I have an 06 V8 4x4 4Runner with 125k miles. Mostly driven in the south. I tow a boat (weighs around 5k lbs), but never really take my car off-road. No Xreas, still original suspension and stock tire size. The transmission fluid was changed a few months before this started at the dealership, and I changed all the diff/trains transfer case fluids since this started, and they all looked fine.
I've been hearing a strange noise between 50-60 since summer. It doesn't appear until around 50, and I can't hear it above 60. It sounds like a grinding or scraping noise that lasts about half a second. Sometimes it happens every couple seconds, other times it can be much longer between times I hear it. Occasionally it won't happen at all. It sounds like it's coming from under my car. It's fairly quiet, I can't hear it if I have the windows open, stereo on, or the AC/heat on. It doesn't seem to sound any differently if I'm driving straight, turning left, or turning right. I can feel it faintly in my pedal.
I took my car to a dealership to see if they could diagnose it. They said they put it up on a lift, and the mechanic thought it was definitely both rear wheel bearings. They quoted $1600 to replace them.
I then took my car to an independent shop whose owner drives a 4th gen 4Runner. He's older and couldn't hear the noise. One of his mechanics took it for a drive and could hear it and feel it in the pedal, but couldn't tell when it was coming from. They weren't sure if it was or was not a wheel bearing and recommended waiting for it to get louder.
I then took my car to another dealership who could not hear the noise, but put the car up on a lift to listen. They said they had 2 mechanics check it, and neither thought the wheel bearings were bad. They recommended I come back later when it was happening more regularly/louder.
Sorry for this long essay, but I was hoping that someone here might know what it could be. I've been avoiding taking my car on load trips in case it is a wheel bearing, but I'm getting sick of not having a car I can't trust.
Thanks for any help!
I've been hearing a strange noise between 50-60 since summer. It doesn't appear until around 50, and I can't hear it above 60. It sounds like a grinding or scraping noise that lasts about half a second. Sometimes it happens every couple seconds, other times it can be much longer between times I hear it. Occasionally it won't happen at all. It sounds like it's coming from under my car. It's fairly quiet, I can't hear it if I have the windows open, stereo on, or the AC/heat on. It doesn't seem to sound any differently if I'm driving straight, turning left, or turning right. I can feel it faintly in my pedal.
I took my car to a dealership to see if they could diagnose it. They said they put it up on a lift, and the mechanic thought it was definitely both rear wheel bearings. They quoted $1600 to replace them.
I then took my car to an independent shop whose owner drives a 4th gen 4Runner. He's older and couldn't hear the noise. One of his mechanics took it for a drive and could hear it and feel it in the pedal, but couldn't tell when it was coming from. They weren't sure if it was or was not a wheel bearing and recommended waiting for it to get louder.
I then took my car to another dealership who could not hear the noise, but put the car up on a lift to listen. They said they had 2 mechanics check it, and neither thought the wheel bearings were bad. They recommended I come back later when it was happening more regularly/louder.
Sorry for this long essay, but I was hoping that someone here might know what it could be. I've been avoiding taking my car on load trips in case it is a wheel bearing, but I'm getting sick of not having a car I can't trust.
Thanks for any help!
