Toyota Tacoma questions

[lak2004]

Well all other forums suck and the people on them for the most part so I figured I would ask some of you guys.
We lifted my fiance's 99 Tacoma back in Nov. Now we are having a couple issues:

First off, 1999 Taco 3.4L, 5 spd, manual hubs, 2.5"-3" lift via front allpro coilovers and rear leafs. (not sure exactly where we ended up).
There is a noise in the front when turning at speeds of less than 20. It is like a squeak/grind noise. This only happens in 2wd with the hubs UNLOCKED. When I LOCK the hubs and try to mimic the noise it will not happen. Does not matter if it is still in 2wd or 4wd with the hubs locked, it doesnt make the noise.

Also, we put on new rear All Pro Expedition leaf springs about 2500 miles ago and now the rear is very squeaky. Any other solution than greasable bushings and bolts? I have tried PB Blasters Dry Lube and that has not helped. Thanks

 

[ktmoutfront]

D60 under the front and 14bff rear. Should solve the problems.

Really, I am no help.

 

[lak2004]

Eventually the SAS will happen, but for now its not in the budget

 

[AJMBLAZER]

How are the CV's up front? Just pondering something having enough play to make a noise when unlocked but when the hubs are locked there's not enough play?

Poly bushings in the rear? If so and they aren't greasable...you're kinda SOL. Although I have heard people say never seize works wonders with the poly bushings.

 

[Fordum]

What the heck. I'm half groggy from turkey hunting, so I can fix anything now. Long as it does not have to work after I'm through.....

Front end, pull the hubs soon. You don't have to jack it up or take off the wheel, but pull the hubs and look.
There are a couple of possibilities here, only one of them is not too bad.

First of all, you may have trashed spindle bearings. Lots of times the front axles will turn as you go down the road even with the hubs unlocked and in 2wd due to grease friction in the hub.
Locking the hub will sometimes give the axle just enough support to take enough of the load off the bearings to stop the noise.
This one is not an immediate problem, since you can run forever with those bearings bad as long as you don't need 4wd.

Another possibility, is that something has come loose and is rubbing on the inside of the hub.
I had that on my Ford one time. The outside axle nut had worked out until it was rubbing on the back side of the hub gear.
When I locked it, the gear moved out and the nut would not rub.
Of course, it eventually got so hot that it melted the plastic center.

As for the rear, where is it squeaking? I know that you think its the hub, but are they multiple leafs?
If so, it might be a squeak between the leaves.

If you can make it squeak while standing still, you can use a piece of rod or broomstick held against the spring and against your ear to isolate the location.

If not, you can try wrapping an old blanket or something around the leaves to see if it muffles the sound.
If so, then that will tell you where it is.
Once you are sure where the sound is coming from you have a lot better chance to fix it.
Bostik NeverSeez will sometimes help once you figure out how to get it in there.

Or something with Molybdenum is good too. I once mixed some moly grease with a solvent, gasoline or alcohol if I remember right until it was a very thin liquid and was able to wick it into a joint that it would never have gone into otherwise.

When the solvent dried, the moly was left.

 

[lak2004]

The rear is definitely the bushings, they are poly bushings. Ill have to probably just go ahead and order greasable shackles and bolts for that. I think it is the hub, I finally found a factory diagram to take it all apart so I will get in there this week sometime and grease them and check everything.
Thanks for the help guys, always quick responses from the brotherhood . Ive been on ttora.com and a couple other forums and they are quick to tell you to search rather than answer the questions

 

[pblaze725]

My buddy has a Taco so I sent him your question. Here is his reply:

Good call on the Allpro lift. We have the same love ours and the trail handling it gave us. We also got the total chaos upper arms with uniball, I assume you have the same?

Our taco is a 2003, auto with auto hubs. I know the squeeking/squealing noise you speak of, we have it in 2wd or 4wd, at stop or slowly moving. I think it is just the uniballs squeaking, it is like a really loud dry rubbing sound. I too was told to use the PB blaster on the uniballs, the noise goes away for a day or two, then is back like it never left. For the squeaking in the rear leaves, we use Zep45 http://www.zep.com/products/products.aspx?CatalogMode=1&CategoryID=3&SearchTerm=zep+45 it seems to work well and lasts a while. I also tried this on the uniballs, but it did not have much different effect than the PB blaster.

Sorry I don’t have any really solid answers for you…but know that you are not alone, and I really don’t think it is much to worry about, other than the annoying noise it makes.

