Drivetrain noise (1 Viewer)

[jlhollowx13]

Hi all, I am going on a long trip (hopefully) this week, a total of about 1400 miles towing a 14x7 enclosed trailer. I have been prepping the lexus for the trip, adding a trailer brake controller, weight distribution hitch, greasing the driveline, oil change, tire rotation etc. I took it on a long trip yesterday and noticed an annoying noise between 40 to 70 MPH (70 was the fastest I got to). It sounds like driveline or tires, a low sound that changes with speed. I don't feel a ton of vibration, like the tires are out of balance, but a slight amount so I'm not ruling it out but also not sure it's the issue. I am going to try to get a shop to do a balance before my intended departure on Wednesday. This issue seems to have sprung up recently, although most of my driving is under 40 mph so I wouldn't have noticed it recently.

I am wondering if anyone might have an idea on what it could be and if it would be ok to take on the trip and deal with when I am back. While checking things over and doing maintenance I did notice broken cv boots, one worse than the other so that is on my list to fix when I'm back. I also have a steering rack boot that has ripped. Tomorrow I plan to replace all my front diff bushings as they parts just arrived. I also noticed a slight amount of movement in my front wheel bearings, but no more than I have seen in other vehicles with no indications. I would of course plan on doing them when I do the cv axles.

I just don't want to get stranded and if I can fix something before I leave on Wednesday I'd like to. I don't want to push things as it's a long trip and having a trailer adds to the equation.

 

[jlhollowx13]

So I figured I would post an update if it helps anyone in the future. I decided to replace my cv axles, I went with aftermarket from oreillys as I could get them quickly. I replaced all my front diff bushings, cv axles and drained and filled diffs, tcase and transmission. I rechecked my wheel bearings while everything was in the air and my drivers side has a SLIGHT amount of play, passenger side seems good but has a tiny bit of play in the steering joint. I will address the bearings and steering at a later date as they don't seem to be the issue.

Road tested the vehicle after all this and the noise/vibration is still there. At this point I think it has to be the tires out of balance. Unfortunately I already pushed my trip back a day and no shops could do the balance before I leave so I'm going to go as is and try to get them balanced at my destination.

One thing I will mention is I got a flat, took the tire in for repair and then rotated the tires after I got the flat back. I am now thinking maybe the flat was not balanced when it was repaired or maybe rotating them somehow caused something I didn't notice before, maybe an out of balance tire going from front to back or vice versa. Also all my rims have weights except 1, I can't remember for sure if that was the flat but seems odd to me that a tire wouldn't have any weights, what are the chances it's perfectly balanced like that? Anyway, I will update after the balance and hopefully that is the culprit.

 

[shtbrwn86]

U-joints?

 

[jlhollowx13]

U-joints?

I haven't checked them but I did grease them when I got the tire repaired and rotated the tires. I didn't have this issue prior to the tires and greasing the u joints. Could greasing them have caused this issue? And how do I check them?

 

[jlhollowx13]

U-joints?

Well, ujoint ended up being the problem! I don't know how I missed it when I greased everything, but the rear most u joint was toast. Got it replaced and everything seems all good now. I tried moving the ujoints when I greased everything and didn't feel play, so I have no idea what happened. Maybe greasing it loosened something up or maybe I wasn't being diligent enough. Either way I'm glad it's resolved!

 

[shtbrwn86]

Well, ujoint ended up being the problem! I don't know how I missed it when I greased everything, but the rear most u joint was toast. Got it replaced and everything seems all good now. I tried moving the ujoints when I greased everything and didn't feel play, so I have no idea what happened. Maybe greasing it loosened something up or maybe I wasn't being diligent enough. Either way I'm glad it's resolved!

Awesome! Did you just replace the rear joint? On mine when I crawl under there there is quite a bit of play on the rear most joint. I think I am going to replace the entire rear prop shaft with a new OEM shaft. I think what did it to mine was the fact that it has 250 and I have done quite a bit of puddle driving lately. Not straight up water crossings, but pretty deep puddles and mud. I'm sure that's what pushed them over the edge.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Awesome! Did you just replace the rear joint? On mine when I crawl under there there is quite a bit of play on the rear most joint. I think I am going to replace the entire rear prop shaft with a new OEM shaft. I think what did it to mine was the fact that it has 250 and I have done quite a bit of puddle driving lately. Not straight up water crossings, but pretty deep puddles and mud. I'm sure that's what pushed them over the edge.

