Rubbing sound that seems to be coming from front right tire?

[SalsaRed]

Hi everyone, first post here. I bought a 2010 SR5 4Runner (in salsa red pearl obviously) with 76,000 miles three weeks ago, and I'm already in love with the platform. Came from an '03 GMC Envoy XL and the difference in drivability both in and out of snow, comfort, and overall craftsmanship is astonishing. I grew up always liking 4Runners and trying to convince my dad to buy one with no success, so I purchased this as my first car on my own. I also got the silver plan warranty that'll keep me covered for the next 36,000 miles.

I'm already going to be using my warranty next weekend to get the sway bar bushings and linkages replaced, don't know how I missed the rattle on the test drives. Luckily that's no big deal and is covered.

What worries me a little more is this rubbing sound that I'm getting that seems to be coming from the front, right wheel. It doesn't sound like a wheel bearing, I know that sound well from my Envoy. It almost sounds like something rubbing the tire treads. I took a few looks and can't seem to see anything. The weirdest part is that when I get my car washed it seems to go away until I either drive through deep snow or park on a street with a lot of snow along the curb.

This leads me to think that snow or ice is getting stuck somewhere, but that might just be in my head. What I just found on Friday is that when I switch into 4HI the sound completely stops. I'm really hoping that doesn't mean its something with my front differential, and if it is I hope my warranty covers it. I told the dealership about this as well, so I will know for sure next weekend.

In the mean time, does anyone have any idea of what this could be? And is there anything I can do to prevent it from harming my 4Runner?

Thanks!

 

[natetech]

I have had this issue with a Subaru and it was salt or sand from the road getting in between the break pads and the rotters. They adjusted them closer and I have not had the issue the past two winters.

 

[Jeremy556]

Ice between the lower control arm and CV?

 

[SalsaRed]

Just wanted to give an update. I had gone to the dealer several times trying to get the issue resolved, and they always came back saying that they couldn't duplicate the symptoms or find anything wrong. This frustrated me to no end, so I started researching and reading every post mentioning weird sounds that I came across.

I finally found a post mentioning T-SB-0175-10 Front Differential Growl/Rumble Noise, caused by play in the front diff gears. I called the tech I was dealing with and excitedly told him about the TSB. He shattered my happiness when he said that the TSB coverage was limited by mileage and that 3rd party warranties usually wouldn't cover them, but that I could bring it in to check it out at my leisure.

So I kinda moped about it for the next few weeks and dreamed about regearing and adding front and rear lockers. I had to take it in this past Saturday to have a steering problem checked out, it almost felt like the power steering was failing. Turned out to be a binding shaft, and that would be covered. The tech said he would have to wait for the service manager to be in on Tuesday (today) to see if they could work out a deal where Toyota pays for the parts to fix the front diff and I pay for the labor. That would still be way above what I can afford right now I'm sure, so I wasn't very hopeful about getting the issue resolved.

This morning I got a call from the tech, saying that I'd have to be in my rental Camry (which is surprisingly fast BTW) for a few more days, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. After arguing with the warranty company for half an hour he got them to pay for all of the repairs! So I will be getting a new steering shaft, front diff carrier assembly, and front driveshaft. $4000 worth of parts for a $100 deductible!!

I was ecstatic about getting this all fixed, so I called back and told them to tint my front two windows to match the back while they had my 4R :dancin: