AznSky

so i know i havent been posting much cuz i've been busy with school. But today I drove up to my uncle's place in MI and it was snowing like crazy!! Anyhow, I shift into 4wd and start going, and I feel like something is either grinding, or really frictiony. And it sorta sounds like it too. So then when I let go of the gas (going about 20 mph) the front starts to let out some type of whirl noise.

The 4wd works, but on acceleration it feels like something is grinding up front, and then that noise when I let go. Oh i should mention that when i slightly touch the brakes, the whirl noise goes away, but when I let go it starts up again.

I should also mention that after my last wheeling trip, the front has always seemed like something was grinding, I thought it was mud between the brakes or something. I don't know.

This is what I've done so far:
1) Check at fluid (cuz i've been leaking a little)
2) Check to see any tear in cv boots
3) Checked front drive shaft if anything was stuck or grinding
4) Briefly looked at brakes from the inside

Could it be cv shafts spinning? Or my R&P?

TIA

amorphous

Rob-

does this happen only when turning or while going straight also?

have you given the wheels the bearing check??

~aaron

Rick F.

I don't know if this helps, but my '90 4Runner used to "grind" or "squawk" from the front wheels/axles during temperatures below about 20 deg. F. It would sometimes go away when I engaged and then disengaged 4WD. It turns out it was the needle bearings that needed to be lubed. I don't think there's a TSB on it, but a few of the northern forum members have seen this.

AznSky

aaron it happens when going straight, but it seems to get louder when I turn.

And could you explain where I could check the bearings?? Gracias.

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

That sounds like a wheel bearing. The only way I know to check is to jack up that tire off the ground and see if there is any side to side play in the wheel on the truck. That description probably sucks, I guess it could be hard to diagnose if it's the first time it has happened to you. I have had several wheel bearings go out on my work truck and they did exactly what you describe. Word of caution though, by the time they get to making a grinding noise-they are usually ready to come apart. Get them checked asap.

AznSky

blah, ok thanks a lot. will it be a problem if I leave it for now and just drive in 2wd? Because of exams and everything coming up.

amorphous

Hey Rob-

dragr1 hit the nail on the head - I'm thinking you MAY be able to check them on the ground by just giving the wheel a good hug and a back an forth shake - but, I think if it had play at that point- it's pretty far gone. Have you done a lot of mud runs? That's usually the culprit w/ wheel bearings and their demise.
All that said....it DOESN'T do anything in 2wd? Interesting....I'd say if there is no noise...you're ok to drive it. Put that baby on jackstands and see what you can find (i know....as it gets cold outside, it gets harder to do this! - sucks!)
double check those CV boots!

good luck,

Åaron

AznSky

hey guys, i just went outside used the hi-lift to jack her up. Tugged a little back and forth on the tire and there was no movement at all. I didn't want to do too much though cuz i was only using a hi-lift. A couple more Q's for you guys if you don't mind:

1) What's the worse that can happen if a wheel bearing goes out? (while I'm driving)

2) How hard is it to replace?

3) Avg. price at the stealer if I can't do it myself? Thanks again.

amorphous

question...have you checked the fluid in front diff???

Å

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

Not sure there.

It can still go out in 2wd though-but as stated above, I would also check the diff fluid level.

Does it only make the noise in 4wd?

Flamedx4

Unlikely to be a wheel bearing if there is no noise in 2wd. A wheel bearing going bad makes noise all the time, and gets louder over the course of only a few days until it fails.

Problem is more likely to be in the axle shafts or the diff.

"What's the worse that can happen if a wheel bearing goes out? (while I'm driving)" If it's a wheel bearing and it "goes" while driving - it can kill you. Got that? I mean it.

I blew a left front wheel bearing once - bearings and pieces of the cage locked up the wheel, it spun the inner race, destroying the spindle, galled and stuck, and the wheel stopped turning. It yanked the steering wheel out of my hands and the truck made a left turn into the neighbor's front yard. I was doing maybe 15 mph at the time, getting ready to turn into my driveway. If it had happened on the freeway 10 minutes earlier, it could have killed me or other people.

Now certainly every time a wheel bearing goes out it doesn't kill someone - you hear it, you feel it, you get it fixed. If it's fine in 2wd I can't imagine it's a wheel bearing. Could be in the axles, the diff, or even the front driveline or transfer case.

OneTrickToy

Heh... yeah, I'm in the middle of replacing the inner and outer bearings on my drivers side front wheel right now. It started making a noise earlier this week but it was intermittent. It literally blew up Saturday. I broke it open yesterday and the casing on the outer bearing had blown apart and the bearings were all over. Not fun at all.

AznSky

Ok, so I finally got this problem checked. And the dealer says it's the front bearing for my ring and pinion, and they quoted me $1076!!! Blah!!! I just installed new gears this past summer, I got the master install kit, but one of the bearings that came with the kit fell apart when we tried to press it. So my install guy said we should use the original ones. So now I guess the original ones are about to blow.

Is there a difference between the bearings you get with aftermarket gears? Like are they made specifically for the gear ratio? Or are they all the same? Reason being is I'm not sure to use Toyota OEM bearings again or get yukon's

Anyways, looks like I'll be driving 2wd for a while before I get my guy to fix this. Thanks for the help everyone.

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

Info on the bearings would be good to know, since I'm installing Yukon 4.88's and master install kit this week.

Stegall984R

my 300z turbo did the same thing, only from the rear. Rear end was nice and quiet under a moderate to hard accleration... Mild throttle, cruising, or decleration it sounded like grinding and wirring and... ugh it was terrible. I had a solid diff mount which transferred alot more noise into the car. I felt like my teeth were going to fall out. Good luck with your prob, hope it gets taken care of soon

AznSky

humm....what info are you talking about? They were the bearings that came with the master install kits. We tried pressing them on, an then they fell apart completely. Like each little bearing was on the floor. I'm sure it was just a fluke, but we didn't want to test the other.

But a question to you gurus, is it safe for me to drive in 2wd for the time being? Cuz I know we don't have manual hubs, so the front is spinning constantly? But the R&P isn't though right?