i just replaced my driveshaft as a whole and greased all the joints but whats stumping me is with the drive shaft removed from the vehicle i can still here the noise when i put it in neutral and push it around the driveway. The noise sounds and the clunk feels like its coming from right underneath the center console which is what makes me worry its a t-case issue. Im just not very familair with drivetrain issues and diagnosing them.
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Ok so the shaft is out and (both or the rear) it's still making noise?

If no shafts are hooked up then it's either the rear or the front as nothing is causing the tranny or t-case to turn.


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USCG_ET09 said:
yea actually i just replaced my driveshaft as a whole and greased all the joints but whats stumping me is with the drive shaft removed from the vehicle i can still here the noise when i put it in neutral and push it around the driveway. The noise sounds and the clunk feels like its coming from right underneath the center console which is what makes me worry its a t-case issue. Im just not very familair with drivetrain issues and diagnosing them.
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oh, so you are talking about something completely different then. I thought you meant rolling your DS around.

Have you changed the gear oil in the TC yet? Do that and note if there is any metal that comes out. I can't remember if that is a magnetic plug like the diffs are, but if you have metal shavings in the oil, then your TC is probably fubar.
 
xcmountain80 said:
Ok so the shaft is out and (both or the rear) it's still making noise?

If no shafts are hooked up then it's either the rear or the front as nothing is causing the tranny or t-case to turn.


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Oh yeah, good point. check and change the gear oil in both your diff's then and look for metal shavings. You may have some very very fine metal shavings, which is normal, but anything of visible grain size is too large.
 
yea see thats what i was worried about. I have only the rear DS removed. I assumed the front wasnt my issue since i was in 2 wheel when the problem arose so the front was inactive. I guess im left with the option like you said of changing the fluid and checking for shavings. Just hope it isnt that because getting parts in AK is impossible.
 
USCG_ET09 said:
yea see thats what i was worried about. I have only the rear DS removed. I assumed the front wasnt my issue since i was in 2 wheel when the problem arose so the front was inactive. I guess im left with the option like you said of changing the fluid and checking for shavings. Just hope it isnt that because getting parts in AK is impossible.
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