Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

The folks on this forum always seem to have the answers and I have another strange issue.

1994 T100, 3.0L V6, 5 speed Manual, free hubs installed.

For years now I have had this strange noise tied to the revolution of the front wheels. The sound is a low rumble. RRRRR, RRRRR, RRRRRR. As the wheels go around. Kind of like a bent fender rubbing a tire. It is not a solid noise but builds and falls. This only happens when the temperature is around ZERO degrees F and with the front end disengaged. A year back I installed free hubs on this truck. With the hubs in the free position I don't get this noise so it has to be tied to the front differential and shafts. Lock it up and engage the front differential and it will usually go away. Sometimes it will still make the noise in 4WD but the problem is mostly with the hubs locked and the differential in 2WD.

A dealer service dept. has told me it's due to cold grease balling up around something called a stub axel. When things warm after a few miles it will stop. The dealer also told me it would be about 1000 bucks to dissemble the thing and get it cleaned up and new grease installed. That seems expensive to me. I put new rotors on a year back so I know how to remove the front hub and stuff. 1000 dollars to grease something is kind of ridiculous.

Does this explanation make sense to any of you? Do any of you have any parts diagrams of where this stub axial is? I still plan to deep six this entire ADD system. I think it sucks anyway.

Thanks to all of you who have posted help to the rest of us. I only wish I had the skill and background to be of the same help.

L

Have you checked the play in your wheel bearings?

I am sure it's not the bearings.

I have had the truck since it was new in 1995. It has been doing this for as long as I can remember. As long as it's warmer then 10F there is no problem. Once or twice a year we get a cold snap and it happens.

When I rebuilt the brakes, the bearings were fine at 120000 miles. I rolled new grease into them and put things back together. The torque on the bearings was checked a few miles later.

If it were the bearings the sound would be constant but, the sound builds and falls with rotation and is linked to the speed of the wheels not the engine RPM.

ErikB's website shows the axle stub... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think I know the sound that you are talking about and what the dealer is telling you about the grease. The axle stub that the dealer is talking about is the CV shaft stub and the noise that you are hearing is coming from the bushing that supports and allows it to freewheel, rotate etc. I do know that there is something that the dealer can do to eliminate this bushing, by installing needle bearings in it's place, and that is what might cost you about $1K to repair. Over time, the needle bearing will eventually go south. I would stay with the bushings, personally. To get to these bushings, you must remove the calipers, the rotors and hubs and also remove the CV shafts. Once the CV shafts are removed, you can see the brass or bronze bushing. Just clean it up pretty good and put in plenty of grease of your choice and reassemble. That should take care of the noise. It is more of a time consuming repair, but it is well worth it. I had the same issues and once I pulled my CV shafts to replace the boots, I greased them up pretty good and haven't had the noise since. HTH

Yep. I repack the axle spindle bearings with Chevron's Arctic bearing grease. Black; nice buttery stuff. Comes in a small blue tube last time I picked some up.

Product Info

Spindle bearings?

I assume you mean the roller bearings in the hub body. I have never been in any truck which makes this noise when it gets cold. The bearing are always rolling. Why would the sound stop when I unlock the hubs?

My second though is about what the dealer told me. Frozen grease balling up around an axle shaft. Now that I think about it how could that be possible? The shaft is on the other side of a seal where the lubricant should be differential gear oil. I hate car dealers.

The temps have moved up to about 15 F and now it's not doing it. It's around the zero mark.

This is strange.

Since you went to arctic grease, did you have the same thing happen?

Take a look at the steering knuckle in this diagram (sorry, misquoted the part there) .

You see 2 bearings there. The inner one on the early IFS mini trucks had a brass spacer in there that would squeal in the cold. This was replaced by a shorter spacer and needle bearings. Where this is mounted into the knuckle is where I've repacked them. IIRC, if you were to pull the CV axle and the hub, you'd be able to reach in there with your finger, or if the dust cover were removed, you'd have them there to repack.

I've been running Arctic grease in my stuff for quite awhile. If it makes noise now, it's because I'm being stupid and driving out in -60F weather instead of staying home. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

BTW, this won't run out in the summer, but then we only get to about +80F up here in the Interior. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Kewlinx, Bill

Seems like you are both pointing at the same part. The parts diagram shows the bushing which supports the shaft. Wish I would have known about this when I replaced the rotors and calipers and had it all apart. Looks like I have a summer project.

I have friends with older 5 speed manual 4Runners which should be the same parts. I will check with them to see if this has ever happened to them.

Not sure I can use the arctic grease hear in Utah as we get temps of 105 in the south. I will look into it.

It took years to get a good explanation for this and as usual I got it here and not at the dealer service dept. I may need to go back and educate them.

Thanks again.

There was some kind of TSB that was out for this that I could never find; I see someone finally took the time to document this with pictures, so you can see the old vs new parts.

For the big T guys, this especially is applicable to the older, pre-T Toyotas.

http://www.yotatech.com/f128/steering-spindle-bearing-replacement-2nd-gen-4runner-76360/ <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

BTW, if the Arctic grease down in UT is a bad idea, consider at least with the new needle bearing setup, you've got a lot more grease packed in there than with the old all-brass part.

-33F this AM. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />