Hello guys and gals. First off, you have a great forum here! I would normally find myself in a Mustang forum but it is time that my always faithfull every day driver/outdoors toy gets some extra TLC. I have a 97 4runner sr5 4x4 automatic which is making a squealing sound. The truck has almost 100k miles on it and I had the timing belt replaced about 20k miles ago and the rest of the belts done at 90k. I replaced all the breaks and front rotors... because the aftermarket pads warped the stock rotors... which I found out the hard way... The noise which I will do my best to describe happens when I am drivning at a constant rate(typically 35 or 65) something is squealing the whole time or when I lift off the gas, it squeals then fades away . When accelerating or if the truck is in park or neutral there is no noise to be found. If I hold the breaks while giving it a little gas the noise is still not there. I am hoping that one of the bearings in the pullies or alternator is going but my luck leads me to believe that the noise is coming from the tranny. I am going to be doing an oil/spark plug change this weekend and was curious if there is anything that I should try or take a look at. I know there are at least half a million moving parts in the drivetrain which can make any number of noises but this has started to get me a little worried. I thank you guys in advance for your time and for any suggestions or tips. On a side note, what spark plug wires do you suggest? The stock ones should probably be replaced soon and I really don't want to replace them with the thin stock ones again. Again, thanks.
Kevin

 

You don't mention where you're from or where the noise comes from. Since the '95 has been parked outside and the weather has turned cold, my speedo cable has been making a racket for a while each mornin'. Time to swap it out.

 

An awful whining, tinking, clinking, whistling noise is coming from my Tacoma. Probably just the U-joints. I cleaned my bed out, removed all my loose tools from my box, took the hi-lift out and the hundreds of 12ga shell casings.....still making those awful noises.
Ah well! I'm just gonna turn the Radio UP!heheh

 

I wouldn't recommend the radio thing. If it's a front U-joint, you might be the first Taco to enter Olympic pole-vaulting. Put the rear-end up on jack stands and get someone to put it in gear while you listen and observe. A piece of hose can be used as a stethyscope. Good luck.

 

It could be getting a little colder but living in the bay area the weather is pretty constant all year around. The noise has been progressively getting worse for the last 20K or so and it does sound like it is coming from the passenger side moreso than the driver side. Unfortunatly it only happens when driving at like 35 without large load on the enigne which makes it pretty dificult to pinpoint where it is coming from. It does sound like it is coming from the engine bay or right under the middle of the truck. Thank you
Kevin

 

If it sounds like a scraping noise (like what you would get with a brake drum) then there is a good chance that it is a u-joint. I have been battling a mysterious noise like that which only happened under very light load or coasting in gear above about 40mph and greased my u-joints based off of some info I found on this site. It seems to have worked but am waiting unitl after a big road trip I have planned to declare it fixed. It's a cheap thing to try. I originally replaced the center support drive shaft bearing as thats where the noise sounded like it was coming from. Make sure you grease every zirk especially the cadigan(sp?) with the zirks sort of hidden up in the middle as I think that is usually the culprit. It's a cheap thing to try. If the noise goes away it still may be a good idea to replace the offending joint as it may have worn while it was squeaking. My truck had about 80k miles on it when it started doing it for the 1st time

 

I will give that a shot. Thanks a lot guys.
Kevin

 

I used to get lot of squealing noise while off roading. Came from the passenger....