Need a little help trying to identify this noise i am getting on my 87 runner. all stock. It sounded at first like a wheel bearing or some sort of bearing in the front wheel area. Took apart the hub and everything back to the wheel bearing and they looked real good like they had been replaced not to long ago. After cliking an clanking around i noticed that the passenger side of the axel? where it goes in the third member, has some play. i know the driver side has no play but i thought this was because of the "tube" housing on that side. I have a friend who thinks that there should not be any play in the passenger side, so he thinks it the bearing that is right inside of the third member. does this sound like a good solution, id hate to rip it apart and find out that its ok. Last i only get the noise at 15-20 mph faster or slower no noise no vibration nothing. Anyone with any suggestions i would like to hear your ideas thoughts and anything else i should check. Dont want to do much as i am going to sas this beast but now is just not the time financially. Thanks so much!

 

Do you have manual hubs?

 

Oh yea, sorry bout that, yea they are manual locking hubs, aisin stock ones i think?

 

any idea's?

 

that "play" in the passenger side shaft is normal as far as I know. Also if you are running with the hubs free then none of that stuff is moving. What type of noise is it? A banging or a squeeling???

 

My speedometer has been going out for a year and a half. When it first started it kinda sounded like a bearing squeaking. I took my front axle all apart and inspected but everything looked fine. After a few months the speedometer are started to slightly bounce up and down at the same time as the squeaking, it did this at 30mph and below. Not it consistently squeaks at all speeds. I recently got a spare gauge cluster but after listening to it for a year I got used to it, and it drives passengers crazy

 

x2 on the speedo cable. They are do it at some point.

 

Thanks guys i will check the speedo cable tonight, its not really a squeal, more like the sound of an ungreased bearing not loud on the ears but loud enough to hear it. My buddy calls it a chatter, its wierd tho, i kinda get a vibrations a little bit at 15-20 miles per hour with the noise but faster or slower and its quite and smooth. i looked around more last night and im am leaking a little front diff fluid but it is right at the full point. kinda at a loss, im thinking i may tear into the front diff and check out those bearings on the passenger side. My other option is just drive it til it dies, as i am going to sas it but if it dies next week im screwed! What do you guys think? Drive it or try to hunt down the demon noise? So fustrating .........

 

I normally drive mine until it dies if I can't figure out what the problem is.

 

Go onto a dirt road, put it on 4wd lock the hubs and drive to 30-40mph. See if the noise/vibration is there. Now unlock the hubs but keep it in 4wd, do the same...

I would check for a thrown wheel weight for the vibration and check your driveline and grease all the zerks.

 

so i checked the speedo cable and looks good not loose nothing like that. Jay i will check the 4wd drive locked and unlocked, all zirks are greased, thats where i started, greasing everything up front. Again thanks for trying to help me chase it down.

 

yea i got the same problem. im about to take my hubs and axles out to figure whats wrong.

 

let me know what you find, i have mine in the garage working on sanding it down for a paint job, so i have to finish that, i already took apart the driver side and all looked good, gonna do that pass. side when im done paint since its just sitting right now. good luck and let me know what you find.

 

Still have that noise after take everything apart. I'm wondering if it might be a bushing or something? Guh frusterating

 

I agree, super fustrating, i was looking at a couple of the bearings in the 3rd, on the passenger side where the axel goes in, there is a bearing that may be going out but im kinda wait as im going to sas this thing and dont want to dump money in to the Ifs (it's front sucks) suspention. keep me posted and if i get to tearin into it and see anything ill let ya know....

 

yea i think im gonna follow your lead and finish painting mine. maybe the noise will go away once i get a lift..... if i can figure out how to do a lift :p

 

At least when its in the garage getting painted it doesn't make any noise.....lol
anyways i will let you know if anything goes ary ie, the noise get worse or somthing breaks. Just search on here and you can find a write up on most types of lifts, just do it right the first time so you dont have to do it again, Good luck and post some picks in the "self painted rigs" thread when you get it painted.

 

Ive got a similar problem on mine right now, and i will be pulling it alll apart today after work to figure out the problem. if its possible to paint a picture through words, here it goes : I pulled the manual aisin hubs off the other night. there is a bolt (12mm head) that goes into a splined shaft which happens to be my cv shaft (which runs through the actual hub). the shaft itself has about 1/4-1/2" of play in it inside the hub which cant be good. Mine makes a noise kinda like a chattering wheel bearing which usually starts at or around 20 mph and stays until i get up over 60 mph usually, but comes and goes all throughout there, sometimes stays the entire time but always stops when i come to a complete stop and wont start again until im up around 20 mph. i have been asking around, cuz it seems as though you should have wheel bearings, then you should have cv bearings or something inside the hub for the cb to ride on which i think is the problem with mine. if anyone has any help or advice, it would be greatly appreciated. like i said, i will be disassembling tonight and i will take pics for future reference if any body else has this problem.

 

Spindle Bushing.

 

ok, so there is something. and thats just a brass bushing right?? should there be any play in my cv joint at all??