Vibration and clunk

[zopperman]

I have what feels like a vibration coming through my driver side floor right by my left foot. It's made worse by turning left. I assumed wheel bearing to I changed the bearing and hub today, but it's still there, maybe feels a little better. Sometimes I get a pop/clunk type noise when turning left. CV has a LITTLE play in it, maybe 1/8" back and forth, so I don't think it's the CV??

Could it be the passenger wheel bearing? I really feel like it's coming from the left side? My steering does feel a bit tighter since I swapped the bearing. I'm thinking it may be LCA bushings worn out, but I couldn't detect excessive play in the LCA or LBJ.

I guess the clunk could be the driveshaft, but I have greased it recently and It's really only when turning left. Almost sounds like something is like shifting.

Also, last night when I was stopping it sounded like somthing was dragging, like "shk shk shk" noise which went away after I changed this bearing/hub

Could it be a tire out of balance? Seems to be more noticeable at low speeds and again when turning left.

Maybe passenger wheel bearing?

 

[sport runner]

When you turn left you load the right wheel bearing so if the noise increases when you turn left I would think right wheel bearing... When you raise the wheels off the ground and shake the tire do you have any play? The shk shk noise is normally the sheet metal guard behind the brake rotor.. They very easily bend and rub

 

[zopperman]

When you turn left you load the right wheel bearing so if the noise increases when you turn left I would think right wheel bearing... When you raise the wheels off the ground and shake the tire do you have any play? The shk shk noise is normally the sheet metal guard behind the brake rotor.. They very easily bend and rub

I didn't feel any play and I had a firestone diagnose it and they said everything way fine. It got a little better after I did the driver bearing which did have some play. My theory is the shop that rebuilt my truck after an cv ident impacted the hell out of the axle nut so the bearing which wasn't OEM was crushed a bit and failed prematurely.

I will probably replace the passenger side eventually as a prophylactic measure. It just really doesn't have any play whereas the driver did. I bent the dust guard out of the way so I don't think it's rubbing on there or anything. Firestone also said cvs are good, lbjs are good and the ubj is brand new light racing UCA. I just re torqued everything on the driver side and one cam bolt was a bit loose and so was the UCA-frame bolt/nut. I'm gonna do the passenger side too. These things play trucks on you...

 

[eddiebx]

Sounds like a good idea to replace that passenger side one too if you're saying that the people who worked on it might've over torqued the axle nut and in the process affecting the bearing clearances...remember not all failing bearings will exhibit play, so it's still possible that it could be the bearing even though there is no visible play yet.

Not that I am trying to say firestone didn't properly check your CVs, but I dunno how much you can see from a visual inspect besides the boots, lol. If you want to try something just to make sure you can rule out the CVs, perhaps you can try this:

Put it into 4H then drive around to re-create that knocking noise you hear...now try this with the gear in neutral and while coasting in drive, and finally while applying some gas (while in drive). If none of that changes the knocking noise, then you can probably rule out the CV. But if it does have some affect, perhaps you're actually hearing something from the CV itself, maybe it's some how binding inside?

I think this diagnostics should work fine on a 4WD car too, that's how I used to diagnose FWD vehicles and it ends up being pretty accurate...drive line vibrations and knocking are a pain in the rear, good luck dude!

Oh yeah one last thing you can check are your brake components, make sure nothing from the pad is ever so slightly rubbing up against the rotors (stuck debris, wear indicators, etc.).

 

[zopperman]

Sounds like a good idea to replace that passenger side one too if you're saying that the people who worked on it might've over torqued the axle nut and in the process affecting the bearing clearances...remember not all failing bearings will exhibit play, so it's still possible that it could be the bearing even though there is no visible play yet.

Not that I am trying to say firestone didn't properly check your CVs, but I dunno how much you can see from a visual inspect besides the boots, lol. If you want to try something just to make sure you can rule out the CVs, perhaps you can try this:

Put it into 4H then drive around to re-create that knocking noise you hear...now try this with the gear in neutral and while coasting in drive, and finally while applying some gas (while in drive). If none of that changes the knocking noise, then you can probably rule out the CV. But if it does have some affect, perhaps you're actually hearing something from the CV itself, maybe it's some how binding inside?

I think this diagnostics should work fine on a 4WD car too, that's how I used to diagnose FWD vehicles and it ends up being pretty accurate...drive line vibrations and knocking are a pain in the rear, good luck dude!

Oh yeah one last thing you can check are your brake components, make sure nothing from the pad is ever so slightly rubbing up against the rotors (stuck debris, wear indicators, etc.).

The noise is only like at full lock turning left. I checked for play in CV's and nada. It's hard to reproduce too.

I tightened up everything on the front end, LCA's and UCA's etc and it seemed to help or maybe i'm just going crazy. It's like a slight vibration when turning left. I'll replace that bearing in a few weeks, i have a 500 mile drive i have to do today so we'll find out if everything is OK.

Cleaned out the pads and stuff when I did the hub. ugh it's so frustrating, I may wind up taking it to a stealer and just having them diagnose it.

Is it possible that it's just my lift/armor and tires and stuff causing abnormal driving that isn't unsafe but is just a little strange? could also be the driveshaft i suppose, but i don't think so since it's directional

 

[eddiebx]

I see what you're saying...how "full" full lock are we talking about? Could it be possible that there's something on the front end that's tweaked so the length of the axle is now a hair too long? (ie. bent spindle, arm, etc..) Any front end collisions in your vehicle history?

I don't think any of your armor or lift should be causing this kind of noise, it's just a tough one to track down I'm afraid. Hence why I said earlier drive line vibrations and knocking a freakin' pain, been there before, it's not fun

 

[absolute yota]

Twice I have diagnosed and repaired the wrong wheel bearing. It ended up that the bad one was getting quieter under load. Sound also travels through the frame, floor and steering. Its hard to tell just from noise where its coming from.

