Grinding/vibration when idling forward or back and slight turn of wheel is done

As the title states.

Bought this 2006 AC V8 with a 100k miles and been going through and cleaning it up. (sound was there when purchased)

I can't determine yet what is causing this grinding/vibration sound when slightly turning the wheel and all through the turn when moving slow or at idle. It becomes unnoticeable at normal speeds.

I'm think steering rack or PS pump? Anyone see this before?

Upgrades already done to freshen up front end:
All ball joints, Carrier bearing, 3 U-joints, with Toyota parts.
Moog: innner outer tie rods, sway bar end links, Bilstein 5100s, E.S. steering rack bushings.

Not sure where to focus my attention on next. Ideas?

 

Have you looked at the pinions in front and rear diffs? Grab them and give a shake / wiggle etc. see if there’s excessive play - may help to have the truck in neutral, not sure exactly. I had grind noise from front and it was a wasted pinion bearing.

 

I should have mentioned it's a 2wd... The sound seems like it's from front and doesn't occur if I leave wheels straight, only if I begin to turn. It does it both forward and in reverse

 

Do you have an LSD? I have a 02 Tundra 4x4 with the LSD, 213,xxx miles and everytime I went to take a left or right turn I had some chatter. I just changed my rear diff fluid with some 80w 90 Lucas heavy duty gear oil and its gone. PLus my LSD works awesome.

 

Interesting, I do have a LSD. Changing all fluids is on my list so I may do this next just to get it out of the way. Maybe I'll get lucky.

 

When you say "all ball joints", you are meaning upper and lower correct?

 

Correct, upper and lower, both sides.

I skipped the control arm bushings because they appeared ok still.

 

There was a recall on your year tundra for ball joint failures but I can't imagine that having anything to do with your newly installed set.

Wouldn't hurt to check online and see if your truck was included in the recall and was serviced.

 

Yeah, the noise was there before, and after the replacement. I used OEM ball joints. I've put on about 500 miles since I did the work and while a few of the random noises were resolved with that front end work, this issue remains. I'm confident it isn't ball joint related at this point.

 

I hope this works for you like it did mine

 

I'm curious, looks like you have 5100s. What size tire? Any chance its tire rub?

 

I'm on 265 70 16. It's literally any slight left or slight right of the wheel while idling forward or reverse. I almost imagined it being the PS pump making noise under load or something...

It doesn't sound/feel good

 

That's possible, could be the steering pump. How does the fluid look?

Is your alignment okay?

 

Yeah, I got it realigned after I finished the front end work. I bought lifetime alignment and I think I'm going to pull the struts and move up one more notch, it's not quite level right now.

Cheapest thing I think will be to do the diff fluid and then dig into ps pump, if needed.

PS reservoir was at low line when I picked up the truck, wonder if some damage was done from running low by previous owner? I had some fluid in the steering rack boots on both sides but it seemed like minimal seepage. I cleaned up the rack and boots real well so I'll just keep an eye on those for now... May end up throwing a new rack in if it's a leaker...

Truck is really clean otherwise and I keep my vehicles until they die so I'm good with refurbing this stuff.

 

My guess is PS pump.

 

I will update with what I find, thanks for the ideas guys.

 

Could this be an abs activation issue??

 

No one mentioned a wheel bearing..?

 

Hmm... How could I troubleshoot that to rule it out? I did pay a shop to do rotors and pads when I first picked up the truck but as before, this issue was there with the old set up and with new.

 

Maybe I'm over thinking this and that's the cause?' I'll get the front end in the air and see if anything shows itself... Good suggestion

 

Would a wheel bearing grind/noise get worse at speed?

 

I'm going to suggest the cheapest option. Check to make sure the dust plates on the brakes aren't rubbing the disk. Just grab them and pull a little to bend them away from the disk.

 

Awesome, will be out in the garage with my phone on my next day off. This list of ideas was exactly what I needed. Thanks

 

Pull the two abs fuses to deactivate the abs and see if the problem persists. Worth a shot

 

Well, I started with what I thought would be the easiest item, a rear diff fluid change.

I drained and refilled with Lucas Synthetic SAE

$39 75w-90 GL-5 Limited Slip, Ultra Long Drain 500k Miles, Manual Transmission, Gear/Differential Lubricant (1 Gallon)

75w-90 and used all of about 3 quarts. Also, I didn't add any additional friction additive and it seems fine.

I am amazed (and very pleased!) to report that THIS was the source of all the weird vibrations/noises I was having at slow rolling speeds, both forward and back. It also seems to have eliminated some weird clunking noises I was having that I was thinking had to be from the leaf packs.

I don't know what, why or how is going on in an LSD diff, all I know is it's now nice and quiet!

Thank you MS22 and everyone else for the suggestions, you guys are great!

 

Awesome that worked for you, one thing that I did read is that the majority of people say the LSD doesnt get along with synthetic. Others say they have had no problems. If it comes back maybe try Lucas heavy duty 80w 90 non synthetic and it comes with the additive in it. Bet it feels nice to turn and not have that vibration there

 

Ok, good to know. Now that I'm more familiar with how the diff tends to act up, I'll catch on to any anomalies quicker.

I set up an account on Toyota website and looked at the service history. There are a lot of records on there but never did it show diff fluid being done. The previous owner was the original and he says all work was done at dealership. I think it's very possible this fluid had never been changed out being that there are no oil marks on the rear plug areas...105k!!

 

Another thing people have mentioned is the breather plug on the rear diff. I think it kind of acts like a rocker top on a pressure cooker but not sure. Anyhoo I guess they can get filled with gunk and stop working. There is a mod posted on here that people do to put the vent higher up I just unscrewed mine and ran brakecleen and little compressed air through it. Seems to work fine

 

Ok, when I unscrewed the fill plug, it was pressurized. The diff was cold when I did the work, it kinda sounds like my breather may be plugged...

 

It's normal for the diff to be a little pressurized because that breather has an internal spring.

But check your breather to make sure it functions and isn't stuck shut!