Pulsating issue

[propain]

If 4 Runners pulsated, I think more women would buy them.



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[DreadPirateMoyer]

Had the same issue- it's the needle bearing that was fixed under the warranty


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I'm leaning this way as well. Took the advice in this thread and popped 4WD, didn't hear it, and came out of 4WD and it was a lot quieter than before. Seems to be tied to 4WD for me, which likely means needle bearing.

Will keep researching and tinkering and report back on the 31st. Anyone have the TSB for this that I could check out?

 

[wfo9]

I'm leaning this way as well. Took the advice in this thread and popped 4WD, didn't hear it, and came out of 4WD and it was a lot quieter than before. Seems to be tied to 4WD for me, which likely means needle bearing.

Will keep researching and tinkering and report back on the 31st. Anyone have the TSB for this that I could check out?

This is not a new problem... Been around ever since the 8" clamshell came out. Some of the castings are just off. Not sure why Toyota has not addressed it.

This video explains the issue. You can see how much play you have at the cv as an indicator...

I have two different trucks with this diff. One has an ARB and obviously hardly any play at all (it's lifted with about 70k on the OD). The other has 130+K no lift and has a lot of slop in the shaft (not quite as much as shown in the video).. but it makes no noise...


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BOvoM5irtEc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[DreadPirateMoyer]

This is not a new problem... Been around ever since the 8" clamshell came out. Some of the castings are just off. Not sure why Toyota has not addressed it.

This video explains the issue. You can see how much play you have at the cv as an indicator...

I have two different trucks with this diff. One has an ARB and obviously hardly any play at all (it's lifted with about 70k on the OD). The other has 130+K no lift and has a lot of slop in the shaft (not quite as much as shown in the video).. but it makes no noise...


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BOvoM5irtEc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Toyota's warranty solution will then be to simply replace it all and hope it doesn't happen again with the new parts?

 

[Boyds4Runner]

I think I may have something similar but coming from a different direction.

For me I get the "pulsing" feeling as soon as the transmission kicks into lockup and trying to hold a speed around 45mph. If I am trying to hold that speed on any slight incline (not enough to kick it out of overdrive but just enough to have to maintain light pressure on the gar pedal) the car bucks and kicks.

Still happens in 4hi and in cruise-control. However, as soon as I slap the shifter into "S" when it goes into 4th gear it goes away. It started for me around the 10K service interval but I couldn't repeat it for the service tech. Now I am pretty confident I can get it to happen regularly, pretty much as soon as it kicks into overdrive (lockup) and driving around 42mph through to 48mph.

Just throwing another thing to check out there. I hope to bring mine in within the next week or so.

 

[AZrunner11]

I think I may have something similar but coming from a different direction.

For me I get the "pulsing" feeling as soon as the transmission kicks into lockup and trying to hold a speed around 45mph. If I am trying to hold that speed on any slight incline (not enough to kick it out of overdrive but just enough to have to maintain light pressure on the gar pedal) the car bucks and kicks.

Still happens in 4hi and in cruise-control. However, as soon as I slap the shifter into "S" when it goes into 4th gear it goes away. It started for me around the 10K service interval but I couldn't repeat it for the service tech. Now I am pretty confident I can get it to happen regularly, pretty much as soon as it kicks into overdrive (lockup) and driving around 42mph through to 48mph.

Just throwing another thing to check out there. I hope to bring mine in within the next week or so.

I have the same issue on my 12 but the speed range goes from about 42 to 52 mph. Mine is worse or more noticeable with the AC on and going up inclines. I have had several master techs drive my truck and no solutions. I've dealt with it but would love a fix. Mine is believed to be a driveline issue.

 

[Kevlar21]

[MENTION=143027]Kevlar21[/MENTION]

Did some thinking last night after posting and wanted to ask you if yours matched mine.

1. Mine sounds like it's coming from the rear right wheel, but I'm not 100% on that.

2. Mine will hum/vibrate for about 3 seconds, and then go away for 3 seconds, and then come back for 3, go away for 3, etc. This part is what really confuses me because if it were a wheel, I'd expect it to be more of a constant chatter or more rapid than a low, pulsating hum.

3. Happens with or without brakes, accelerating/decelerating, turning or going straight, etc.

4. 35-45 mph is where it's most noticeable, but I have a feeling it's there at other speeds too as the pitch for mine changes from really low to a bit higher as I increase in speed. This makes me think I just can't hear it below 35 or above 45 even though it's still happening.

