Whats up guys,

I hate to have my first post be a help me thread, but such is the way of life atm. I've searched through 8+ pages of threads with similar titles, but can't really find what I'm looking for, so hopefully it hasn't already been covered, making me look like an idiot.

So here's the skinny, I've got a '98 4x4 v6 autobox Runner. At speeds above 10mph, I get this 'rotational whirring' noise. The noise continues through the usable speed range. To get a clearer idea of what I'm talking about, it's almost how a washing machine sounds as its tumbling your clothes from the next room, if that makes sense (whir-whir-whir-whir).

It's speed dependent (rpm's don't make a difference), so the faster I go, the faster the whirring is. When I let off the gas and coast (in drive or neutral) the whirring remains. Turning left or right does not change the tone, frequency, or level of the noise. It sounds a lot like tire noise, but like I said it only hits once every rotation. There are no noticeable vibrations, clanks, rattles, or jerks accompanied by the problem, but you can feel it up front. For those of you who live in the snowy areas, it feels like having a huge chunk of snow stuck in your fender well, rubbing on the tires.

I had the wheels rotated and balanced the wheels this morning, to no change. The only other immediate thoughts I had were wheel bearing, or something in the diff. It sounds to me like it's coming from the front, but that could just be caused by interior acoustics. My roommate drove it down the street earlier today while I was outside, and there is no audible noise from the exterior.


I apologize for the lousy first post, but as a long time lurker around here, I know you guys have a lot of experience. Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks a million.

 

My first guess would be wheel bearing.

 

U-Joint on one of the drive lines? Maybe shoot all your grease points....

 

Check level and condition of front diff gear oil. My front diff made a similar whirring noise when it was low on oil.

If the front diff appears full, it may still be low on oil if it was filled after a diff-drop kit was installed. The diff-drop kit rotates the filler-hole to a lower position than stock, which means there is significantly less oil inside when it appears full.

 

my runner has a similar sound disorder. it doesnt exponentially get louder but gets to a certain noise level then remains constant.... actually gets real loud at 30 mph and 45-48. i took it to a local mechanic and he said it was the rear diff. he said the only way to know for sure is to take it apart but it sounds like the rear diff. when its at those speeds 30 45-48 it sounds like its coming from the front too.

you should have your friend drive it and you sit in the back seat. in my runner the sound is pretty piercing in the back seat. you can hear it much better there if it's the rear diff

before i took it to a mechanic i changed the front and rear diff oil. the front was a little low so i thought that it was the just the oil. but after topping the levels off the sound remained the same.

I just use my music to take my mind off of it until i get it fixed.

 

dust cover?

 

Any update? I am having something similar going on.

 

StanGetz and other posters, I too was wondering if you solved your whirring noise and how.

As stated in my post above, my whirring noise resulted from too little oil in my front diff. But my case was kinda rare. I re-geared and installed an ARB front locker at the same time. Both displace space for gear oil. I already had a diff drop kit which rotates and lowers the fill hole, which then means you put in a little less oil than stock if you fill to the bottom of the fill hole. So, when the tech filled the diff after the gear/locker install, the level of gear oil was considerably below normal. Hence, the whirring noise. While troubleshooting the noise, we re-read the ARB locker-install instructions and found if you use a diff-drop kit with an ARB front locker, ARB recommends using a "stand-pipe" to over-fill the front diff up to the level of the stock fill-hole position. The tech put in more oil with a stand-pipe and my whirring was gone. But don't add more oil than what would be the normal level without the diff drop or you could burp gear oil out of the breather tube until the diff self-adjusts its oil level. Mine did.

(Well, I am no tech and don't pretend to be an expert. I'm just a recreation wheeler reporting my personal experience with a whirring noise. Don't know if this will help anyone or not. Please let us know.)

 

Very interesting. You wouldn't think a few millimeters more gear oil in the diff would make that much difference. I'm getting a similar sound out of what I think is the rear diff. I usually fill the diff when my truck is in the garage, which has a few degrees of upslope, putting the fill hole down a few millimeters. I'll give this a shot. Thanks Rocky!

 

Exact same issues here.

I recently purchased the truck and been doing some services. Just prior to purchase the rear was just rebuilt and should be good. I've already had a confrontation with the shop about their brake job, got a credit and fixed myself. I wouldnt be surprised if they messed the axle rebuilt too.

I first thought the noise was a wheel bearing but figured its odd it doesn't change pitch much when turning. In either event I bought the wheel bearings, deals and c/clips. Figured if I am going to put new lower ball joints on I might as well do the wheel bearings. After assembly I found out the noise persists. Not only did I have this problem, but my friend and a few posts on here had the same conclusion. It's not wheel bearings.

I am driving home tomorrow and will test diff level in a day or two. I hope this fixes it. One thread I have found said it was bearings on the output shaft of the front diff. I'm not overly familiar with it since I enjoy mostly work on motorcycles and hobby cars. All my vehicles in the last 7 years were company vehicles but it's back to turning wrenches again. I normally enjoy it.

Posted from iPhone. Apologies for typos. I'll let people know what I find, IF I find the problem.

 

Sounds like a u-joint is on its way out to me....

 

A freshly lubricated drive train for me didn't change or do anything to the noise. I know this isn't a fix but maybe it should change the noise temporarily for trouble shooting?

 

Did you guys every figure this out? I'm having the same problem.

 

Replaced front bearings. Nothing.
Topped up fluid in front diff. Nothing.

Replaced tires! Fixed.

*ashamed*

Tires were cupped causing a wirring noise. Now I have mud terrains and although they are noisy, it's a different noise.

Front diff was a little low in fluid from poor mechanical work. Another reason to do everything yourself.

Strange thing is my buddy who has a 03 Tacoma has the same issue but has two sets of tires and it continues to do it with both sets. He claims the one set is free of wear that would make that noise. If he ever finds out the issue I will let you know.

Good luck.