Questions and Answers

Groaning Toyota Truck

Q. Hi, it's me again. Your really helped me out a few weeks ago when my truck suddenly developed a higher than usual idle. That problem is now fixed! Thanks for the help. Now, I have found a new problem. My truck is an 1988 Toyota 4x4 pickup with 175,000 miles, 4 cylinder 22RE engine and a manual 5 speed transmission, power steering and air conditioning.

My problem is that when the hubs are locked, I sometimes get a loud "groaning" that corresponds with the speed of the truck. The sound usually starts out of nowhere and will stop if I slow down to a crawl. Sometimes it will come back and other times it will end. It makes no difference if I am in 4WD or 2WD, just as long as the hubs are locked. I only use the truck to get to work and back (about 10 miles) and then just for getting around on the weekends. I rarely use the 4WD and would probably never use it if we did not get snow every winter.

I have owned the truck for about a year and a half and have never done any deep water crossing or even had it off road. I can not say what happened to it before I bought it though. I have to admit that I have done a very poor job of driving around every month or so with the hubs locked to keep everything lubed up and hope I have not caused major damage. I know it is difficult to diagnose a problem from the description of a sound, but any help you can give will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for all of your help!

Dave

A. I'm glad I was able to help with your previous problem. And you're right, it is difficult to diagnose a problem from a description of a sound, but I can give you some things that could be causing the noise. There are a few things that could do it.

The most obvious is the tires. On a 4WD vehicle tire size is critical. All four tires must have the same circumference or they will bind and cause a noise. A smaller tire will turn at a different speed and over distance, will "slow" down and cause a bind, In trying to "catch up", will make some noise. To eliminate this possibility, get a piece of string and measure the circumference of all the tires to make sure they are the same, or pretty damn close.

I would also have the wheel alignment checked to make sure everything is within specs.

It can also be the wheel bearings or the locking hub mechanism. You would need to disassemble the hub, clean all the parts and inspect for wear and damage. If everything looks good, repack the wheel bearings and grease the hub assembly.

I hope this is of some help to you. Let me know how you make out.