1Runner

Hi all! Anyone out there have any trouble w/ their front hubs making noise? My 4Runner is making a noise that sounds like the frnt drivers tire is rubbing on the wheel well. (its not though) I had the cv boot replaced a while back. The mech. greased the frnt bearing @ the same time. He said the cv joint & bearing looked good. The rig has the ADD hubs. Is this noise common?? The colder it gets (5 above this am) the louder & longer this noise lasts.
Oh... if it's of any importance.... nothing on the rig is modified. (yet)

Rick F.

You didn't mention which generation or year your truck is. I had that on a '90 SR5 4x4. I was told that it was the spindle bearings inside the something-or-another and that, although it sounds gruesome, it won't hurt anything. The fix was pretty expensive so I let it go. 6 years ave gone by and it still runs fine.

I found that I could usually get the noise to go away by shifting into and then out of 4 wheel.

rpeAMP

My front driver's side wheel makes a sort of rumbling noise sometimes. I can usually only hear it when braking and at around 20-30 MPH. After this, it becomes inaudible and seems to go away if I accelerate.

1Runner

Ahhh... sorry guys. It's a 95 4Runner w/ 75k on the clock. I have'nt tried shifting in/out of 4 wheel to see if it stopped. I'll try it in the morning. Doesnt make a sound if its above say... 30 degrees or so.

Rick F.

Sounds a lot like what I described above. It's very temperature sensative and I do recall it not usually occurring above freezing. It also would tend to start making noise more in a turn then when running straight (not to say that it didn't happen when driving straight...). Check with a few dealers. The good ones in my area seemed to be aware of it and had the same feedback regarding the repair (or lack of the need to repair).

You would think that any bearing noise would be cause for concern. Go figure...:rolleyes:

1Runner

Yeah... I agree Rick. Sounds like our problems are the same. I have noticed mine makes NO noise in reverse. And it usually seems worse when I'm turning to the right.
So.. do you think switching to Warn or asic hubs would stop the noise??? Is it an ADD hub noise?

Rick F.

Sorry. I have no experience with Warn or asic hubs. Perhaps Jay or someone else on the forum could help. I lived outside of Detroit many years ago so I can imagine that this problem is one that you have to put up with for 6 or 7 months out of the year in the U.P.. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

richeyma

1Runner,

I've had a similar (if not the same) problem with my 91 4runner for several years now. I don't know how many miles I had on it when it started, but as soon as it got cold, I'd hear it. Once the car warmed up (after driving a couple miles, the noise went away).

I swapped my ADD hubs with a set of Warn hubs, and I haven't noticed the problem. However, I moved into a house last year and it now sits in a garage. I don't know if the manual hubs fixed the problem or if it just doesn't get as cold in the garage.

I'll do a test and leave it outside for a few days to see if the problem comes back.

Sorry that I can't give you a definitive answer, but I thought you'd like to know it's not just your vehicle!

Matt

1Runner

Matt, you'd leave your 4Runner outside..... just to help out lil' ole me? Thats above and beyond man, above and beyond!
I certainly appreciate the help, I'll watch for a follow-up from you.

richeyma

Sure, anything for a fellow Yotatecher

However, if it starts pouring or snowing, I'm pulling her inside! I think it's supposed to be cold this upcoming week, so I'll let you know either via this post or a PM.

jx94148

I've had it happen to as described, in cold weather with hubs locked but in 2wd, right hub would groan in rythm with wheel rotations. Throwing it into 4wd made it quit.

Recently I replaced CV boots and wheel bearings and found water droplets in the right hub. I tore it down, cleaned it and got fresh grease in there and sealed it up. Meanwhile I put a lot of grease on the CV shaft where it goes through the spindle and bushing. I'm just about certain this is where the noise was coming from, lack of grease between where the axleshaft and spindle touch. There is a brass bushing in there on mine, I hear that some have roller bearings though. This may have to do with the differences between ADD and manual hub setups.

Anyway, after greasing the axleshaft at the spindle area the noise is gone, even when very cold with hubs locked.

I wouldn't bother tearing it down just to grease the shaft its not at a risk of breaking anything. Next brake job or CV boot replacement, ect. give it a good gob of grease.