ok..i have this funky humming/vibration type thing coming from my front drivers side wheel area. it comes and goes..but today it came more and didnt go away. it also seems to stop when i am slowing down and almost stopped. i just had the wheel bearins repacked and brakes down. anyone have any ideas what it could be? CV joint? Axle? i have a 1990 4wd 4runner. You guys have helped me before and im sure you will be able to help me this time..thanks a lot!


Corey

 

Check the balance and runout on your tires. Sounds like a balance problem to me.

My .02
Dr. Z

 

But if it's a balance problem why would it come and go?

Steve

 

No, not a balance problem exactly.
If the tires are cupping, they can change pitch on certin road surfaces. This cupping could be cause by tire balance, weak shock or alignment. Just balancing the tires will not cure the problem.

Was the noise present prior to the brake work and wheel bearing pack?

Check the hubs. One side is engaged and the other is not. Seen that before.

Just because the hub says free, doent always mean internally its not stuck.

Good luck, Kxpaul.

 

hmm..it didnt start until after the work was done. i have ADD so could one side be engaging and the other side not?

 

Check this thread and see if it sounds like your problem.

 

hmm..it does. thanks Matt. i took it to the shop today..but it was backed up..so i had to make an appoitment. then the lady said i couldnt leave my truck at the shop..that kinda pissed me off. the noise shares the ˟˟˟˟ out of me...but thank god i still can park the truck over at the old house that is 2 minutes down the road. now i have to ask my sister to get up at 730 in the morning and go over there and take it to him and tell him whats going on. hopefully its just lack of grease and not the spindle bearings problem like Rick was talking about. this will be the 3rd time in 3 months that the rig has been in the shop..its starting to piss me off. eveytime i think about trading it in..but then i have it fixed. at least the motor is still kicking like a bull. *knocks on wood*

 

Well i took it to the shop yesterday. i talked to the mech and he said "i drove it and man that does sound bad. i think it might be coming from the wheel bearing." so later he calls me and tells me that he found nothing wrong..but he did repack the wheel bearing and then took it for a drive and said it was fine. so i was like ok..how much is it going to be. he said nothing b/c he dont mind going back and checking his work. so i have to go and pick it up my g/f today. its been like 3 days without her and i miss her really bad..

 

I'm not trying to start nuffin' here but sometimes these guys won't admit that they really did a poor job to begin with and just act like they didn't find anything when in reality, to keep from losing the customer, they eat the cost of whatever needed to be replaced and act like nothing was amiss. just my opinion.

 

well..im pissed now. i went and got it..brought it back home and it started to do it again. the mech told me he drove it around for 10 miles( i cheched the od. and its true) and it did nothing to him. he said the rotors were glazed..whats this mean? he told me to bring it back to him on monday and he is going to replace the pads. could this fix the problem? maybe i should look into getting a set of aisin hubs?

 

unless your pads are dragging or the sound only happens when you are braking, the rotors being glazed don't have anything to do with that. I'm not familiar with your year runner but my rotors come off without having to remove the hubs so getting the glaze off is as simple as removing the wheels, remove the calipers, pull the rotors off, and just using an orbital sander with some 180 to 220 grit (it's what I like to use) and run over the surface a couple times (both sides of the rotor of course). the pads (if they aren't warn and don't really need replacing) you could just take a sanding block with maybe 100-150 grit on it and rough them up a little (and I do mean a little, it doesn't take much). since it is so easy I usually rough the pads and shoes during tire rotations. I like doing this because the brakes always feel new. but seriously, don't get into a rut a let a dude keep taking you for a ride, if he's going to replace the pads free then by all means do it but make sure they aren't the autozone cheapy's, it's best to pay a lot more for the high quality toyota's. you can get a better price by ordering parts online at www.1sttoyotaparts.com or one of the other wholesale priced places. Sterling McCall in Houston even does internet sales at wholesale prices, Jesse Sierra is the internet sales guy there to talk to about that.

