Constant Cyclic Squeeking

Whiplash Willy

Whiplash Willy

New member
At about 20k miles (Last Summer) I started noticing a constant cyclic squeaking noise coming from the 4runner. It is a metal on metal squeak/chirp, and seems to squeak once per wheel rotation. It sounds similar to the noise brake pad wear indicators make. It starts at about 15mph and above. It can only be heard when the windows are down, and the noise bounces off something like a wall, curb, car, tree, ect. It didn't go away when applying the brakes.

Last summer I took it in twice, first the replaced the front pads, and resurfaced the front rotors. The 2nd time they checked the rear brakes, and noted the rear parking brake shoe was bent, and making contact. They said they bent it back, but they may have just said the brake shoe was bent, so it would get covered by warranty. Neither fix solved the issue. Once the weather got cold, the noise seemed to go away.

Now that the weather is getting better, I am noticing the sound again. The difference is that now the noise does go away when I brake. I also noticed that when the noise is occurring, steering Left will make the noise speed up, and steering Right will make it slow down, or go away. Even slight steering adjustments will effect the sound.

I now have 36k miles. I have checked the pads, and they all have plenty of life left. I also jacked up the front wheels, and checked for any play, but found none.

From my searches, it sounds like it may be a bad wheel bearing, but I wouldn't think one would fail so soon, and I have only taken it off-road twice, and and both trails were very light. I also haven't done any water crossings (which shorting the life of wheel bearings).

The symptoms point to a wheel bearing, but it just doesn't seem logical one would fail so soon. Any ideas on what else I could check? Are there any other ways I could confirm it is a bad wheel bearing?

Here is a recent thread on a similar noise, but the OP never updated the thread with what the issue is.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/194659-wheel-noise.html
 
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Question, does the noise go away when you ride the brakes a little? If it does, its probably a dragging caliper. If it does not go away, I'd say it could be the bearing.

I would have suggested that a rock is stuck somewhere between the brake shield and rotor, but if they did a brake job, anything that would be lodged between it would have fallen out immediately after pulling the rotor out, so that can't be it.

Haven't pulled the front spindle off a 5th gen yet, but if its anything like my 87 truck when I had IFS, its not that hard to pull the wheel and hub off and pack it with moly grease. You'll also be able to check the bearing itself to see if there are any flat spots, as well as see just how much grease is in there.

A little trick a friend of mine would do on bearings was to pour just a little 90W gear oil in there with the grease, it would make a slurry that keeps the bearings from ever running dry. I still do this with my straight axle when I have to re-pack the housing with grease.
 
philsey said:
Why not ask him [MENTION=86710]Zufmeister[/MENTION] ?
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I have asked but I haven't heard back yet. I am also not 100% sure our issue is the same, they just seem similar.

flyinhawaiian01 said:
Question, does the noise go away when you ride the brakes a little? If it does, its probably a dragging caliper. If it does not go away, I'd say it could be the bearing.

I would have suggested that a rock is stuck somewhere between the brake shield and rotor, but if they did a brake job, anything that would be lodged between it would have fallen out immediately after pulling the rotor out, so that can't be it.

Haven't pulled the front spindle off a 5th gen yet, but if its anything like my 87 truck when I had IFS, its not that hard to pull the wheel and hub off and pack it with moly grease. You'll also be able to check the bearing itself to see if there are any flat spots, as well as see just how much grease is in there.

A little trick a friend of mine would do on bearings was to pour just a little 90W gear oil in there with the grease, it would make a slurry that keeps the bearings from ever running dry. I still do this with my straight axle when I have to re-pack the housing with grease.
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When they did the front breaks, they just used a on-vehicle lathe, so the rotors weren't pulled. I could try pulling the rotors, and make sure there are no rocks in the caliper or rotor.
 
Check that the brake pad pin retainers aren't sticking up at all. They will contact the wheels and make a metal on metal scraping noise. If you have 16 inch wheels it doesn't take much for those retainers to hit the wheels. My tacoma made the noise your describing and that's what it was, had to reach in and bend clip down and problem went away. Only really heard it backing into garage.
 
The exact same thing is happening to me! Just got new wheels/tires and thought it was gone with that, but it's still there. I have a 2010 sr5 v6. 51k miles.
And mine started right when it started to get warm as well.
 
longshot maybe, but have you checked the plastic retaining clips that secure the spray-skirts inside the front wheel wells? :confused:

they can work loose, particularly on the driver's side, and when underway the vibration into the sheet metal makes a surprising amount of racket/squeaking. mine did it and it took a lot of head-scratching to figure out the source. a few others have reported it as well.
 
Same thing happened to me - had the brakes changed/rotors serviced...nothing worked until I changed the rotors and pads to StopTech. Not a sound since...40-50K miles.
 
I have the same issue, seems to be only on the passenger side. Just noticed a few weeks ago. I did replace the rear brakes and rotors early in the spring. Going to look at it this weekend.
 
Is this a different sound than the squeal you get from brake wear indicators? Sometimes those spring steel wear indicators or springs get bent and make contact (and noise) ahead of time. I've also seen them installed backwards, on some cars, causing them to squeal when they shouldn't.
 
I've had that little annoying squeak for about 120,000 miles. It doesn't get worse, it does seem to go away when you get over about 20 mph. I've never taken it to the dealer for it, I usually get the "that's normal" answer anyway.

I always suspected that it was the brakes dragging, due to the dynamic brake system. That's just an uneducated guess though.
 
