Good afternoon,

First post here. I did search through old threads and didn't find anything really conclusive. Have owned a 4wd 22re 86 4runner for about 6 months. It runs great and the previous owner did a lot of preventative maintenance. The rear end had the Zuk? mod but was still pretty saggy and I lost a spring on a trail. I decided to go for the ARB 2" lift leaf springs as that seemed, after reading some threads, to be as close to a "stock" height as I would get.

Swapped the springs and besides getting the wrong bushing kit at first; all went well. It seemed to level out the 4runner (a little bit higher in the back but has settled to even after a month...). The issue I'm having is that between about 45 and 70 if I'm in OD (auto trans here) and coast or decelerate I get a pretty pronounced grinding sound. It seems to be coming from the front, but to be honest its sort of hard to tell. If I pop it out of OD the grinding mostly goes away. I've adapted my driving habits to minimize this, but it is still fairly disconcerting. Any tips on what to start with as far as diagnostic? Thanks a lot.

 

It only happens in Over Drive never at any other time??

Look to the transmission

 

It happens most pronounced in OD, but will still happen right when I stop accelerating when OD isn't engaged. Only started after the leaf spring replacement.

 

whoops missed the auto trans part ... still sound like a trans problem ... but since you have changed the drive line angles out back I guess that could be something to look into .check u joints ,check the u bolts ,check the brake lines incuding e brake cable make sure its all located where its supposed to be and check the drive line near the trans grab it and try to see if it moves abnormally , remember too that increasing drive line angle's can cause issues ,

 

Check to ensure that there is no leaf spring bracket (that holds them together) rubbing the skid plate for the gas tank. It is common, as there is really little clearance.

 

Bracket isn't rubbing, and I have relatively new U Joints all around. It does not feel like there is slop in the drive line at all. I was thinking drive line angle might be the issue, but unsure of what kind of issues it causes. Pretty newb here with auto mechanics, but work as a mechanic on other machines. I would characterize the sound as a "growl" I guess. Thanks for all the tips!

 

could be R/P related in the rear dif. could be output flanges from T-case because of teh new angle. maybe axle shims will help? although, lifting the rear shouldnt cause any change in the front of the vehicle as far as i know.

 

Since you mentioned the front end, possibly dry steering knuckle bushings