Suspension whirling sound?

Tiny
SUDOTHAI
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 TOYOTA TUNDRA
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 300,000 MILES
While driving down the road I hear a whirling sound. I’m pretty sure it’s a lower ball joint. Could it be anything else? I have a video with the sound it’s making.
Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 AT 4:05 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
SUDOTHAI
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  • 10 POSTS
Attached video and pic.
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Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 AT 4:08 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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A worn or sloppy ball joint makes a very intermittent clunking sound. The sound in your video has to be caused by something that is rotating. That's most likely to be a noisy front wheel bearing or a brake rotor with excessive rust buildup or it's riding against a brake pad that's worn down to the metal backing plate.

Your truck uses a pressed-in front wheel bearing design. With that style, there is one potential clue that might direct us to the culprit. Those bearings change the noise they produce when the vehicle's weight shifts from side to side. If, for example, the left front bearing is noisy, it will get louder when you turn to the right, such as when changing lanes, and it will become quieter when turning left, toward the noisy side. Turning left in this example shifts a lot of the weight to the right side. That takes some weight off the left bearing making it less noisy.

That trick usually doesn't work with the newer style bolt-on bearing assemblies most often used today.

The next thing to look for is to raise the front tires off the ground,

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely

reach over the top of a tire and lightly wrap your fingertips over the coil spring, then spin that wheel by hand. If this is the noisy wheel bearing, you will usually feel the vibrations in the spring.

The last test is to run the engine, in gear, on a hoist, then listen next to each bearing with a stethoscope. You will question one of them, but then the noisy one will be obvious when you hear the growling.

If the bearings seem to be okay, a brake system inspection is in order. In many cases you can see the front brake pads by looking through the slots in spoked wheels. You may also be able to see the brake rotor. If you see an area that's ground up and rough, the pads are worn down and must be replaced. This article includes some information and photos of worn pads and rotors:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-front-brake-pads-and-rotors-fwd

Here's a dandy video showing the brake service being performed on your truck model:

https://youtu.be/3W0fs6shT3o

See how far this gets you, then let me know what you find.
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Wednesday, April 5th, 2023 AT 4:52 PM
Tiny
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Thanks, before I got any further. Seems the truck is starting up and shutting off. I just got a new battery about a month ago.
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Monday, April 10th, 2023 AT 4:44 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,881 POSTS
I'm going to ask you to start a new question for that for a couple of reasons. First, these get categorized by subject and car model to make it easy for others researching a similar problem to find solutions without typing their own question. New topics won't get added to those lists.

The bigger issue is unlike on other sites where anyone can chime in to confuse the issue, here this became a private conversation between just the two of us. As such, none of the other experts are going to see this new topic or have a chance to reply. That may not get you the help you need.

Solving this problem after disconnecting the battery usually involves simply meeting certain conditions during a drive cycle for a relearn to take place. I know this is very easy to do with older Chrysler products. Many other brands don't need to have anything special done. I don't know what is required with Toyota, but it's very likely one of our other experts will.

If it will speed things up for you, here's the link to start a new question:

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new
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Monday, April 10th, 2023 AT 8:00 PM

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