Hey, I'm wanting to buy this manual truck, test driving, it makes a constant rhythmic hum, very noticeable, like hmmMMMMhmmMMMhmmmMMMhmmMMM in every gear. Looking underneath, everything looks like rust has not affected integrity except for one bracket, the rubber boots look fine, the people say they really never used it off road, and the seller says 'I don't know what that hum is, but it isn't the transmission'. Ok. I'm not a car person, but also the big long lenghtwise kind of rounded piece underneath the engine, (is that the transmission?? sorry!) the front section and the rear section of that piece show major oil, the center section is as clean as freshly pressure washed, as above the engine, looks clean, but there is an oil drop in the driveway and a lot of oil on the under surfaces.

So I guess I have three questions.
1. What can cause a noticeable rhythmic hum in every gear?
2. How bad is it that somewhere oil is coming through the seams?
3. How long might this run before I need major work?

Otherwise it shifts fine, purrs quietly, rides straight...affordable...I WANT it.

Well, one more, when I cranked the steering all the way hmm left or right??? there was a clacking sound. I just saw a post about greasing a piece that I will look at again, but the guy said 'oh that's just the clacking sound it makes'.

Tips?? Thanks!!!

 

The "clacking" sound is probly the steering stops. Just grease them and they stop making noise.

The hum could be: U-Joints on drive line, some tires hum, rear end may be dry or tired, CV's could hum, front bearings. Whatever it is, it's probably a simple fix.

16 year old vehicles leak. It's a fact of life. Small leaks aren't a big deal if you keep everything topped up.

If you like the truck and the price is right I say go for it.

Not to mention you have MAJOR negotiating points to work with. Good luck!!

 

Levinz, thanks, that's encouraging. The photo on this page show the piece I'm saying shows oil front and rear sections, it's the rounded large part in the middle of the picture http://www.movinggraphics.ca/600x450...n-UnderCar.jpg

I can live with minor issues for sure, he even knocked off $500 already and says it's mine. He just didn't offer any knowledgeable mechanic stuff except the engine is a rebuild with about 160k km on it, and it doesn't take 'much' oil. I don't mind problems but I hate getting scheistered!

 

Someone else is warning me, drivetrain, expensive. I can't think of what on a truck will rotate at such a speed to make a rhythmic hum like that - roughly one second of humming/vibration, one second of none, one second of humming, one second of none...?

 

If you plan on using as a DD you might want to look elsewhere. If it's just going to be a toy then you'll be working on it often, anyway. The front of my tranny is wet, too. It's just a leaky valve cover and I've been too lazy to fix.

The rear seal on the tranny is easy to fix.

 

I've ALWAYS had a rythmic hum and now been through every part of my truck except transfer case and transmission. I think you'll find that many others have the same hum. Pinion and transfer case flange nuts come unstaked and loosen up. You can tighten them down, restake the nut, and also grease the slip yoke really good. Your oil leak is probably a leaking oil cooler o-rings, where the attach to the block, and/or valve cover gaskets.

 

Honestly you don't sound like you are very mechanical. Neither am I. My dad had a Corolla with the rhythmic hum and it was the transmission. Unless you have a plan to become very hands on with the mechanics of the truck, I'd say pass. You didn't say which engine the truck has. A little time on here and you will learn that the 6 cyl before 1996 was prone to problems as well as being stuffed in the engine compartment -- hard to work on. My apologies to all who love their 3.0's but I wouldn't buy one on purpose. What is it you love about this truck? The paint, the interior? You can find another. I'm not sure where you live but once you really start looking you'll find a better candidate.

 

The possibilies are endless based on your description.

It does not appear the seller is qualified to tell you what is causing the noise. He probably doesn't know what's causing it anymore than you do. If he does know what's causing it & you take it to a qualified mechanic BEFORE buying it, it doesn't matter if he's lying because the mechanic will find the source of the noise.

It does not appear you are qualified to figure out what the cause of the noise is.

My advise would be to take it to someone who is qualified and experienced with Toyota trucks.

You should take it to this qualified mechanic for a pre-buy inspection. This inspection will not be free. The mechanic will need to drive the vehicle as the first step in determining what to do to isolate the noises. He may want you to ride along to point out the noises. He may want to swap another set of wheels & tires to see if the noise changes.

No one is going to be able to tell you with an online reply how long it will run before you need major work. It needs to be inspected in person. Have someone figure out what are the causes of the noises & what it will take to fix those noises. Sooner or later, used cars have problems, and you need to know you've got someone to take it to for repairs.

It's not affordable if you don't know what is causing the noise. If the seller doesn't agree to taking it to a mechanic of your choice before purchase, move on.

Tell us your location & we might be able to help you find someone in your area.

 

good point^^^^

 

Ok, I do like the truck, I need one soon for multiple uses, it's not expensive and won't break me, I do see it as relatively disposable, and not my main driver. If I have more cash and it isn't outrageous I would like to get it fixed up piecemeal once I do know what the troubles are. I'm not mechanical at all myself but I have raided a scrapyard once or twice and can at least change my tires and oil and tweak my carburetor. A towtruck driver today said about the hum 'throw out bearing'; he described it as part of the clutch mechanism; the seller did say he'd had the clutch changed not too long ago. This is a 4 cylinder, maybe 22R?? Not sure since there's a rebuild in it. I will check again soon. I wondered that the 'rhythmic hum' might be a common enough dead giveaway about something, but seems still mysterious, and I will in time look into it further and post my findings. So I'm doing it wrong, I will buy it, then make the rounds to mechanics and troubleshooters, zooming in kinda... So long as I can use it a bit I will be satisfied. I thank you guys hugely for the input, experience and good sense!

vasinvictor, that is interesting, yours continues to drive alright despite?

Oh, I'm in Kelowna, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada, just rolled in last year and would love to know who to go to if there's someone from around here!

 

Mine drives fine, however, I would like to say additionally- We all know Yota trucks are sweet , but there WILL be another one without so many problems. Unless you have money like that, and you don't mind losing if something possibly bad happens, I'd say hold out. There are some really solid old Toyotas out there with good knowledgable previous owners. Your money, but think carefully about this.

 

Ok!! I been warned. I'm taking it, come what may

So...I'll hope to hear who is THE toyota guy in the Okanagan valley

 

Try posting a new thread with your location info in the BC forum. I didn't find many members from Kelowna but there are a few.

 

An off-road club called Funinbc.com was mentioned by another yotatech member who says there are many Kelowna members at that site.

 

Thanks! I knew there'd be more than one!

 

Popping back to say THANKS for the lead, I found the Toyota guy here through that website, sorry I have no further info but the hum sound is just gone, first sight unseen the guy thought maybe a bearing in the transfer case or tranny, but after riding in it he thought, weird sound, possibly the badly feathered tire treads. However, the sound just simply vanished now. So I dunno.

Besides that, most of the oil appears to be from easy to reach, quick job seals, and if it's still showing oil after those, maybe one big job, but not big deal.

Took her up the logging roads tonight, I am happier than ˟˟˟˟ with this truck now.

Thanks guys!