On the way home last night the 4runner was making a whining sound that would change pitch depending on if I were accelerating or decelerating or coasting. With the sound qualities inside the cargo area of a 1st gen runner I figured the rear end was the cluprit. I didn't have time to check it last night so I got up early this morning and opened the fill plug on the rear. Yup it was pretty darn low. I put a full quart of gear oil in there just to get it to where I could get a finger in there and feel lube. On the way to work after that it seems that that noise was hiding the noise from the T-case in 4th and 5th. Yeah I know I should be thinking tranny with the gear changes but it sounds like it's farther back.

I remember asking the seller to check all the fluids for me before I picked it up. I even offered to buy new gear oil etc if it needed it and fill it before I drove off. He says "Yeah I checked em', no worries it's all full." BS.

Oh and I shot an email to him asking abotu the t-case since it's a little wet (slight leak from somewhere) and he tells me not to worry about the t-case since it only spins when you lock the front hubs anyway and I should be fine until I get the leak fixed if I don't do any off roading.

Never ever trust the seller...........

 

No to be a jerk but it seems like you should have checked all that when you bought it. I know you have put a lot of work into it already but those maint. issues should have been the first thing to check. Again not trying to be a jerk but that is something you should have checked first. I always have a mech. run a full check on anything we buy. Compression all the way to fluids.

 

I know. I'm usually pretty good about this stuff and just made the mistake of putting some trust in someone. So this weekend it's all new fluids and a serious underbody cleaning.

 

My thinking is that its the output seal on the xcase, not to big of a deal if it is so.


But on other hand, i feel yeah. I hate when people lie about crap they are selling.

 

seriously though, is the noise pretty bad? check the rear output and make sure the nut is tight, mine made noise and vibrated until i took the d'shaft off and saw the output was loose.
my .02

 

then again remember who we're talking about here. the general public cant even change their own oil. so when you say check all the fluids, they think everything under the hood. i looked at a jeep in vegas (yeah yeah sue me) i asked the seller if he had checked all the fluids. he said 'ya just did it myself this mornin'. so i get under there and check the rear diff. cant feel any oil, totally dry. check the front diff. same thing. checked the tranny. same thing. i said 'i thought you topped off all the fluids' he said 'i didnt know you had to oil anything under the car.' i took off. as my boss is fond of saying' dont assume the obvious'

 

I bet it is the input bearing on the trans. I have had 3 trans go like that. To me this is the weak point in the Toyota driveline. Does the sound go less when you are in 4th? 5th being the worst?

 

Rear output huh? I didn't think about that but I'll be sure and check it this weekend when I'm under there. Thanks!

 

There isn't any noise at all until 4th, 5th is quieter than 4th but only by a little. I hope it's not the bearing as that was supposed to have been replaced when the clutch was done, during the time the motor was rebuilt. I'll have to find the paperwork on that to be sure.

Is the bearing hard to change?

 

Yeah, that's how I lost my transmission.

The PO (a mechanic, even) let the manual transmission run low on gear oil and I didn't check it before driving off.

 

that is one of the risks of buying a truck that is 20 years old. Never really know the history or quality of the previous owner(s) maintance or lack of.
I take a floor jack, coveralls, flashlight, compression testor and a few basic tools with me when looking at cars....surprising how honest the seller becomes

Hope the bearing issue doesn't become too big of deal...

funny how some 'mechanic's' cars are the worst maintained cars on the road at times...

 

LOL, at least the ones they want to sell.

 

umm, first rule of used car purchasing... NEVER TRUST THE SELLER

they have to be getting rid of it for a reason, and its your job to find that out, not theirs.

second rule... NEVER BUY FROM A FRIEND... cuz when you find out he ripped you off.... just don't do it.

In my opinion, this is 100% your fault. Sorry to lay it on you, but when you buy used cars, you are supposed to check and make sure on everything.

 

I'v never done the input bearing on the trans. I run them until I can't take the noise or when it starts popping out of gear, then I just swap the trans for another. You have to pull the trans apart to get the bearing out. Used trans are cheaper and less work

 

Guys I have a 84 and once I let it get low on gear oil and now it makes a whining almost a howling noise more in 1st throu 3rd but still there in 4th and 5th is this the input bearing or something more seriouse thanks and sorry for buting in I didn't have time to start a new thread please forgive me.

 

I agree.

After I got the 4Runner home (with smoked trans), I went through it to make sure there was nothing in there for the shop to take(*). I found the Previous Owners drivers license! I put it in an envelope and mailed it to him with a note saying, "found this under the seat."

He called me up to thank me for sending the license back, and happened to ask, "How's that 4Runner doing?".

"Um, well, it's in the shop getting the transmission rebuilt."

If he hadn't of asked, I wouldn't have bothered telling him.

*Oh, and never trust your shop, but that's not for this thread.

 

Oh I agree 100%. I should have looked a lot closer and checked everything I could think of. I just thought that since he and his dad were such nice folks that they wouldn't try to unload something on me that hadn't been taken care of.

Good news is it'll be in great shape if I ever decide to sell it.

 

Heh. Whenever I sell a vehicle, it's a collection of loosely-organized parts. The good news to the buyer is they know it and they get the "pile of parts" pricing.

 

This may be counter intuitive, but I would NEVER buy a car from a mechanic. My thought is, after getting off work, why would I ever want to work on my own junk? I realize there are exceptions to the rule always, but there are too many crack mechanics out there.

Don't be too hard on yourself. There is only so much you can check before you take the vehicle away. Even doing a compression check says nothing. I ended up with a sleeved block once that turned out to be a pile not so many miles later. I do agree though, I always drain and replace all the fluids, filters, and tune-up stuff. Check brakes and tire tread closely just to keep yourself safe. Besides, we all like working on our junk some.