So I need a little help from those that know more than me about land cruisers... My cruiser is a 1994 80 series with 126,000 miles on it. I have a slight front end moan that has been happening for about the last 1,500 or so miles. It’s not super noticeable to anyone but me, but I can hear it slightly and it’s more of a vibration coming through the steering wheel and through the driver side floorboard (my feet can feel it). It’s not like a “I’m going to be calling AAA any minute on the side of the road” noise; more like a nuisance and a long term reliability concern.
Here’s the fact pattern regarding this noise:
1. Front drive shaft was replaced with a brand new one just a week or two ago. Rear U joints were also replaced.
2. Front Wheel bearings and spindles were replaced over the weekend. I used new 95-97 style OEM Toyota spindles with the needle bearings instead of the brass bushing. Used new Koyo wheel bearings and Mobil 1 red synthetic grease. None of this changed the noise.
3. Did a full front Knuckle rebuild in December. Prior owner (friend of mine with no business owning an old vehicle) I suspect drove it for 30-50,000 miles with the inner axle seals blown out. Birfields looked fine and didn’t make any clicking noise, but all the grease had migrated to the differential and was a nasty sludge.
4. I did not notice the aforementioned noise until AFTER I rebuilt the front axle and did several drain and fills to flush out the migrated grease. This was also when the u-joints were going south so at the time I figured that was the noise.
5. Pulled the new front drive shaft and locked the transfer case (triple locked cruiser) and went for a drive. If anything the noise seemed louder without the front shaft.
6. Noise seems load dependent. It occurs at a lower speed if I am driving into a head wind (50 mph) than if I am driving with a tail wind (65-70 mph).
7. Noise is most noticeable on deceleration from high speed. Not throttle dependent. Makes less noise on acceleration than deceleration.
8. There is no leaking from front diff input shaft at all, and it seems tight .
9. The noise was also present while coasting down hill with both the transfer case and the transmission in neutral.
I just bought this thing in October, and it’s in pretty good shape now thanks to the wealth of information this forum has provided. I am trying to diagnose this noise pretty aggressively because I would like to drive it from Texas to California and back at the end of June and I want to make sure it’s nothing critical.
Is this just part of the territory with a full time 4wd vehicle or do I have a diff problem that needs to be taken care of ASAP? Thanks for all the assistance!! This forum is an incredible resource.
Here’s the fact pattern regarding this noise:
1. Front drive shaft was replaced with a brand new one just a week or two ago. Rear U joints were also replaced.
2. Front Wheel bearings and spindles were replaced over the weekend. I used new 95-97 style OEM Toyota spindles with the needle bearings instead of the brass bushing. Used new Koyo wheel bearings and Mobil 1 red synthetic grease. None of this changed the noise.
3. Did a full front Knuckle rebuild in December. Prior owner (friend of mine with no business owning an old vehicle) I suspect drove it for 30-50,000 miles with the inner axle seals blown out. Birfields looked fine and didn’t make any clicking noise, but all the grease had migrated to the differential and was a nasty sludge.
4. I did not notice the aforementioned noise until AFTER I rebuilt the front axle and did several drain and fills to flush out the migrated grease. This was also when the u-joints were going south so at the time I figured that was the noise.
5. Pulled the new front drive shaft and locked the transfer case (triple locked cruiser) and went for a drive. If anything the noise seemed louder without the front shaft.
6. Noise seems load dependent. It occurs at a lower speed if I am driving into a head wind (50 mph) than if I am driving with a tail wind (65-70 mph).
7. Noise is most noticeable on deceleration from high speed. Not throttle dependent. Makes less noise on acceleration than deceleration.
8. There is no leaking from front diff input shaft at all, and it seems tight .
9. The noise was also present while coasting down hill with both the transfer case and the transmission in neutral.
I just bought this thing in October, and it’s in pretty good shape now thanks to the wealth of information this forum has provided. I am trying to diagnose this noise pretty aggressively because I would like to drive it from Texas to California and back at the end of June and I want to make sure it’s nothing critical.
Is this just part of the territory with a full time 4wd vehicle or do I have a diff problem that needs to be taken care of ASAP? Thanks for all the assistance!! This forum is an incredible resource.
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