Undiagnosable Clunking

No I haven't checked that. Honestly since I don't know for sure If there's a correlation between steering and the clunk I didn't look to closely at anything steering related other than ball joints and column u-joints.

 

Yes, that was mentioned in the OP

 

Never. But I have checked them, along with every other item in the vacinity of the engine bay

 

I need to do some more research on those, I never thought they were legit or wood actually work but you're not the first person to recommend them

 

They've been checked multiple times

 

No I haven't, but I guess sticking a go pro down there might be a good idea

 

Yes, in the OP I mentioned I've replaced the LCA's including ball joints without luck

 

Damn, sorry you're going through this. Months without answers would have driven me nuts, hope you get to find the culprit soon.

This is probably a long shot... but have you checked the engine cover? Filter box/ducts? or fuse box? I agree it doesn't sound like a metal on metal but some soft metals like heat shields could produce a sound like that... so maybe loose exhaust?

Any modding near the firewall?

 

I wish I was local to you. This issue has me so annoyed and I’m not driving it!

 

Have you tried turning up the radio?

 

Right ? I’d say a couple of dudes nearby need to meet up and hang off the side , ride on the engine with the hood up and figure it out!

 

What about a crack in the core support?

 

Saw this on Tundrasolutions for front end clunking .... checked the mount plate. I was skimming back to see if you mentioned it...
07 Sequoia with same knocking...I found my transmission mount idolater missing all four of its screws. It looks like they have been missing for a while. It was just sitting on the cross member. There are four screws 90080-11387 that I replaced and knock gone. Some mechanic for got something along the way I guess. I have only had my truck for two weeks now

 

Thank you for the support. I should create a commercial

"For a dollar a day you can help a tundra owner replace every single part on his truck until he finds the one that clunks"

And yes, I've checked everything inside of the engine bay numerous times. So far myself nor the mechanics I've had look at it have come across anything loose in the engine bay

 

The nuisance of a unknown clunk isn't as big of a deal as being unsure of its reliability.

 

You've probably done this, but worth mentioning to try and pin point the sound. Try turning the wheel and maybe parking on a couple different angles to have the weight shifted towards either corner of the front end, get Bob and Harry to stand on the bumper and jump up and down while standing on the bumper while you listen. Also get 2, 3, or 4 guys to lift from the front bumper up and down as rapidly as possible and see if the sound replicates while the wheel is turned back and forth. Just a thought. Many a random clunk have been diagnosed the redneck way. Really hope you find it man, I want this solved, lol

 

Bump cause this guy needs to figure this out and I’m losing sleep over it. My issues aren’t solvable, but hopefully his are!

 

This, 100%!

Do you have any pictures of your engine bay/undercarriage/etc. that we can use to help as visual cues?

 

When you installed the LCA's, were they suspended while torquing or were they on the ground in the neutral position? I did this on a 4runner and would get a weird clunk sound as the bushing on one arm shifted during wheel up and down travel. I loosened them and re torqued on the ground and the sound went away.

 

Yeah I can take some when I get back to town this weekend

 

This is the second set of LCA's that have been on the truck with clunking present. Both sets were installed by a shop

 

Chassisears only 95 dollars on Amazon and it’s your best bet of ever finding this

 

"If you are 100% firm on your statements that it started immediately after regear and bumper install and that removing the bumper doesn't solve it then by logic it can ONLY be related to the regear."

I'm still here for you, I hate random sounds too! I don't mind hearing my leaf packs creak and clunk, I know those sounds. My old poly bushings in the 4runner were loud too, but knowing what it was made it okay. As soon as a new unkown sound comes into the audio signature all hands on deck to identify.

I'm still standing by this logic. By troubleshooting logic it's front diff or remove and install related. Either mounting bolts missing the washer plates/bushings as in this thread...

Or possibly internal diff issue? ADD fork installed wrong? 4wd work? Any other diff noise? Leaks? Oil coming out clean (after break in, should look like tinman blood first change anyway). CV axle snap ring seated completely into diff? needle bearing present? If CV's were removed completely for regear (not required) are the hub axle nuts tight?

 

For real, the suspense is killing me!

 

Unfortunately the clunk lives on...

I've reached the point where I'm expecting a breakdown any day now. I've been telling at least one person where my adventures are planned incase I don't make it back and I'm keeping the fridge stocked with water incase I have to spend a night. MY CONFIDENCE IN THE TRUCK IS THAT LOW.

The truck is going into the shop next week to see the AZ Toyota guru for an unrelated issue but I will be having him once again attempt to find the source.

 

I wouldn't say "Immediately", because there was a few weeks of strictly road driving during the gear break in and summer lake trips. But I did first notice it on the first time off-road with the new gears and bumpers.

You and I are exactly alike in regards to noises. If I know what it is I'm fine. But if my ears catch even the slightest variation in any of the usual noises my radio is off, AC is off, and my girlfriend knows to not make a sound while I try to think of what it could be this time!

Diff mounts are all secure and nothing missing. I know I'm not missing those washers because I recently installed a diff drop in one of my desperate attempts to fix this.

I've contemplated the possibility of something being wrong in the diff itself, but with everything working properly I can't see how something significant enough to make such a noticable clunk wouldn't have caused major damage by now. No leaks and oil came out exactly as expected after break in.

The CV's are one area I've neglected to look at closely. I haven't pulled out the axles/CV's from the diff mainly because I assumed if there was an issue in that area it would have caused damage by now. I'm not very familiar with them in general, is there a part who's job it is to center the shaft in the diff? There is definitely some play/slop where the CV shaft inserts into the diff but I didn't think it to be an excessive amount.

 

Get a chassis camera noise finder thing or put like 8 people in the truck at each window and in the bed while driving to narrow down where it’s coming from before throwing more money at it. If your confidence is that low, have you considered trading it in? This seems to be costing time, money, and worry.

My 2010 had a lot of modifications but had soft brakes and I could tell it was getting transmission issues. I didnt have faith in it anymore so I traded it in for a 2018. I threw a lot of money at the brake issue over a few years with no change or fix.

 

Stupid question. Have you checked the free-play with the hood to the hood latch? My 2017 used to rattle on washboard roads, turns out the hood D-ring was rattling in the hood latch assembly when closed.

 

The drivers side CV has a needle bearing from the factory that wears out, most replace with the ECGS style bushing. Even after that the shaft will still have some play in the diff, best described as "sloppy". I've never heard of this needle bearing causing a clunking sound, usually they hum in 2wd (like a wheel bearing) and are quiet in 4wd, easy straight line road test.