Hey folks,

EDIT: I noticed this wasn't in my signature (just edited) but just in case: 1990 DLX pickup reg cab.

I noticed a squeal/squeaking noise coming from my front end in the fall of last year. It’s coming from the front left hub area and is definitely not related to the brakes. The noise is intermittent, and will start/stop for days at a time, or just a single drive in a day, or just for a few minutes while I’m driving.

I went nuts trying to figure out where it was coming from and took apart the hub multiple times, checked my brakes, etc. I found this wear/discoloration pattern on the spindle, which I couldn’t feel with a fingernail, but sanded it down with emery cloth and thought it looked pretty good.





This made no difference and I also needed to rebuilt a CV axle and had been wanting to do my upper + lower ball joints so it all came apart again - this time I installed new wheel bearings as well. The noise was still there.

The only thing that ended up seeming to get rid of it was the temperature. I live in the Northeast US and this was all in November/December. Once the temperatures permanently dropped below then 40s/50s, the noise went away entirely...

Until last week when it’s been warmer here and I heard this little squeaking noise come back. It’s driving me crazy!

So what could it be? I have two theories

1. The inner race of then wheel bearings are spinning on the spindle. I use the 4crawler method to torque the wheel bearings and have done this procedure many times. Is it possible I just need to torque at a higher spec on this side due to the now worn bearings? Otherwise, is it possible to replace just the spindle? I see that trail gear makes this one but it’s not clear to me how to actually replace it on the knuckle or if maybe the year is a typo and that’s for a solid axle knuckle. My other route is going used but there aren’t a lot of parts Toyotas out here.
2. The noise is coming from something else- maybe the brass bushing? I don’t know much about this part/have never done any maintenance on it. However, when I rebuilt my CV axle it was REALLY hard getting the little snap ring back on, like the axle was just barely getting in. Maybe some tolerance in there is too tight and somethings rubbing on the bushing? I don’t think this makes sense since the axle isn’t spinning unless it’s locked in but I’m trying to stay open minded…

For good measure, picture of the truck about to hit Engineers Pass in CO when I was out there a few years ago:

 

Okay reading some more and there's a fair number of threads about the brass bushing on the inside of the knuckle. I'm skeptical that's the culprit since my manual locking hubs work normally (i.e. if I jack up the truck and spin the wheel the axle does not spin) so there's no reason that would be making any noise unless my hubs were locked in. When I do lock them in, there's no noticeable difference to when the sound occurs.

 

That spindle looks pretty awful in the pic before you cleaned it up. It looks like a bearing spun pretty bad. I know it's hard to tell with posted pics though. Did you happen to measure it with a micrometer?

You're positive no slight rub on the backing plate or the return spring between the pads kissing the rotor? I've had a pebble stuck and I've had a slight bend in the backing plate make an intermittent squeal. I've seen some of the spring clip s between the pads not fit correctly and rub on the caliper. Looked ok at first.

You're right about no axles spinning if the hubs are unlocked so that leaves wheel bearings and anything else rotating. Wheel bearings spinning on the spindle, loose setting will allow the wheel, wheel hubs and rotors to move enough to contact things they shouldn't. If you properly set the wheel bearings and they are loose after a recheck, it's possible they are spinning and wearing on the spindle. Look at the first pic of the spindle. There's still a visible step in the 2nd, cleaned up pic of the spindle. Where the inner bearing contacts the shoulder. The dark areas on the bottom side look like they got hot.

Measure the spindle and or compare to the other side. Good luck with it.