Couple questions for you:
- How do you like the expedition leaves vs. the original lifting leaves. I was considering these myself, as we always have a full load when heading out on trips so the rear suspension is about maxed, plus we tow often, not huge loads – but still, the tongue weight is there. I figure these expeditions would be a good way to go, but when we hit the trail, we typically have little/no gear in the bed, so my concern would be are they too stiff for wheelin’ when the truck is empty?
- Have you noticed your steering is week? it seems our p/s pump always goes week on us. We are only using 33 inch tires. But we are on our 3rd or 4th p/s pump, and replacing it again in the next couple weeks. I’ve yet to find a good upgrade for this, other than allpro telling me to put a solid axle and hydro-assit, which isn’t in the cards for us at this time.
-WICKED4X4- Pblaze725-

 

[ssyork]

D60 under the front and 14bff rear. Should solve the problems..

This is me hitting the "like" button

 

[lak2004]

My buddy has a Taco so I sent him your question. Here is his reply:

Good call on the Allpro lift. We have the same love ours and the trail handling it gave us. We also got the total chaos upper arms with uniball, I assume you have the same?

We dont have the upper control arms yet, but should be getting them soon. So far the all pro seems fine.

Our taco is a 2003, auto with auto hubs. I know the squeeking/squealing noise you speak of, we have it in 2wd or 4wd, at stop or slowly moving. I think it is just the uniballs squeaking, it is like a really loud dry rubbing sound. I too was told to use the PB blaster on the uniballs, the noise goes away for a day or two, then is back like it never left. For the squeaking in the rear leaves, we use Zep45 http://www.zep.com/products/products.aspx?CatalogMode=1&CategoryID=3&SearchTerm=zep+45 it seems to work well and lasts a while. I also tried this on the uniballs, but it did not have much different effect than the PB blaster.

Ours is a 99, manual with manual hubs, so a little different. I think I found that the hub is the problem and will be pulling them apart this weekend.

Sorry I don’t have any really solid answers for you…but know that you are not alone, and I really don’t think it is much to worry about, other than the annoying noise it makes.

Couple questions for you:
- How do you like the expedition leaves vs. the original lifting leaves. I was considering these myself, as we always have a full load when heading out on trips so the rear suspension is about maxed, plus we tow often, not huge loads – but still, the tongue weight is there. I figure these expeditions would be a good way to go, but when we hit the trail, we typically have little/no gear in the bed, so my concern would be are they too stiff for wheelin’ when the truck is empty?

We went straight from stock, non trd rear springs to the allpro expedition springs, so no experience with other lift springs. but they are holding up great so far. We havent had the lift on for long so we havent had a chance to wheel it yet. We also have a pretty hefty topper on it, but we are going to take that off in the near future and see how they work without it.

- Have you noticed your steering is week? it seems our p/s pump always goes week on us. We are only using 33 inch tires. But we are on our 3rd or 4th p/s pump, and replacing it again in the next couple weeks. I’ve yet to find a good upgrade for this, other than allpro telling me to put a solid axle and hydro-assit, which isn’t in the cards for us at this time.

Our steering does seem weaker than a solid front, but not terrible. Once again havent had it offroad much yet so only time will tell. There is a mod you can do to the steering rack that should help sloppy steering. Also check your rack bushings and if you havent yet, upgrade to the polys. We are running 33's as well. I will be doing a SAS in the future but its still a couple years out as this is my fiance's dd.

View attachment 115497
-WICKED4X4- Pblaze725-

Thanks for passing it on. Ive actually gotten some good responses and help from ttora.com as well.

 

[spongeidys]

im on ttora as well.. some decent help over there.. i had a question about marlin crawler clutches and bigmike from marlin crawler actually chimed in and went above and beyond to explain the difference between the two.. also if you need anything scotty from addicted off road in greeley is awesome to talk to

 

[lectric80]

Is the noise only when you are at full lock? Common problem with the IFS Toys is the steering stops wearing out and causing noises when at full lock. From the factory they come with a plastic cover on them, but this cover dries and becomes brittle then the noise starts. Generally only in 2x mode when I have heard it. The covers can be replaced, but they will only last a couple years. There are 2 stops, front and rear on both sides.

 

[lak2004]

It was the drivers hub. Just needed to be taken apart and greased up good. I ordered a new spring and detent ball for each hub because they were missing and also ordered a new rubber seal for each one. I need to get gaskets as well so they stay nice and sealed. As soon as I greased the drivers side the noise stopped. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. So far I am not impressed with any other forum but this one.