Road or Drive-line Noise

doubleA

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I have owned by 4runner for 3 years now and whatever this noise is has progressively increased.

2008 4Runner V8, SR5, 78k miles

The noise gets louder with increases in speed and the radio at highway speeds does not help anymore. Not sure if this helps but there are many start/stop drive clunks I notice. The noise and/or clunks are definitely louder in the summer vs. winter.

The zerks have been greased with no difference in clunks or noise.

Any idea where to start?
 
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I have owned by 4runner for 3 years now and whatever this noise is has progressively increased.

2008 4Runner V8, SR5, 78k miles

The noise gets louder with increases in speed and the radio at highway speeds does not help anymore. Not sure if this helps but there are many start/stop drive clunks I notice. The noise and/or clunks are definitely louder in the summer vs. winter.

The zerks have been greased with no difference in clunks or noise.

Any idea where to start?

Wheel hub/bearing?
 
after more searching I am wondering that... it gets so loud it is hard to tell front or back

start with wheel bearing?

how much could tires contribute to noise?
 
after more searching I am wondering that... it gets so loud it is hard to tell front or back

start with wheel bearing?

how much could tires contribute to noise?

A lot! What tires? Miles? Have you felt the inner tread? More info will help.
 
A lot! What tires? Miles? Have you felt the inner tread? More info will help.

I have no idea how many miles are on the tires. Goodyear assurance cs tripletred all-season 265/65Z R17

The front left inner tread is definitely lower than the other four... what should I bee looking at exactly?
 
I have no idea how many miles are on the tires. Goodyear assurance cs tripletred all-season 265/65Z R17

The front left inner tread is definitely lower than the other four... what should I bee looking at exactly?

Run your hand across the inner tread, going to other the tread. You will feel if it is "cupping" may need an alignment! Also can rotate the tires, will hear more noise wherever you put that tire.

Google will help with explanations
 

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I have owned by 4runner for 3 years now and whatever this noise is has progressively increased.

2008 4Runner V8, SR5, 78k miles

The noise gets louder with increases in speed and the radio at highway speeds does not help anymore. Not sure if this helps but there are many start/stop drive clunks I notice. The noise and/or clunks are definitely louder in the summer vs. winter.

The zerks have been greased with no difference in clunks or noise.

Any idea where to start?

Does it change when turning? Does it sound like it's coming from the front or rear? Can you feel vibration through the steering wheel or pedals? Is it wind noise, humming, airplane propeller noise, or something else? In another thread you mentioned you need brakes, and that can cause noise since the pads basically always drag slightly on the rotors. A stuck brake caliper could make things worse.

It wouldn't hurt to check and/or change the fluid in the T case and differentials. If the fluid in the rear diff is dark that seems to be normal. The fluid in the others usually seems to be a bit cleaner.

Jack the wheels up off the ground and try to move them left/right up/down to check for play, and see if they rotate freely. That can help you find bad wheel bearings and loose or worn suspension parts.

Try a grease with moly for the slide joints on the front and rear driveshafts (don't use it on the yokes). If it still clunks, check for loose or worn suspension parts or bushings, or maybe broken or warn parts that support the engine, transmission, differentials, T case (I don't think that's a common problem).

I currently have a loud humming that gets worst around 60-65mph that goes away when I turn slightly right. Signs point to a wheel bearing, but it could also be a CV joint, diff needle bearing, or gears inside the front diff. It comes from the front end and I feel vibration in the steering wheel. I need to investigate more.

I also have really bad wind noise from an incorrectly installed windshield. I put some caulk on it, which fixed it for a while, but I think that washed out at the carwash or blew away. My dilemma is should I pay to remount this pitted old windshield, or replace an almost perfectly good windshield with a new one. And do I need to have someone do something about the scratches on the roof that are rusting from the poor removal done by whoever put in this windshield.

Here is a thread about the humming.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ing-noise-coming-front-end-while-driving.html
 
Does it change when turning? Does it sound like it's coming from the front or rear? Can you feel vibration through the steering wheel or pedals? Is it wind noise, humming, airplane propeller noise, or something else? In another thread you mentioned you need brakes, and that can cause noise since the pads basically always drag slightly on the rotors. A stuck brake caliper could make things worse.

It wouldn't hurt to check and/or change the fluid in the T case and differentials. If the fluid in the rear diff is dark that seems to be normal. The fluid in the others usually seems to be a bit cleaner.

Jack the wheels up off the ground and try to move them left/right up/down to check for play, and see if they rotate freely. That can help you find bad wheel bearings and loose or worn suspension parts.

Try a grease with moly for the slide joints on the front and rear driveshafts (don't use it on the yokes). If it still clunks, check for loose or worn suspension parts or bushings, or maybe broken or warn parts that support the engine, transmission, differentials, T case (I don't think that's a common problem).

I currently have a loud humming that gets worst around 60-65mph that goes away when I turn slightly right. Signs point to a wheel bearing, but it could also be a CV joint, diff needle bearing, or gears inside the front diff. It comes from the front end and I feel vibration in the steering wheel. I need to investigate more.