KVA said:
Same thing happened to me - had the brakes changed/rotors serviced...nothing worked until I changed the rotors and pads to StopTech. Not a sound since...40-50K miles.
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Did you also have issues with warped rotors before switching to the stop techs? Which Stoptech rotors and pads did you get, and did you do all 4?

flyrv9 said:
Is this a different sound than the squeal you get from brake wear indicators? Sometimes those spring steel wear indicators or springs get bent and make contact (and noise) ahead of time. I've also seen them installed backwards, on some cars, causing them to squeal when they shouldn't.
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The sound is similar to the break wear indicator. Last weekend, I did pull off the front wheels, and didn't see any issues with the slidpins, retainers, or pads being warn down, but I didn't go as far as to remove the caliper.

I am also having other brake issues, like slight pulsation when braking going down hill, and squeaking when coming to a stop. I am thinking the problem is brake related.

All 3 brake issues (pulsation, squeak when coming to a stop, cyclic squeak when driving) are re-occurring issues, that came back after the front pads were replaced, and rotors turned around 20k miles. It may be something like a stuck caliper, or uneven pad deposition on the rotor (Although I have bedded in my brakes several times without effect).

I think I will just pull my calipers, rotors, and pads, and make sure nothing is stuck in there, and the wear indicators aren't bent, and that pad ware is uniform. I would really hate though to have to buy new rotors and pads, and either not fix the problem, or have the problem come back again in a few thousand miles.
 
Pulsation is definitely from warped rotors (or what some people call glazed rotors), as long as there's enough material on the rotor, you can effectively turn them for 20-30 bucks a piece at any machine shop/parts store/some tire stores.

The reasoning for glazing or warping rotors can be from many things, or even a combination of things. Riding the brakes while going downhill, towing heavy loads and braking can cause this, as well as a sticking caliper or slide pin bent or corroded.

Its an easy job for the most part. Take the rotors in for turning, while you're waiting for them to get that done (most likely a few hours), come back and clean the caliper pins and grease them well. There's some boots that slide over the pins to keep dirt out, clean them out and pack 'em with a little grease, that'll keep them from rusting in wet conditions.

Put new pads in, the stock pads have been known to be good, quality pads according to many on this forum. Reinstall everything once you get the rotors back and make sure to bed the pads properly (search for bedding in brake pads). Make sure to coat everything lightly with a little brake grease (I use moly grease, recommended by Toyota on my '87 xtra cab way back when!), ie., lightly coat all the little metal tabs, clips and slide plates that the truck uses. I also use a little of it on the back end of the pads so they don't squeak, but you can also buy "anti-squeal compound", sometimes called disc brake quiet. Note, some pads come with a teflon backing (Raybestos uses this stuff) and you probably don't need the compound, although I used it on my last brake job on the wife's honduh since it squeaked from day one! Doesn't squeak any more!!!

If you have the time and patience, as well as a brake bleeder machine (I have an old Motiv unit that works great and aren't that expensive), why not flush the system too? Its not hard and can be done by yourself with the machine. That would confirm there's no air in the system to cause the brakes to drag.

Its an all-day project to do all 4 sides, but its an easy one that requires very little technical knowledge/tools. Just follow any of the online guides to doing it and you'll never need to worry about the brake system for most likely another 50-80k!

Mine aren't making any noise yet, and I don't have any pulsation, but I suspect they'll need to be worked on in the next year or so. I'll probably do a full write-up on getting this done, but I won't do it until its necessary...
 
flyinhawaiian01 said:
Put new pads in, the stock pads have been known to be good, quality pads according to many on this forum. Reinstall everything once you get the rotors back and make sure to bed the pads properly (search for bedding in brake pads). Make sure to coat everything lightly with a little brake grease (I use moly grease, recommended by Toyota on my '87 xtra cab way back when!), ie., lightly coat all the little metal tabs, clips and slide plates that the truck uses. I also use a little of it on the back end of the pads so they don't squeak, but you can also buy "anti-squeal compound", sometimes called disc brake quiet. Note, some pads come with a teflon backing (Raybestos uses this stuff) and you probably don't need the compound, although I used it on my last brake job on the wife's honduh since it squeaked from day one! Doesn't squeak any more!!!
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So you use regular Moly Grease for all of the brake components that need grease, or is it some type of high temp stuff? I have Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease, NLGI #2 (5% Moly) already, but I don't know if I should use specific brake grease instead.

It sucks if I end up having to get new brake pads, as the current ones only have 15k miles on them. You have to use new pads when you replace or resurface the rotors right?

Thanks!
 
Not really, actually. If you only have 15k on those pads, and they aren't all grooved from the rotors, take some sandpaper to them and scuff the faces and edges down a bit to clear any glazing. Make sure to bed them in properly again, they should be good to go.

If they've got deep grooves (have no idea how bad your rotors were before turning them), but if you can feel it with your fingernail, I'd take them down as evenly as possible to get rid of them.

Worst case scenario is that you try it and they don't bed properly. You end up having to buy new pads but the rotors will be okay. I'd say try it and see how they work.

As for the grease, your Amsoil stuff should be just fine. I believe the stuff I use is hi-temp moly grease, that's all it says, so your stuff will be more than fine for the job.

Don't use a lot on all the little clips, just a light coating on all the surfaces where metal-to-metal contact is made---except for the face of the pads of course!!!
 
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