Hey all...

95 4runner

So i've had this for about 2 months, a month ago they did some recall work on the steering. Following that I now have some NEW weird dash noise along with other dash noise that was there prior.

Basically idling not moving, no noise. When I start driving I get this sound coming from somewhere around the steering console, it sounds like a leaf caught in a fan (with heater off even). Faster I go, so does the noise, when I come to a stop it quits. I've got the lower dash off around the steering console and the glove box out just going through everything with no luck. I've also started seeing grey foam in the heater vents, related? I've also pulled off the cowl just peaking in there for stuck leaves, any ideas?

The other noise that I get is from the dash just below where it meets the windshield. If I push the dash forward it stops, any easy way to tighten it up?


Thanks -
Side note...it

 

If it started doing it after the warranty work was done take it back and tell them to fix it.
The gray foam happens a lot - it happened to me on my '95 and on my '99 but I don't remember the cause.

Fink

 

I'd have liked to take it back sooner. But I was moving and just didn't have time to drop it off, so I figured taking it back 2 months later and saying "by they way this happened during your work" might not hold water. But maybe....

Also I figured if I could I would tighted the dash straps at the same time, but after pulling the glovebox and parts of the dash under the steering console, um, maybe this isn't that easy of a job??

 

I guess I didn't read your post well enough.
Yeah several months may not hold up but it's worth a shot.

Other than that I'd just start pulling the entire dash off and go from there.
Not much else you can do really.

Fink

 

The foam is from them taking out the duct splice that is going across from left to right just under your column, it is just the 1/4" foam weatherstrip at the joints that's simply aged and fallen apart. Now, although your air fan is off, if it is in the direct versus recirculate position, air coming through your cowl will still be enough pressure to lightly spin the fan blades, which are likely catching a stray piece that's come to rest in the air fan shroud.

Three things you can do here,

1. pull your dash yourself and redo all the now dried up and falling apart foam like most of us have to at some point. (*Just finished ours up.)

2. Gripe to the dealer who will point out it isn't a major issue, and will likely just do the work but charge you for the weather strip, or the following procedure..

3. Close off all your vents excluding the crotch cooler vent. Put the fan on direct and all the way to high. GO for a drive at highway speeds and it'll force the piece out at some point and either shred it into smaller bits or push it up against your dash outlets. Carefully open one outlet at a time and peek in the lower part to see if a piece is there, closing it back up if it is clean to keep the back pressure up and any possible piece up there at possibly the next vent or so. If you find a piece, just grab a pair of tweezers, pull it out, and be done with it. With ours, it did it over the course of about two months and I got all the offending pieces. I just redid the setup b/c I wanted better heater and A/C efficiency and not wasting them heating or cooling off the empty space under the dash.

Let me know how it works, I've had to do this to loads of trucks, 4Runers, and Camry's. So, basically it happens with them all after 8 or so years.

Kelley

As for taking the dash apart, the biggest hurdles for a DIY'r are the hood and gascap releases, and making sure you don't spin the plastic screw sockets in the 5 self tapping screws behind the under column panel. There is a way once you pull the ignition key surround trim piece to carefully pull from the center of the under column panel and shifting it counterclockwise to pull it out, avoiding having to pull the vent and stereo trim pieces.

[Edit] While you're at it, pop off the cowl cover, after opening your hood, undo the phillips screws and the pop clips, pull it out and clean out any dead leaves and debris, another reason the fan could make noise, all that old stuff eventually gets sucked into the system.

 

I spent most the evening tinkering with it and got the under the cowl cleaned up, and the dash/vents under the drivers side taken off. Took it for a drive with everything off hoping to help pinpoint it but no luck. I'll dig-in deeper tomorrow since I've already got it gutted out pretty well, maybe replace some of the foam while i'm down there.

After a few drives during the process, its really hard to figure out exactly where its coming from and ulitmately is just driving me crazy (like the heart under the floorboards).

As for the *other noise*, its basically just the plastic on the dash rubbing right under the windshield. I'm not quite sure how to tighten that up, or if there is another way by just stuffing some rubber stripping between where the dash meets the firewall? I may be able to muscle it in.

 

Speed odometer cable?

 

Speedometer cable noise!... I think you're on to something, i'll check it tomorrow. Might just owe you a beer, because that sounds really close to the sounds/symptoms i'm having.

 

Had the problem with a 79 chevy PU, disconnected the cable at the tranny. that was the problem.

 

If its the speedo cable pull the cluster out and spray some wet graphite lube down the speedo cable. It takes a while to fully penentrate the cable but it works well.

 

Speedo cable.

Common on our trucks. Appernatly Motor bike chain lube works the best for this..

I usually lube mine every few months with white lithium grease... ITs a pita.

My girlfriends got so bad that it was like screeching, had to buy a new cable!

 

So I have the cluster out. But how do I lube the cable itself, so I actually pull it out of the cable housing (which may require a tranny disconnect). Or do I just spray as best I can down the gaps?

 

[IMG][/IMG]

 

So I gently tugged on the cable itself and it isn't budging, which leads me to believe I would have to disonnect from the transmission. Not that I really want to remove it, because I'm assuming snaking it back in can be a pain.

Also since I have the dash pretty dismantled, is there something I can do for the dash squeak below the windshield. In the image above I notice that you can have the sliding brackets (to the left with 3 bolts) can I adjust that to push the dash in tighter?

 

[IMG][/IMG]

 

mine came out before but i new it because the speedo didnt work. does yours work? also that speedo cable wont move they are very tight.

 

Yeah mine works, i'm just trying to lube it to kill some buzzing noise I get. Just not sure if I spray down the tube best I can with cable in or pull the cable out all together, and if to do that I have to disconnect it below.

 

Spray it down the tube..
Then spray it some more.. It takes a while to penetrate the whole cable.
You do not have to disconnect it from the bottom.