I only did the rear most as the others seemed good for the time being. I would have preferred to do both, but the front seems tight still and the parts store only had one greasable u joint in stock, the others didn't have a grease point and I didn't want that so I opted to just do what was necessary.. It was an easy enough job, I did have to cut the u joint out though, my press tool wouldn't do it, too seized up. I first tried doing it with the driveshaft installed, but since my press wasn't doing thr job decided to pull it out completely to replace the u joint as it was easier off the vehicle. I would have preferred to get oem replacements but I needed to get it done quickly so I just went with what the parts store had and figured if it fails prematurely it's easy and cheap enough to replace that I would take the chance. I'll just make sure and keep up on greasing everything, maybe every oil change from now on. I'm not sure what kind of maintenance it had previously but probably not enough greasing I'm sure. Personally I would just do the ujoints if you have the time and tools, $40 vs $250+ (not sure what they go for as I didn't look) for a whole shaft. Replacing the shaft would only save a half hour to an hour of work depending on how stuck your u joints are and if you did both. A bench vise, some Sockets and hammer are all you really need. An angle grinder if you need to cut them out (and honestly cutting them out was pretty quick compared to trying to press them out whole).

 

[100d ua]

I only did the rear most as the others seemed good for the time being. I would have preferred to do both, but the front seems tight still and the parts store only had one greasable u joint in stock, the others didn't have a grease point and I didn't want that so I opted to just do what was necessary.. It was an easy enough job, I did have to cut the u joint out though, my press tool wouldn't do it, too seized up. I first tried doing it with the driveshaft installed, but since my press wasn't doing thr job decided to pull it out completely to replace the u joint as it was easier off the vehicle. I would have preferred to get oem replacements but I needed to get it done quickly so I just went with what the parts store had and figured if it fails prematurely it's easy and cheap enough to replace that I would take the chance. I'll just make sure and keep up on greasing everything, maybe every oil change from now on. I'm not sure what kind of maintenance it had previously but probably not enough greasing I'm sure. Personally I would just do the ujoints if you have the time and tools, $40 vs $250+ (not sure what they go for as I didn't look) for a whole shaft. Replacing the shaft would only save a half hour to an hour of work depending on how stuck your u joints are and if you did both. A bench vise, some Sockets and hammer are all you really need. An angle grinder if you need to cut them out (and honestly cutting them out was pretty quick compared to trying to press them out whole).

U Joints have been at the top of my maintenance list trying to track down an awful vibration throughout the car above 70 MPH. However, because of how intermittent it is (sometimes drives smooth as butter, sometimes it's just plain awful) I keep putting it off.

 

[Mike NXP]

Well, ujoint ended up being the problem! I don't know how I missed it when I greased everything, but the rear most u joint was toast. Got it replaced and everything seems all good now. I tried moving the ujoints when I greased everything and didn't feel play, so I have no idea what happened. Maybe greasing it loosened something up or maybe I wasn't being diligent enough. Either way I'm glad it's resolved!

How do you diagnose if your U Joint is worn out or not? With my vehicle on the ground, I roll it back and forth slightly in park and I can hear a popping coming from the rear u joint , I thought that was strange.

 

[excessive]

save your factory CVs, don't return them to Oreilly for the core return.

 

[Sawyer2001LX]

Hi all, I am going on a long trip (hopefully) this week, a total of about 1400 miles towing a 14x7 enclosed trailer. I have been prepping the lexus for the trip, adding a trailer brake controller, weight distribution hitch, greasing the driveline, oil change, tire rotation etc. I took it on a long trip yesterday and noticed an annoying noise between 40 to 70 MPH (70 was the fastest I got to). It sounds like driveline or tires, a low sound that changes with speed. I don't feel a ton of vibration, like the tires are out of balance, but a slight amount so I'm not ruling it out but also not sure it's the issue. I am going to try to get a shop to do a balance before my intended departure on Wednesday. This issue seems to have sprung up recently, although most of my driving is under 40 mph so I wouldn't have noticed it recently.

