Rear end creak/squeak? Check your bracket for foot brake cable

[ahtoxa11]

Just a heads up for those of you that may be trying to hunt down a loud sqeak/creak when rear suspension is cycled up and down. It was affecting my 2019.

Symptom:

Loud creaking noise in rear suspension when cycled up and down. Happens when cycling slow and fast. Sounds like a swaybar bushing; a bit gritty and creaky.

Cause/details:

Check the bracket that holds the rear foot brake cable. The bracket is located right by the rear swaybar link. There's one on each side of the frame rail. Jiggling would reproduce the noise. This bracket puts sideways pressure on the housing for the footbrake cable and when suspension cycles, the cable rubs in the housing. Mine was showing grooves from rubbing.

Solution:

Take pliers and bend the bracket just a little in order to alleviate the sideways tension and thus rubbing. Enjoy your truck again.


I hope this helps someone. My 2019 with 15k miles was making this creaking noise that was driving me nuts. I was down there undoing the swaybar thinking it was the swaybar bushings only to be surprised when the noise was still there with the sway off. When I did find the issue after an hour crawling under and effectively doing bench presses with my truck to cycle the suspension (I was sore next day) I had to facepalm myself because it was in my face all along.

 

[O2RunnerSR5]

I had the same issue. Dealer fixed it, I thought it was a shock


2001 SR5 4x4 Premium
2017 SR5 4x4 Premium

 

[aaronRR]

I've got a 19' as well and that noise has been driving me crazy, only happens after off-roading. I'll be sure to check this, as it's pretty loud. Thanks!

 

[kenwilliams0803]

Good stuff, I'll check it out. I can hear mine creak every time I get in or out. I had assumed swaybay bushings but this is interesting.

 

[rsimi72]

Just a heads up for those of you that may be trying to hunt down a loud sqeak/creak when rear suspension is cycled up and down. It was affecting my 2019.

Symptom:

Loud creaking noise in rear suspension when cycled up and down. Happens when cycling slow and fast. Sounds like a swaybar bushing; a bit gritty and creaky.

Cause/details:

Check the bracket that holds the rear foot brake cable. The bracket is located right by the rear swaybar link. There's one on each side of the frame rail. Jiggling would reproduce the noise. This bracket puts sideways pressure on the housing for the footbrake cable and when suspension cycles, the cable rubs in the housing. Mine was showing grooves from rubbing.

Solution:

Take pliers and bend the bracket just a little in order to alleviate the sideways tension and thus rubbing. Enjoy your truck again.


I hope this helps someone. My 2019 with 15k miles was making this creaking noise that was driving me nuts. I was down there undoing the swaybar thinking it was the swaybar bushings only to be surprised when the noise was still there with the sway off. When I did find the issue after an hour crawling under and effectively doing bench presses with my truck to cycle the suspension (I was sore next day) I had to facepalm myself because it was in my face all along.

I hear a squeak from there when slowly rolling over speed bumps. Never when driving. I just assumed noisy springs. Thanks.

 

[stay_tuned]

possible for someone to post some pics of the bracket that needs to be bent, i just came across this recently and might be the same thing

 

[Georgiey22]

Thanks. I’ve had a similar squeak for ages and couldn’t find the issue. Just jumped under the truck and the brake line definitely rubs the circular bracket and can see the rub mark on the brake cable. Hopefully this does it. Thanks for the hot tip.

 

[ahtoxa11]

possible for someone to post some pics of the bracket that needs to be bent, i just came across this recently and might be the same thing

Looking front to back. Same on the other side. Check both.

 

[repo]

I had a weird squeak that I suspected was probably gonna be what you described but it turned out to simply be the spare tire wasnt tight enough and was sliding from side to side. Think I'll spray some white lithium grease on those things anyway.

 

[ElectroBoy]

YES, This was it!

I’ve been chasing this squeak for a month. The two brackets were the problems. They were cocked a little to one side and pointed down a bit. With pliers and a long screwdriver I straightened them, tightened the 12mm bolt, and lubed them up with silicon spray. Finally it’s quiet! Thanks for the advice and photo.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Thanks for posting this up. Will crawl under and check when my wife brings the truck home from Montana this weekend. This noise has been bugging me.

 

[stay_tuned]

Looking front to back. Same on the other side. Check both.

Thank you so freaking much, that picture completely helped just went out and pushed the bracket back a bit and completely got rid of the noise

 

[stay_tuned]

I've got a 19' as well and that noise has been driving me crazy, only happens after off-roading. I'll be sure to check this, as it's pretty loud. Thanks!

I have an 18 so its probably just 5th gen specific but hit or miss

 

[HanginInUtah]

This is awesome. I haven't thought about the noise much until I saw this post. I hear it when I'm off road, windows down, etc. Gotta be the same thing. Now I know what to look for!!

 

[412Runner]

Looking front to back. Same on the other side. Check both.

Sorry for the thread resurrection, but I’m not having this large creaking on the left hand side between the front drivers door and rear wheel.

Is this picture of this black representing the “way it should look” or “the way it should NOT look”?

 

[ahtoxa11]

Sorry for the thread resurrection, but I’m not having this large creaking on the left hand side between the front drivers door and rear wheel.

Is this picture of this black representing the “way it should look” or “the way it should NOT look”?

Neither - it's just the area of the noise. If you pull on the cable a bit you should be able to replicate the noise. The cable will also likely show a worn spot where it rubs.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Even after straightening out the bracket and lubing with silicone, mine eventually started squeaking again. So I cut some thin pieces of water pipe foam and stuffed them in the bracket to center the cable so it doesn’t contact the metal. No more squeaking.