Does that sound like yours? Match up to symptoms 1-4?

Yes! This is very accurate to what I'm dealing with. It messes with me so bad because it comes and goes throughout the whole ride! It shudders noticeably and then when it "goes away" I'm mind ef'ed looking for it happen again. Ruins the enjoyment of driving it.

 

[renau001]

yep, front diff needle bearing. if you want it to improve for a little while, you can go to 4wd for a little bit and come back out. but if you can get it into dealer quick, then don't touch. will want it good and loud for them to hear.

 

[renau001]

Toyota's warranty solution will then be to simply replace it all and hope it doesn't happen again with the new parts?

The needle bearing in the TSB is slightly different. I haven't been able to find an accurate report on whether or not the different part actually prevents recurrence or if it just comes back after a little while.

 

[renau001]

TSB attached. Only applicable if your groaning goes away in 4wd.

 

[renau001]

another thing, the way the TSB is written to just add fluid if they find it low, I could see toyota trying to deny warranty work if you don't document your front diff fluid level check that is due at 15k miles. So make sure you don't miss that if you don't get it resolved before then, would be bogus, but I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle.

 

[catrains]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Gives me the chance to offer solutions to the dealership when I go instead of them saying "it's normal". By the way the truck is 100% stock. For now...

my guess is the inner wheel weight fell off. hammer on weights ..

I have 7K on my T4R,.. my other vehicles had hammer on weights but I had them all removed so after this removal no issues with wheel bal .

 

[philsey]

I think I may have something similar but coming from a different direction.

For me I get the "pulsing" feeling as soon as the transmission kicks into lockup and trying to hold a speed around 45mph. If I am trying to hold that speed on any slight incline (not enough to kick it out of overdrive but just enough to have to maintain light pressure on the gar pedal) the car bucks and kicks.

Still happens in 4hi and in cruise-control. However, as soon as I slap the shifter into "S" when it goes into 4th gear it goes away. It started for me around the 10K service interval but I couldn't repeat it for the service tech. Now I am pretty confident I can get it to happen regularly, pretty much as soon as it kicks into overdrive (lockup) and driving around 42mph through to 48mph.

Just throwing another thing to check out there. I hope to bring mine in within the next week or so.

Mine has always done this. I determined the trans is hunting between 5-4-5 right around 40 mph. You can watch the tach and it moves up and back with this pulsing/hunting sensation.

I'm now in the habit of driving in S4, always, below 45 mph. Never ever occurs this way, which proves the theory IMO. Besides, it just drives mo-bettah this way in town.

 

[DreadPirateMoyer]

I think I may have something similar but coming from a different direction.

For me I get the "pulsing" feeling as soon as the transmission kicks into lockup and trying to hold a speed around 45mph. If I am trying to hold that speed on any slight incline (not enough to kick it out of overdrive but just enough to have to maintain light pressure on the gar pedal) the car bucks and kicks.

Still happens in 4hi and in cruise-control. However, as soon as I slap the shifter into "S" when it goes into 4th gear it goes away. It started for me around the 10K service interval but I couldn't repeat it for the service tech. Now I am pretty confident I can get it to happen regularly, pretty much as soon as it kicks into overdrive (lockup) and driving around 42mph through to 48mph.

Just throwing another thing to check out there. I hope to bring mine in within the next week or so.

Mine does this too. I think everyone's does. It's the transmission hunting between 5-4-5 on inclines at that speed. It's dumb, but normal.

Separate from the problem in this thread, imo.

 

[Boyds4Runner]

Mine has always done this. I determined the trans is hunting between 5-4-5 right around 40 mph. You can watch the tach and it moves up and back with this pulsing/hunting sensation.

I'm now in the habit of driving in S4, always, below 45 mph. Never ever occurs this way, which proves the theory IMO. Besides, it just drives mo-bettah this way in town.

Thanks for chiming in [MENTION=68380]AZrunner11[/MENTION] [MENTION=51186]philsey[/MENTION] [MENTION=132221]DreadPirateMoyer[/MENTION] with similarities.

In my case the tach doesn't move with the bucks and kicks and neither does the little "economy" slide bar.

I looked at the tach thinking it might be a mis-fire but I thought that would throw the Check-Engine-Light for sure if it was a mis-fire on one cylinder.

It does go away as soon as I am in S4 for me too or speed up into the 50mph and up range. It's more like it's hunting between lockup and un-locked 5th. Just don't recall noticing it when it was new and fearful that it is a sign of transmission failure after the warranty expires.

