justgoharder

First off thanks in advance for any help!

I've got a '93 4runner with 222,XXX miles...
So i have this weird grinding noise coming from the driver side front end. After doing my normal checks I couldn't find anything so I started searching this forum. Using my 'symptoms' i decided that it was a wheel bearing (sp?) so a hundred bucks in bearings and races some time under the car i thought i had the problem fixed. it even went away for a week...but then it came back!

so here is what is going on: it makes the noise off and on, sometimes i can drive 20 miles with no noise at all and sometimes it will make it for 45sec of a two min drive. It doesn't seem to only do it in turns or only on straights. It makes the noise in both 4wheel and 2wheel drive however the noise is a bit different when i 4wheel than when in 2wheel. it does seem that if i swerve or hit the brakes hard the noise will go away. and like i said it only makes this noise sometimes but it's not a small noise it's quite loud.

thanks so much for your help!

4runnerguy

how is the brakes on the truck are they new or warned out

justgoharder

the brakes are good, i pulled the rotors off when i replaced the wheel bearing. I checked and cleaned the break parts...i was hoping it was just something stuck in there but i guess not...

zachb55

how do the boots look on the CV shafts? any big piles of grease sitting where they shouldn't be? i just found a torn boot and replaced the entire shaft cause its not worth replacing the boot to end up with an irregular grinding noise down the road... something a PO might have done to save money... Napa sells reman. CV axles for about $65 or so. (on my rig)

justgoharder

It may be the CV's however i replaced both side 30k miles ago. and they don't look bad. If it was a bad CV would the noise be this irregular and if they look fine and if the boots are in good shape how can i tell a bad cv is the cause of the problem?

thanks!

any other ideas????

Steveh29

I've had the little metal spring/wire deal that retains the pad holding pins on the brake caliper come out and start randomly scraping the rim. Might want to look all the components near the rim and make sure nothing is shiny from scraping the rim.

ovrrdrive

2 suggestions...

If you haven't already, do a manual hub conversion on the front to stop everything from spinning. This may or may not quieten the noise, but from what I've read it's worthwhile to do either way.

Second, on my 03 runner the back started grinding like this and even though the pads were 50% or better and the wear indicators weren't anywhere neat the rotors I went ahead and changed them because I was thinking the indicators could possibly bind towards the rotors during braking and the noise disappeared.

Are the indicators shiny at all on the part that touches the rotor?

Elvota

What's the gear oil look like in your front diff?

What's the gear oil level in your front diff?

Any play in your pinion flange or driveshaft?

Last time you lubed DS or U-joints?

Jack up the front end, any side to side play in the hubs?

Assuming you have auto hubs, the only thing that changes when in 4WD and not 2WD is you are loading the DS and front axles. Everything is free-spinning in 2WD. Maybe that's a clue in the change of noise?

Just brainstorming....

stupid_mud_gremlins

call me an idiot, but how are the ball joints?

justgoharder

okay, thanks for the ideas...

can't find anything rubbing, nothing, nada, dam it i keep hoping for an easy fix!

I'll check the diff oil tomorrow morning...

what about the power steering gear box? i have no idea how to tell if one is bad or not but the pump needs to be replaced and maybe the gear box is jacked too? how can i check it? or is there now was that it's the problem?

THANKS!

CJM

Wheel bearings..

ForeignMuscle

my guess is either your cv shafts or your hubs cause my hubs are doing that exact thing right now.

justgoharder

I changed the wheel bearings already
$100 bucks in races and bearings for nothing...

miket223

There is a common problem on the 86-95 IFS vehicles. There are bronze bushings where the outboard CV axles go through the hub. These wear out over time and the axle will start to wobble inside the hub and give off a horrid noise from the front. You can replace these bronze bushings with needle bearings as part of an update kit available from Toyota. You can also try greasing the bushings and hope it doesn't come back. Greasing them first is how I usually try to fix it, then I install the update kit if that doesn't work.

justgoharder

Greasing the bushings? Is that the job that requires making one of those 55mm sockets with a grease port attached to the end? Or are you talking about something totally different?
thanks

miket223

You don't need to remove any of the wheel bearings to grease the bronze bushings. Take the manual hub/ADD plate off and remove the snap ring. You'll be able to push the axle in towards the differential at this point and expose the inside bronze bushing (the outer one doesn't give any trouble). Then apply some grease to the bronze bushing and the bearing surface on the half shaft that rides on the bronze bushing. Repeat for the other side and reassemble.