this problem has been intermittent over the past couple months, but has become apparently worse as it does it constantly now. there's a catch though, as it only squeals at eighth to quarter throttle while just holding speed. when accelerating or going up a grade that taxes the engine the squeal goes away. i thought it was the goodyear gatorbacks i put on about thirty thousand miles ago, but the belts are adjusted right and have no signs of wear. i checked both idler pulleys and replaced the idler pulley for the compressor, but that didn't provide any relief either. it doesn't matter whether i'm at highway speeds or just driving in the city,this chirping/squealing noise is there. it's driving me batty. my father suggested it could be the alternator bearings going bad, but while driving home tonight i stuck my head out the window and took a good hard listen. it almost sounds as though it's coming from the underside of the truck, like right beneath me. i could be wrong, and i know nothing about these trucks and whether this is common. i just want my truck to do like it used to and be quiet. i don't know if it matters, but the vehicle in question is a 00 tacoma prerunner with a 2.7 liter. please help!

 

i forgot to mention that it also does not squeal while in park or in neutral and revving the engine or holding the engine at any rpm.

 

grease all fittings on the drivelines.

 

tried that already. any other ideas?

 

It honestly sounds like a u-joint or the carrier bearing!!!

Is this auto or manual??

 

it's an automatic, and my old man thinks it's the center support bearing (the bearing between the two piece driveshaft). is this also called the carrier bearing? i have one priced out online at partstrain.com for around eighty bucks. is there a better site that you guys use for replacement parts in times like these? partstrain gives me iffy service but i like their prices compared to the local parts stores.

 

I just had the exact same problem. Mine would chirp like crazy starting at around 25 miles an hour when i let off the gas. Then as soon as i would even touch the gas pedal, it would go away. I had everything checked and couldn't figure it out. I had a feeling it was the U-joints, but i had them checked also, and they felt fine. After finally doing everything possible, my friend and i put it up on the lift and ran it up to 35. As soon as we did we located the sound coming from my upper u-joint. It was leaking and slinging grease. I had the whole thing replaced, but found that my needle bearings had disintegrated from not having any grease. So check those also. After replacing all the joints and the needle bearings, the sound completely disappeared. Hope that helps.

 

Yes this is the carrier bearing!!!

 

things seem too good to be true. i regreased all the zertz inserts i could see. after taking it out for a spin it still chirp like normal and i was almost positive some expensive part was needing replacement, until my dad pointed out that i had missed one. after greasing it up and taking it out, the sound has vanished. im going to put a little more grease on there for good measure, but hopefully my needle bearings aren't burned up like yours had! oh, i hope! thanks to everyone that helped out on this guessing game. really, thank you!

 

this will be the next thing to go either way so you just bought yourself enough time to replace it and if you do not replace it before it goes,
Sitting on the side of the road you will be....

 

so they're needle bearings in the joint that need replaced? keeping grease on these won't be enough?

 

is this the culprit that needs replaced?

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...S_634225976___

a yay or a nay?

 

well was it a U-Joint you greased that stopped the noise?? it is definitely a U-joint that is in the picture...

always try to get one that you can grease in the future and this will help...

 

it was a u joint that i greased that ceased the noisy squeal. are not all bearings (such as the one pictured in the link) zertz friendly? any recommendations on where to go online to get one or is the local parts store a trusted place for yotatech?

 

Greaseable
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50070+2070023
greasable
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50070+2070023
not greasable
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50070+2070023

now that said most guys I find on forums believe highly in OEM Parts, I however look for a quality part usually never autozone but advance or O'reiley or NAPA are my choices!!

 

Definitely have your needle bearings checked. Just greasing won't help them if you're missing some. it should be fine if you're missing 1 or two, but i wouldn't recommend ignoring it if you're missing more. I was missing nearly half of mine and you can't just buy more. I had to send my drive shaft to a specialist to replace them. While it was there they found the shaft to be way out of balance due to so much slop from not having all my bearings. You'll save yourself a pretty penny if you make sure to check those before putting all the new joints and fitting on.