May not be like OP [MENTION=143027]Kevlar21[/MENTION] is asking as it looks like his is more needle bearing related but just throwing it out there if it provides another direction to look at for the pulsing.

I'm still going to have the dealer look at it so that after I go to 285's they can't blame it on the larger diameter tires. Who knows, the different diameter may change the shift points and the issue will go away...or get worse.

 

[DreadPirateMoyer]

Thanks for chiming in [MENTION=68380]AZrunner11[/MENTION] [MENTION=51186]philsey[/MENTION] [MENTION=132221]DreadPirateMoyer[/MENTION] with similarities.

In my case the tach doesn't move with the bucks and kicks and neither does the little "economy" slide bar.

I looked at the tach thinking it might be a mis-fire but I thought that would throw the Check-Engine-Light for sure if it was a mis-fire on one cylinder.

It does go away as soon as I am in S4 for me too or speed up into the 50mph and up range. It's more like it's hunting between lockup and un-locked 5th. Just don't recall noticing it when it was new and fearful that it is a sign of transmission failure after the warranty expires.

May not be like OP [MENTION=143027]Kevlar21[/MENTION] is asking as it looks like his is more needle bearing related but just throwing it out there if it provides another direction to look at for the pulsing.

I'm still going to have the dealer look at it so that after I go to 285's they can't blame it on the larger diameter tires. Who knows, the different diameter may change the shift points and the issue will go away...or get worse.

Mind starting a new thread at this point? I'm 99.9% sure yours is both a different issue and not an issue, as both my 4Runner does what you're describing and a loaner I had as well. I'm pretty sure it's just our transmission programming, and one of the many ruts it falls into as it fights itself. The OP's problem (same as mine too) is unrelated to gearing or inclines or anything like that.

Would help us make sure our feedback doesn't get twisted since it's probably two separate issues.

 

[Boyds4Runner]

Mind starting a new thread at this point? I'm 99.9% sure yours is both a different issue and not an issue, as both my 4Runner does what you're describing and a loaner I had as well. I'm pretty sure it's just our transmission programming, and one of the many ruts it falls into as it fights itself. The OP's problem (same as mine too) is unrelated to gearing or inclines or anything like that.

Would help us make sure our feedback doesn't get twisted since it's probably two separate issues.

I'm not sure how to take out the posts on this thread that I already posted. Since it sounds like it's not related and perhaps a normal thing I'll just leave it alone.
[MENTION=143027]Kevlar21[/MENTION] wasn't trying to hi-jack the thread. Just the "pulsating" question got me thinking about what I thought was pulsating for me and offered an alternative.

eace:

 

[DreadPirateMoyer]

I'm not sure how to take out the posts on this thread that I already posted. Since it sounds like it's not related and perhaps a normal thing I'll just leave it alone.

[MENTION=143027]Kevlar21[/MENTION] wasn't trying to hi-jack the thread. Just the "pulsating" question got me thinking about what I thought was pulsating for me and offered an alternative.

eace:

Nono, wasn't saying to delete everything! Just saying now that we've got 'em sorted, it makes sense to make 2 different threads.

 

[DreadPirateMoyer]

My appointment is still a week away, but the problem continues to get worse. Before, I could only hear the cyclic hum happen if I had the radio off. Now it's getting loud enough to hear with the radio on and even at higher speeds with more road and wind noise. Goes away when popped into 4WD, so pretty confident this is the issue.

With all that said, Toyota's fix seems like a band aid to me. If my clamshell is crap and allows my my CV to flop all over the place, which places pressure on the needle bearing that it shouldn't have and wears it out, isn't that problem basically unfixed even after they replace the needle bearing with a new one? I mean, I understand the new needle bearing is different from the old one and I guess won't wear out like the old one, but it doesn't change the fact that my clamshell is a floppy turd.

Has me considering going to an ARB at some point. However, I don't want to go through all the crap with a compressor, switch installation, and maintaining the seals and such in an ARB. Is it possible to buy and just install the ARB parts without the locking components, or if not, just install the ARB package and not connect it to a compressor? I don't want the hassle of the air locker but want the upgrade in quality from the ARB parts over my turd clamshell.

 

[catrains]

Yes! This is very accurate to what I'm dealing with. It messes with me so bad because it comes and goes throughout the whole ride! It shudders noticeably and then when it "goes away" I'm mind ef'ed looking for it happen again. Ruins the enjoyment of driving it.

what did the dealership say ????????????????