 

hmmm...well guys sorry to post again and bring this up but i have to tell someone. i hate to not have my rig. i took it back today to the shop..and he didnt call or anything. i was even an hour late to school. i know they are a little busy..but no phone call or anything. i will have to call tomorrow. i guess since he didnt call its going to be worse than what he thought. over the weekend i found that it only made the noise when i was in 2wd, it went away when i put her in 4wd. i would of rather on thurday paid 550 and had the thing fixed than be in this position 5 days later and still not having it fixed. maybe its time to trade the rig in on that little sunfire i have had my eye on down the road..

 

Not a Sunfire. I had a friend who had one and it was a big POS. Pontiac quality sucks. Those things are better off in the junkyard . If you want a reliable car stick with toyota or honda. That's just my opinion.

 

my sister just bought a 99 and its nice. my other sis has a trans am and its also nice. but i called Randy, my mech today, and he is getting to whats wrong. hopefully i will be able to get it tomorrow. he said something about it might being where the axleshaft and spindle meet like Matt was saying in that other thread. could he just regrease this or will he have to replace it? i guess that just depends on how bad things really are. anyone have any prices or estimates on what this is going to cost me??

 

I wouldn't trade in a 4Runner over something like this. Pay the money to get it diagnosed and fixed correctly this time and you probably won't have much else go wrong with it. that is how toyotas are unless the previous onwer lacked on the maintanence and drove the sh_t out of it. We have a shop here in Houston called Toyota Lexus of Houston or Katy or something like that. Anyway, they only work on (as the name implies) Yota's and Lexi. they aren't in cahoots with the stealership and have basically the same rates as a corner auto shop. I think they were certified mechs at toyota and got smart and broke out on their own to do things right and for the right price. Look around where your at, maybe you could find some place like that. I would definately think about finding a different wrench since this is, what, your 3rd or 4th trip for the same prob? just my opinion.

 

hmm...i have taken the truck to him 3 times already and he has done an awesome job. im not going to trade in the rig. most of the things that have went wrong with it were basic maintance that needed done. the cv boot blew so i had to have the axle replaced, the brakes were just done, and the radiator went bad. so this will be the last thing that needs to be fixed for a while. the motor is still puring like a kitten. i have high hopes for the rig. now i just need to pay my mom back...hehe :pat:

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by metal22lica
[B] im not going to trade in the rig.

that's a relief. It's always nice to see a die hard 4runner fan.

that's what I was saying. I just thought you said above that you were thinking of trading up. I must have misinterpretted an earlier thread and thought he'd been working on the same problem for the last three visits and can't seem to get it fixed. So what was the problem? was it the cv's or something else?

 

Hey Metal!! Sorry to hear about your yota woes.... it happens. (sadly) Listen, if your mech. finds a problem w/ your rig and fixes it, make sure you post about it would you? It sounds to me like ALOT of guys here are having similar problems. (myself included) If we could go to our mechanics and say "it's making a growling noise, I think it's the no. 7 fetzer valve.." it would save ALOT of head aches AND cash. I LIKE saving cash! Keep it in mind please, it would really help.

 

hey 1runner..i agree with you. when we post a problem and get it fixed...i think we should reply and tell what the problem was. its a great idea. it would save a lot of head aches and cash. maybe what people should do is once they fix the problem..they would repost with the oginal post then post a follow up and tell what was wrong. i will post on here..and get some ideas..then i will take it to the mech and say..well i think its the blah or blah, or as you like to call it...the fetzer valve, hehe, that way he thinks i know what im taking about and he cant jack me over. i aslo see that you might be having the same problem. did you get it fixed yet?

keisur im not sure whats wrong with it yet. sorry for the misunderstanding. i think its going to be what Matt was saying about the the axleshaft at the spindle area not having enough grease. hopefully it wont cost that much to fix. i just want it back badly so i can drive my own car around. after all this money in the front end..i could of just done a SAS..hehe

 

Well i just talked to the mech...he said he tore it apart and the spindle at the axleshaft looked a little torn up. he said his tool man came and reground it and it looks good. he said he is going to put it back together and lube it all up and give it a drive. i think this is going to fix it guys. he also was joking with me and said i just wanted to give you a called and let you know that we didnt put on and the back burner and that we were working on it. he said it isnt rocket science it was just time consuming...aahhh...you know what that means...$55 dollars an hour..toolman time..man oh man..cant wait to see what this will do to the old wallet.