Driver side noise troubleshooting

[CharlieS]

Just grasping at straws here, but any chance it is as simple as a cv replacement where someone didn’t replace the c clip on the inboard end of the drive shaft?

 

[afgman786]

Just grasping at straws here, but any chance it is as simple as a cv replacement where someone didn’t replace the c clip on the inboard end of the drive shaft?

CV has never been replaced as far as I'm aware. Nothing in Toyota history and definitely not since I've owned it

 

[afgman786]

I think it was said, but wheel hub could be bad. I just had two hubs go bad on my car and it was an easy swap (similar scenario to you). Do a quick YouTube search for bad wheel hub/bearing and it might give you an exact representation of your symptoms. HTH

I thought me checking the speed sensor was supposed to be a sign for bad hub. Could hub be bad without bad wheel bearings?

 

[CLHickman]

I thought me checking the speed sensor was supposed to be a sign for bad hub. Could hub be bad without bad wheel bearings?

My speed sensor was fine and registering correctly, but the bearings were shot. I had a growl from 15 - 60 mph that got louder until I got to 60. The sound "vanished" after that but it was just a balance of the harmonics. The longer I drove it like that the greater the vibration got until I just called it and swapped the hubs.

 

[bloc]

I thought me checking the speed sensor was supposed to be a sign for bad hub. Could hub be bad without bad wheel bearings?

Consensus seemed to be building that a marked speed sensor was an indicator of bad bearings on the rear axle.. hadn’t heard anyone (so far) say the same for the front. But I may have just missed it.

 

[afgman786]

Consensus seemed to be building that a marked speed sensor was an indicator of bad bearings on the rear axle.. hadn’t heard anyone (so far) say the same for the front. But I may have just missed it.

It was that information that had me check the front sensor. Was hoping the same would be true up front.

 

[linuxgod]

It was that information that had me check the front sensor. Was hoping the same would be true up front.

Is the play in the differential side or in the wheel hub? No you hear any classic bearing noise (growling at certain speeds, louder if you change lanes in one direction or make a turn?)

FWIW even in the rear you could have a bad bearing and the sensor might not yet show a wear pattern. Depends on how bad it is. No idea if front bearing wear would show the same issue though.

Up front I connected my chassis ears to the big bolt on the rear part of the front wheel. I think those are bolts for the brake caliper... going from memory here. IIRC @bloc attached to the dust shield. If you're trying to listen for a wheel bearing the goal is to get as close to the hub as possible. I definitely heard more noise on the driver's side than the passenger's side, which led me to conclude it was the driver's side front wheel bearing. If hypothetically you had worn bearings but even wear on both sides it would be hard to diagnose it with chassis ears alone since they can amplify EVERY small noise... they work best when you're comparing noises.

If you think it's a wheel bearing, @cruiseroutfit sells pre-pressed hub-and-bearing kits for the front. Not sure your mileage but if you're doing the work I'd personally get the kit with new hubs since if you have bearing wear it can grind out the hub. That said if you're not getting bearing noise and you don't have any brake run-out after turning then I would be looking at the CV

 

[afgman786]

Is the play in the differential side or in the wheel hub? No you hear any classic bearing noise (growling at certain speeds, louder if you change lanes in one direction or make a turn?)

FWIW even in the rear you could have a bad bearing and the sensor might not yet show a wear pattern. Depends on how bad it is. No idea if front bearing wear would show the same issue though.

Up front I connected my chassis ears to the big bolt on the rear part of the front wheel. I think those are bolts for the brake caliper... going from memory here. IIRC @bloc attached to the dust shield. If you're trying to listen for a wheel bearing the goal is to get as close to the hub as possible. I definitely heard more noise on the driver's side than the passenger's side, which led me to conclude it was the driver's side front wheel bearing. If hypothetically you had worn bearings but even wear on both sides it would be hard to diagnose it with chassis ears alone since they can amplify EVERY small noise... they work best when you're comparing noises.

If you think it's a wheel bearing, @cruiseroutfit sells pre-pressed hub-and-bearing kits for the front. Not sure your mileage but if you're doing the work I'd personally get the kit with new hubs since if you have bearing wear it can grind out the hub. That said if you're not getting bearing noise and you don't have any brake run-out after turning then I would be looking at the CV

So the play is where the CV connects to diff. Both sides have the same amount of being able to pull out/push back in, and checking with others that small amount of in out is normal. No rotational play with the CV.

The chassis ears I borrowed didn't work... I might just end up buying a set off Amazon to use. The ones I borrowed had 4 total and put them in the following places:
one on diff both sides, one on dust shield. Then did tie rod, and wheel speed sensor bolt. Never really got any noise to come thru. Even the settings that had nothing plugged in sounded the same so pretty sure they weren't working.

 

[CharlieS]

So the play is where the CV connects to diff. Both sides have the same amount of being able to pull out/push back in, and checking with others that small amount of in out is normal. No rotational play with the CV.

The chassis ears I borrowed didn't work... I might just end up buying a set off Amazon to use. The ones I borrowed had 4 total and put them in the following places:
one on diff both sides, one on dust shield. Then did tie rod, and wheel speed sensor bolt. Never really got any noise to come thru. Even the settings that had nothing plugged in sounded the same so pretty sure they weren't working.

Any chance the 9v battery in the control box is dead?

 

[afgman786]

Any chance the 9v battery in the control box is dead?

I had static when I turned it on and as the volume went up so did the static. So battery is good.

I tried tapping the clamps and other things to see if I could hear any noise with no luck. That should have made noise come thru the headphones right?

 

[linuxgod]

I had static when I turned it on and as the volume went up so did the static. So battery is good.

I tried tapping the clamps and other things to see if I could hear any noise with no luck. That should have made noise come thru the headphones right?

Yep. If you tap the clamps at the end it's quite loud in the headphones (as my son tells me).

These are the ones I have

Amazon product ASIN B000IHIAES

 

[Fisher23]

The video posted shows the sound exactly every rotation, I would pull the wheel and look again at the rotor dust shield very carefully. and/or jack up the front end and see if you can re-create it. I don' think it is a bearing as the noise is 1 per rotation. To me it sounds like a scraping noise.

 

[afgman786]

Had the chassis ears on this weekend. Also taped up the wheel where it could have potentially rubbed with masking tape and no marks. One of the clamps died right after trying to use them...
When the noise is prominent in the video is when I am accelerating. What do yal think is my issue with this information or do I need to do more digging?

 

[indycole]

Tracking down noises like this is so frustrating. Two steps forward and one step backward. If I were in your shoes, I'd consider more diagnostics and debugging... in no particular order:

• Run the vehicle on a dyno where you can inspect the undercarriage to isolate the noise and perhaps feel it as well
• Remove the front drive shaft from the transfer case
• Check the front diff fluid for shavings/particles and replace
• Replace the boots/grease on the CVs to give you a good look at the condition
• Double-check your wheel spacers
• Check the dust shields from the outward side if you're removing the spacer / rotor

 

[afgman786]

With the whole front end refreshed: CVs, hubs bearings, and inner shaft the noise is gone.