I am wondering if anyone might have an idea on what it could be and if it would be ok to take on the trip and deal with when I am back. While checking things over and doing maintenance I did notice broken cv boots, one worse than the other so that is on my list to fix when I'm back. I also have a steering rack boot that has ripped. Tomorrow I plan to replace all my front diff bushings as they parts just arrived. I also noticed a slight amount of movement in my front wheel bearings, but no more than I have seen in other vehicles with no indications. I would of course plan on doing them when I do the cv axles.

I just don't want to get stranded and if I can fix something before I leave on Wednesday I'd like to. I don't want to push things as it's a long trip and having a trailer adds to the equation.

What trailer brake controller did you decide on? Did you install it yourself?

 

[jlhollowx13]

save your factory CVs, don't return them to Oreilly for the core return.

They didn't charge me a core return that they mentioned, but I did think they were probably worth keeping to rebuild. I haven't pulled them apart to inspect but probably will rebuild them when I have time for a project.

What trailer brake controller did you decide on? Did you install it yourself?

I found a used controller locally on Facebook. Its the tekonsha P2. Seemed like a decent controller and I think I paid $60 for it. I did install it myself. I followed a post on here and used a 7 pin connector that hooked into the existing 4 pin so I can unplug and use the 4 pin on my other trailers. It's maybe a half day or so job, depending on how detailed you are with wire routing and what not but not a hard job following that post. I'm sure I can find it if you'd like.

 

[jlhollowx13]

How do you diagnose if your U Joint is worn out or not? With my vehicle on the ground, I roll it back and forth slightly in park and I can hear a popping coming from the rear u joint , I thought that was strange.

If there is any play in it I would replace it. Using a pry bar or something like that you can try prying between the sides and see if you get any movement.

 

[Sawyer2001LX]

They didn't charge me a core return that they mentioned, but I did think they were probably worth keeping to rebuild. I haven't pulled them apart to inspect but probably will rebuild them when I have time for a project.


I found a used controller locally on Facebook. Its the tekonsha P2. Seemed like a decent controller and I think I paid $60 for it. I did install it myself. I followed a post on here and used a 7 pin connector that hooked into the existing 4 pin so I can unplug and use the 4 pin on my other trailers. It's maybe a half day or so job, depending on how detailed you are with wire routing and what not but not a hard job following that post. I'm sure I can find it if you'd like.

I've gotnit all wired up and ready, I just needed to decide on a controller. I think I've settled on the RedArc TowPro because of the minimal size. Thanks!

 

[jlhollowx13]

I've gotnit all wired up and ready, I just needed to decide on a controller. I think I've settled on the RedArc TowPro because of the minimal size. Thanks!

Nice choice! That was actually my first choice, I also loved the size and how you can put the knob almost anywhere. I only went with the teknosha because I happened across it and the deal worked out, usually those Facebook things are flakey for me. I want to put a controller in my fj60 as well and my chevy k2500 plow truck. Both can pull the enclosed trailer but the 60 can't hold much weight above just the trailer, the chevy has a little more towing capacity than the lexus. That will give me towing options in the future. I also have a lifted pop up camper with a 7 pin connecter and trailer brakes that I acquired this summer, that will be a great match for my 60 once I install a controller on that, it has a sbc 350 so towing here in the mountains with that isn't bad. I have an old controller in a 90s chevy pickup I have sitting on my property with no title and a bad tyranny so I might rob that one, but I'll still need a 3rd. I might jump for the RedArc at that point and put it in the lexus.

I plan to tow the enclosed trailer mostly with the lexus, my trailer maxes out at 7700 lbs, lexus maxes out at 7500 with the weight distribution hitch so that's a good match. My chevy can tow more, but it is older and my plow and wood truck so I try not to use it for anything more. The fj60 will probably do the majority of pop up towing.

I've towed with newer dodge 4500 at my old job. If I were towing a lot of weight a lot of the time I think I would be looking at a purpose built vehicle. But I have been happy with land cruiser capability both newer and older for my personal needs