I also have really bad wind noise from an incorrectly installed windshield. I put some caulk on it, which fixed it for a while, but I think that washed out at the carwash or blew away. My dilemma is should I pay to remount this pitted old windshield, or replace an almost perfectly good windshield with a new one. And do I need to have someone do something about the scratches on the roof that are rusting from the poor removal done by whoever put in this windshield.

Here is a thread about the humming.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ing-noise-coming-front-end-while-driving.html

thank you! I will check each wheel as stated. Including the brakes for drag.

The sound seems louder from the front but could easily be the rear as well. There is no vibration felt (unless I brake). The noise gets progressively louder with increases in speed. At 50-60mph its not bad but beyond that it is... the noise does not change when turning.

Reading through the sound types, perhaps this is just wind or brake noise? My 3rd gen 4runner seemed more quite than this one... plus the noise has been getting worse.
 
More then likely wheel bearing noise. Its a common thing and if it hasnt been done you should do them.

Is there a good way to try and isolate wheel bearings vs. CV joints or the front diff?

I'm struggling with a pretty good humming that starts at 30MPH that increases in pitch & level as you increase in speed. I've had a hard time so far isolating it, but it seems to come from the front end. The noise doesn't seem to be affected by turning, and it is the same accelerating, coasting or decelerating.

Any tips?
 
I would say it could be a wheel bearing. Mine acted the same and my mechanic who drove it and was fairly certain it was a front wheel. I took it to the dealer who used a stethoscope to determine it was the right rear wheel bearing. Fixed now and the constant drone sound is now gone.
 
Is there a good way to try and isolate wheel bearings vs. CV joints or the front diff?

I'm struggling with a pretty good humming that starts at 30MPH that increases in pitch & level as you increase in speed. I've had a hard time so far isolating it, but it seems to come from the front end. The noise doesn't seem to be affected by turning, and it is the same accelerating, coasting or decelerating.

Any tips?

Jack up the truck and spin the tire by hand. There should be very little resistance and it should be smooth. Wheel bearings are way more common then a diff and if your cv's tend to make a different noise. When was the last time you changed your front diff fluid?
 
Jack up the truck and spin the tire by hand. There should be very little resistance and it should be smooth. Wheel bearings are way more common then a diff and if your cv's tend to make a different noise. When was the last time you changed your front diff fluid?

Truck is new to me, bought it from the original owners who had it serviced by the dealer it's whole life. Carfax reported that the rear diff had the fluid exchanged at 70k, but no note about doing the front. I'm going to jack it up tonight and grease everything, drain and fill the diffs, check for play in the driveline, and while I'm at it I'll check the wheel bearings. Hopefully it's just one of the fronts, looks like those are much easier to tackle than the rears.
 
Jack up the truck and spin the tire by hand. There should be very little resistance and it should be smooth. Wheel bearings are way more common then a diff and if your cv's tend to make a different noise. When was the last time you changed your front diff fluid?

I couldn't feel any issues when turning the wheels, but I have more noise than there should be. I guess I could wait for it to get worse.


I checked the front diff oil, and it's dark and a bit metallic looking, so I need to change it. I'm currently trying to unstick the drain plug. I've nearly rounded out the 10mm hex hole. I tried heating it, and I tried turning it with a cold chisel. It's really stuck. I'll see if impact can break it free next, and if not that will probably round out the hole the rest of the way. After that maybe I'll carefully grind off the flange of the bolt with a Dremel, or maybe I'll take it somewhere to have a nut welded on.

I could pump the old oil out, but at this point I just want to get the drain plug off.
 
Jack up the truck and spin the tire by hand. There should be very little resistance and it should be smooth. Wheel bearings are way more common then a diff and if your cv's tend to make a different noise. When was the last time you changed your front diff fluid?

Hmmm... So I checked all the wheels, they rotate freely and I couldn't detect and play or noise. I put the entire truck on a lift and put it in drive and again, couldn't hear any drivetrain noise over the engine. The front passenger side wheel did have a tendency to drag and stop turning and the diff would only spin the front drivers side unless I stalled that tire out. Both rears would rotate at nearly the same speed without issue. Front differential fluid came out pretty clear, looks pretty fresh, very little metal on the magnet on the plug.

At this point I'm stumped unless Duratracs are just inherently noisy tires?
 
Hmmm... So I checked all the wheels, they rotate freely and I couldn't detect and play or noise. I put the entire truck on a lift and put it in drive and again, couldn't hear any drivetrain noise over the engine. The front passenger side wheel did have a tendency to drag and stop turning and the diff would only spin the front drivers side unless I stalled that tire out. Both rears would rotate at nearly the same speed without issue. Front differential fluid came out pretty clear, looks pretty fresh, very little metal on the magnet on the plug.

At this point I'm stumped unless Duratracs are just inherently noisy tires?

Thats also possible, if you spin the wheels by hand you dont feel any resistance or noise at the wheel or wheel bearings or brakes?
 
Thats also possible, if you spin the wheels by hand you dont feel any resistance or noise at the wheel or wheel bearings or brakes?

Spun by hand I couldn't feel any one wheel that seemed to have more drag than the others, nor could I feel any 'notchyness' or grinding.
 

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