Droning noise and vibration on highway

[mrdag4997]

Hello
I have a 2000 SR5, Auto, 2WD, 3.4L with 155,000 miles. At 62 mph on the freeway it starts making a droning noise and you can feel a vibration. The vibration isn't bad, it feels like a vibrator and you can feel it in the steering wheel and in the seat. The noise gets louder the faster the car goes. It also gets much louder for a couple of seconds when I take my foot off the accelerator. When I take my foot off the accelerator it sounds like air brakes on a truck. To me it seems like the noise is coming from directly below the center console area.
I have replaced the struts, shocks and coils and had a full suspension check. I have replaced the drive shaft and u-joints. I have replaced all the tyres. I have had the tranny inspected and serviced. The tranny was actually very clean with no metal filings at all in the pan. One mechanic thinks it could be the torque converter and another mechanic thinks it could be the rear passenger wheel bearing or the diff. I have also read suggestions on this site that it could be transmission output shaft splines, slip yoke bushing, and steering rack bushing.
Has anyone experienced this exact problem and what ended up being the cause? This noise is getting frustrating and expensive. I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

[lugnuts]

check your drive shaft u joint. check for play and visible wear on the caps.

 

[ARC]

Hello
I have a 2000 SR5, Auto, 2WD, 3.4L with 155,000 miles. At 62 mph on the freeway it starts making a droning noise and you can feel a vibration. The vibration isn't bad, it feels like a vibrator and you can feel it in the steering wheel and in the seat. The noise gets louder the faster the car goes. It also gets much louder for a couple of seconds when I take my foot off the accelerator. When I take my foot off the accelerator it sounds like air brakes on a truck. To me it seems like the noise is coming from directly below the center console area.
I have replaced the struts, shocks and coils and had a full suspension check. I have replaced the drive shaft and u-joints. I have replaced all the tyres. I have had the tranny inspected and serviced. The tranny was actually very clean with no metal filings at all in the pan. One mechanic thinks it could be the torque converter and another mechanic thinks it could be the rear passenger wheel bearing or the diff. I have also read suggestions on this site that it could be transmission output shaft splines, slip yoke bushing, and steering rack bushing.
Has anyone experienced this exact problem and what ended up being the cause? This noise is getting frustrating and expensive. I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Your truck is trying to turn you on, you should thank it.

Sorry no real help to offer. Good luck.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

When it's doing it put the truck in neutral. If it goes away that should rule out axle bearings and any kind of tire noise, dragging calipers. Then your left with the only things left that haven't been replaced drive shaft (assuming they were fixed correctly) Since you have a 2wd that really only leaves a rear dif issue or tranny/ torque converter problem or maybe front wheel bearings. Make sure your wheels spin OK by jacking it up and turning the wheels by hand.

 

[mrdag4997]

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually did this a couple of weeks ago. Checked the new u-joint on the drive shaft, found that there was a bit too much play and replaced it. Still no luck eliminating the noise.

 

[mrdag4997]

When it's doing it put the truck in neutral. If it goes away that should rule out axle bearings and any kind of tire noise, dragging calipers. Then your left with the only things left that haven't been replaced drive shaft (assuming they were fixed correctly) Since you have a 2wd that really only leaves a rear dif issue or tranny/ torque converter problem or maybe front wheel bearings. Make sure your wheels spin OK by jacking it up and turning the wheels by hand.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have put it in neutral and the noise did NOT go away. So I had the wheel bearings checked and the diff checked. All are fine. Unfortunately, it looks more like it has something to do with the transmission. I'll update if I find out what is causing the noise, but in the mean time I appreciate any and all suggestions.

 

[nissanh]

Replacing the U-joints may not help you. Did you use OEM U-joints? I did mine with after market product and it still continued to vibrate. I then went with a good used shaft and all the problems were solved.

 

[mrdag4997]

Update: Problem solved

Based on the suggestion by nissanh and a few other posts I read in different threads, I replaced the brand new custom made, 1 piece drive shaft that was installed a few months ago with a good used drive shaft from a 1999 2WD 4Runner and voila, no more droning noise and no more vibration. Now I have to see about getting my money back on the custom shaft. Also, now I know why Toyota fits a 2 piece drive shaft with a rubber bushing. I wonder why they didn't just fix what causes the vibration so that a 2 piece vibration dampening drive shaft isn't needed?