Recently I had an issue with my brake, I replaced , bled, re bled, replaced lol . I had a nasty pull to the left under hard braking. Guess what ? It was the LCA bushings which when replaced also solved my intermittent steering shake on the highway.

Don't assume its one side or the other, BTW I still cant track down the annoying click in the front end, sounds like a metal clink noise when turning or sometimes when I gas it in reverse. Im beginning to think its the diff bushings or possibly a crappy replacement CV I put in a few months back.

 

[zopperman]

I see what you're saying...how "full" full lock are we talking about? Could it be possible that there's something on the front end that's tweaked so the length of the axle is now a hair too long? (ie. bent spindle, arm, etc..) Any front end collisions in your vehicle history?

I don't think any of your armor or lift should be causing this kind of noise, it's just a tough one to track down I'm afraid. Hence why I said earlier drive line vibrations and knocking a freakin' pain, been there before, it's not fun

I had an accident 50k ago and something was tweaked. They couldn't ever get my alignment perfect, till I got UCAs which compensated for the tweaked frame or spindle or whatever. Assuming everything was in spec now and this is a recent issue, I don't know if that's the culprit.

Also josh I'm gonna do lcas in the spring I think. Then everything in the front end will be fresh.

 

[eddiebx]

I had an accident 50k ago and something was tweaked. They couldn't ever get my alignment perfect, till I got UCAs which compensated for the tweaked frame or spindle or whatever. Assuming everything was in spec now and this is a recent issue, I don't know if that's the culprit.

Also josh I'm gonna do lcas in the spring I think. Then everything in the front end will be fresh.

What position is the aftermarket UCA's caster and camber setting at, in order for them to get the alignment into spec? This is just a wild guess but, maybe whatever it is they did to compensate the accident damage is causing the CVs to bind ever so slightly at full lock?

 

[zopperman]

What position is the aftermarket UCA's caster and camber setting at, in order for them to get the alignment into spec? This is just a wild guess but, maybe whatever it is they did to compensate the accident damage is causing the CVs to bind ever so slightly at full lock?

It doesn't sound like a binding CV. It's at +2 caster and max camber adj. with the UBJ closest to the coil, think most + camber possible and it looks like one of the alignment cams is maxed out, but all my specs are pretty good. it's the vibration that worries me more. It actually wasnt horrible today, but again turning while going fast seems to make it worst

 

[NOVA46]

been seeing a lot of threads about steering vibrations/shudders or clunky suspensions recently. Maybe there's a 4runner plague going around.

if the wheel is out of balance it would be more noticeable at higher speeds i'd think. I'm getting a similar vibration during turns, but it's probably because my shocks are deceased and seizing. could it be that your differential isn't engaging properly? just waiting on someone to figure this out

 

[eddiebx]

It doesn't sound like a binding CV. It's at +2 caster and max camber adj. with the UBJ closest to the coil, think most + camber possible and it looks like one of the alignment cams is maxed out, but all my specs are pretty good. it's the vibration that worries me more. It actually wasnt horrible today, but again turning while going fast seems to make it worst

Heh, this is the problem with trying to resolve some mechanical issues over the internet, I wish I could take a ride in your truck and feel it myself because trying to describe it to one another is almost as difficult as finding the source, lol. Is it a rhythmic vibration that goes along with the wheel speed?

Having to be at max negative camber and maxed out LCA cam is not a great sign, I wonder if that is the culprit since it could possibly mean the suspension geometry is way too far out past factory limits? I'm not familiar enough with our suspension to even begin guessing, sorry!

 

[ebg18t]

It doesn't sound like a binding CV. It's at +2 caster and max camber adj. with the UBJ closest to the coil, think most + camber possible and it looks like one of the alignment cams is maxed out, but all my specs are pretty good. it's the vibration that worries me more. It actually wasnt horrible today, but again turning while going fast seems to make it worst

You need a set of castor corrected UCA's like the rest of us. My alignment was perfect after install of my Desert/DSM uniball UCA's. Travel is so smooth now.

 

[zopperman]

Heh, this is the problem with trying to resolve some mechanical issues over the internet, I wish I could take a ride in your truck and feel it myself because trying to describe it to one another is almost as difficult as finding the source, lol. Is it a rhythmic vibration that goes along with the wheel speed?

Having to be at max negative camber and maxed out LCA cam is not a great sign, I wonder if that is the culprit since it could possibly mean the suspension geometry is way too far out past factory limits? I'm not familiar enough with our suspension to even begin guessing, sorry!

You need a set of castor corrected UCA's like the rest of us. My alignment was perfect after install of my Desert/DSM uniball UCA's. Travel is so smooth now.

I think they could do a better job with the alignments, but are lazt. [MENTION=86678]ebg18t[/MENTION] my UCA's are caster corrected, same as the DSM ones (+2) but I can set them up to +4. I may actually set the caster to +3 and see if firestone can get the alignment better without maxing the cams.

 

[ebg18t]

if firestone can get the alignment better without maxing the cams.

i forgot you are running LR's, right?

Sounds like you need to find a better tech at firestone.

 

[zopperman]

i forgot you are running LR's, right?

Sounds like you need to find a better tech at firestone.

Oh i thought you were just crapping on SPC :becky:

Yeah I do, but I don't think it's the alignment causing the vibes

 

[ebg18t]

you 100% sure the wheel bearings are perfect? i know you just replaced them. Also are the wheels balanced ok? Did you hit anything recently?

 

[zopperman]

you 100% sure the wheel bearings are perfect? i know you just replaced them. Also are the wheels balanced ok? Did you hit anything recently?

Haven't hit anything, but also didn't do the pass wheel bearing, but the wheel has zero play