My 2005 SR5 has recently developed a new rattle/creak that I cannot for the life of me figure out where it is coming from. I have ~119,000 miles on it with all service performed at recommended intervals.
The biggest problem I have had with it is when a rodent chewed through the wire leading to the front passenger-side wheel sensor causing the ABS to throw a trouble code. Re-soldering the wire fixed that problem, otherwise the truck as been rock solid.
The rattle/creak only really happens when turning, and it will happen on the front wheel that is on the inside of the turn. So passenger side when turning right and driver side when left. It also happens, sometimes, a little bit when going straight and braking -- but not when coasting or accelerating. It also does not happen if the vehicle is not moving.
I have done a lot of searching to try and find similar problems and have found a few common causes, but when I got the truck jacked up and was able to take the wheels off and have a look at everything, none of these appeared to be an issue:
-CV Joints: Boots look good, no cracks or tears. Clamps are still tight and there has been no apparent grease leakage. Turning the wheel by hand revealed no clicks or grinding on either joint.
-Wheel bearings: Both front wheels were solid and had no play in them.
-Stabilizer end links: Both end links appeared to be in good shape. No apparent looseness or anything out of the ordinary.
-Mudflaps: Both sides are normal and not loose.
-Warped rotors: Turning the wheels by hand while watching the rotors revealed no warping of the rotors and there is no pulsing in the brake pedal.
-Floating brake pads + seized caliper piston: All pads looks flush and wear is even on both ends. I changed the brakes ~10k miles ago and none of the caliper pistons were frozen.
-Front axle: While I had no way to really look at this, I believe it is working just fine. 4wd engages and disengages normally and the front wheels are getting driven as there is a big difference in traction when 4wd is on.
-Power steering fluid: One of the first things I checked, normal level.
-Tie rods: The ends connected to both wheels were solid and had no play or appreciable wear. There is no play or dead-space in the steering wheel.
A few other things I have noticed:
1) Noise does not seem to be tied to wheel speed, but I am not 100% sure on this.
2) Appears to happen less when it is warmer. Again, this is anecdotal and may not be correct.
3) The fact it started happening on both sides at the same time says to the logical side of me that it has to be something connected to both wheels, which really only leaves the axle and stabilizer bar.
4) Everything else seems normal, steering is normal with no drift. Brakes are normal with no pulsing or other odd behavior. Gas mileage is normal for winter blend gas and driving.
Anyone have any ideas for anything else I should look at? Should I be concerned? Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
The biggest problem I have had with it is when a rodent chewed through the wire leading to the front passenger-side wheel sensor causing the ABS to throw a trouble code. Re-soldering the wire fixed that problem, otherwise the truck as been rock solid.
The rattle/creak only really happens when turning, and it will happen on the front wheel that is on the inside of the turn. So passenger side when turning right and driver side when left. It also happens, sometimes, a little bit when going straight and braking -- but not when coasting or accelerating. It also does not happen if the vehicle is not moving.
I have done a lot of searching to try and find similar problems and have found a few common causes, but when I got the truck jacked up and was able to take the wheels off and have a look at everything, none of these appeared to be an issue:
-CV Joints: Boots look good, no cracks or tears. Clamps are still tight and there has been no apparent grease leakage. Turning the wheel by hand revealed no clicks or grinding on either joint.
-Wheel bearings: Both front wheels were solid and had no play in them.
-Stabilizer end links: Both end links appeared to be in good shape. No apparent looseness or anything out of the ordinary.
-Mudflaps: Both sides are normal and not loose.
-Warped rotors: Turning the wheels by hand while watching the rotors revealed no warping of the rotors and there is no pulsing in the brake pedal.
-Floating brake pads + seized caliper piston: All pads looks flush and wear is even on both ends. I changed the brakes ~10k miles ago and none of the caliper pistons were frozen.
-Front axle: While I had no way to really look at this, I believe it is working just fine. 4wd engages and disengages normally and the front wheels are getting driven as there is a big difference in traction when 4wd is on.
-Power steering fluid: One of the first things I checked, normal level.
-Tie rods: The ends connected to both wheels were solid and had no play or appreciable wear. There is no play or dead-space in the steering wheel.
A few other things I have noticed:
1) Noise does not seem to be tied to wheel speed, but I am not 100% sure on this.
2) Appears to happen less when it is warmer. Again, this is anecdotal and may not be correct.
3) The fact it started happening on both sides at the same time says to the logical side of me that it has to be something connected to both wheels, which really only leaves the axle and stabilizer bar.
4) Everything else seems normal, steering is normal with no drift. Brakes are normal with no pulsing or other odd behavior. Gas mileage is normal for winter blend gas and driving.
Anyone have any ideas for anything else I should look at? Should I be concerned? Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
