cogniz

Yes, bizarre. Was this a repair you did your self? What did you spend on the repair? Thanks for the insight...I'm going nuts trying to find this squeaky gremlin...

Team420

I think the ball joints cost $25 each... i did both the upper and lower, since I was already there... think it took me about an hour...that includes time to have a couple smoke and beer breaks. It's quite easy.

simpsons721

ya i got the same prob it is very hard to identify first i thought it was only when i turn and only bad at start up now you can hear it sometimes going straight while hitting the gas

why would it be worse at startup it like cracks and when i get it going it hisses with a slight screetch

Team420

^^ Cuz its not warm yet^^ Mine would always make more noise when I first started out... after I got a few miles, it dulled to a constant squeak, that was usually worse when cornering.
To identify... instead of prying up on the wheel with a breaker bar... grab the bottom from the backside of the wheel and pull out... if it is like mine was... it will just click slightly. It was very difficult to identify, because it was not what I'm used to seeing out of bad balljoints. I went through 3 sets of bearings before I actually figured it was the b.j.

groober

I hope this helps. My 1st 4Runner was a '95 SR5 V6. After I put 20K on it I exchanged the tires for Michellin's and the shocks with Billsteins. I developed a 'squeaking noise' coming from under the front end. Nobody could cure the problem so I traded it in on a '97. I developed the exact same noise after about 50K. Here's how I cured my problem.

Lucas Power Steering additive. I removed a like amount of power steering fluid and replaced it with the additive. After running the truck for about 5 minutes turning the wheel; problem solved and has never returned.

My noise, in both trucks, started out small but grew to an annoying level. I was at my wits end when the solution was suggested by a buddy of mine.

I hope this helps somebody.

civilpd

My front end noise ended this morning on the side of the freeway. I was hoping it was the muffler but, alas, it was not to be. $800 exploratory surgery. They say flywheel or crankshaft.

civilpd

It was a sheared flex plate. Went ahead and had them fix about everything, head gaskets, front drive axle, rear wheel bearing, maybe one or two other things. Cost $1700. I could have had a better 4runner for all that.
Anyway what do you do?
I let the unshaven, greasy, near toothless, AAA mechanic go ahead and fix it because I figured at this point what the hell. He did have a newer Jag in there all apart so I figured he must be one of those half ignorant mechanical genius types. A bonus was that I found out that the AAA mechanic has to provide a year warranty so I'm dogging it to see if it will break.
Just after it was fixed it seemed like an old junker. Like some dirty thing that I should not be around. Just now getting back to liking it. The ol' income tax check paid for it or I would have probably parked it and tried to pull the transmission myself.
FYI For a rear main seal you got to pull the whole tranny off.
To summarize...I had this light tapping noise that came and went. Nothing all that alarming but annoying none the less. It seemed to get worse and was on the verge of becoming embarrassing. It drove fine, engine sounded great when the tapping noise was not present. There was very little indication that it was suddenly going to stop accelerating on the freeway one day. Then WHAM!! Actually there was no loud noise or anything... I think.
As a side note, I will say that it came with 2 12" subs and a Rockford Fosgate amp. The tapping sound may have been a little louder than what I had thought..........
anyway, gotta go.