02 4X4 Seqouia/ misleading bad bearing like sound / cant figure out!

[Orly]

I could hear a humming sound coming from the front of the vehicle at about 30 MPH and took it to the mechanic. I was told that it sounded like the front bearings were going out and had him replace both sides. The sound is still there so after a little research I read that it might be the drive shaft so I replaced the Universal Joints on the main drive shaft and that did not help. Has anyone encountered this problem and what was the outcome?

Thanks.

[GeCJ7]

My 01 Sequoia with 160k does the same thing. I believe that this is a common problem on the 4x4's. On mine its more of a very slow low rumbling sound that changes pitch slightly at about half the rotation of the wheels. And yes, you only hear it at around 25 to 35 mph. I have not tried to fix it since it's not broken. But what I have read from other owners is that it's in the differential unit. I have read that some owners had this same problem and had the dealership replace the entire front axle unit under warranty. I'm just going to live with it since it's not really that noticeable. Until it gets worse, I will then see about fixing it. Try putting it in four wheel drive and see if you get the same vibrating sound.

[Orly]

Thanks for the reply G3CJ7.

I have 160 k on mine also and the sound gets louder the faster I go. I begin to hear it at about 30 MPGs and sounds like a . Other people have also mentioned that it could be the diff so that is the next thing I am going to look at.

Thanks again for your reply.

[spinn]

Have you ever changed the differential fluid or transfer case fluid? Not to say it's the cause of the problem, but I changed my front differential and found it to be only about half filled after 200K. Worth spending 2qts on diff fluid to see if it helps.

[Orly]

Spinn,

Thanks for the reply. I did what you said and it did not make a difference. I am beggining to think that the problem is going to be in the front differential housing where the gears are. The reason why think that is because when I pick the vehicle up off the ground and spin the front wheels by hand, the small drive shaft like bars that go from the front diff to the tires, move as the wheels spin. I dont think that my Quoia is an all wheel drive so they should not be activated. Maybe they were activated once and never de-activated which is why there is some wear and tear to the front diff that make it sound the way it does. I love the vehicle but this sound is driving me crazy. I would like to know if there is some way that i could deactivate the front Diff to see if that is what is really causing the noise.

Back to the drawing boards.

Thanks again.

[Orly]

Well a few months after dealing with this bad bearing like sound it was finally solved. It turns out that in fact it was a bearing but it ended up being the rear wheel bearings. After all of the smoke cleared my Sequoia ended up with all of the wheel bearings replaced, new U-joints and the fluids in both front / rear diffs and the transfer case changed. It drove me crazy for several months but I am happy to say that the MEAN GREEN is back on the road the way it used to be.

Thanks for everyones help!

[Spencer]

I am trying to figure out a similar issue with my SR5 Tundra. I hear the rumble on deceleration mostly and when the front tires are at a slight turn in either direction in the realm of 20-35 mph. Did you feel the vibration up front? Was there anything about it which would have misled you away from the rears? I am getting my fronts replaced soon...

[Orly]

Spencer,

Sorry for the late response Spencer. I work out of town and dont have a way to respond as fast as I would like to. As for the bearing problem I was having, I only felt the rumble on deceleration so I took it to the mechanic. I also felt a vibration after hitting speeds over 60 MPH and could see that the cars in my rear view mirrow were blurry. The mecanic first told me that he thought that one of the rear bearing that he installed was defectice. He took the time to look at it over a bit more and determined that the pinion bearing was bad. He showed me by lifting the rear of the Quoia on jackstands and turned the wheel with his hands forward about half a turn and then immediately went the opposite direction. He pointed out that where the rear drive shaft is connected to the DIFF you could obviously see that it had too much play. He said that it was supposed to be tighter. I bought the pinion bearing and the sleeve and once he he took it apart he saw that there was actually three other bearing inside of the Diff housing. The other bearing were not bad but he recommended that we replaced them since it was already taken apart. Over all it cost me about 250 more dollars to replace the other three bearings but with doiong all of this work to it it pratically left my Diff brand new. I will list all of the part numbers for the bearing in case youo need them. I tried to attach the diagram I got from the dealershif when I ordered the parts to make it easy to see what all is needed. I appologize for attaching the diagram since I am not very computer savy and this puter would not allow it.

The front pinion bearing dealer part number is 90368-34007 (part on the diagram is 41201B). The sleeve part number for this bearing is 90311-44007 (part on the diagram for this sleeve is 41201C).
The bearing that is located after the pinion (or in the middle) is part number 90366-40068 (part on the diagram is 41201A).
The side bearings (or outside back bearings) are the same and they are part number 90366-51001 (part on the diagram is 41301A).

Hope this helps.
Orly.

[Spencer]

Spencer,

Sorry for the late response Spencer. I work out of town and dont have a way to respond as fast as I would like to. As for the bearing problem I was having, I only felt the rumble on deceleration so I took it to the mechanic. I also felt a vibration after hitting speeds over 60 MPH and could see that the cars in my rear view mirrow were blurry. The mecanic first told me that he thought that one of the rear bearing that he installed was defectice. He took the time to look at it over a bit more and determined that the pinion bearing was bad. He showed me by lifting the rear of the Quoia on jackstands and turned the wheel with his hands forward about half a turn and then immediately went the opposite direction. He pointed out that where the rear drive shaft is connected to the DIFF you could obviously see that it had too much play. He said that it was supposed to be tighter. I bought the pinion bearing and the sleeve and once he he took it apart he saw that there was actually three other bearing inside of the Diff housing. The other bearing were not bad but he recommended that we replaced them since it was already taken apart. Over all it cost me about 250 more dollars to replace the other three bearings but with doiong all of this work to it it pratically left my Diff brand new. I will list all of the part numbers for the bearing in case youo need them. I tried to attach the diagram I got from the dealershif when I ordered the parts to make it easy to see what all is needed. I appologize for attaching the diagram since I am not very computer savy and this puter would not allow it.

The front pinion bearing dealer part number is 90368-34007 (part on the diagram is 41201B). The sleeve part number for this bearing is 90311-44007 (part on the diagram for this sleeve is 41201C).
The bearing that is located after the pinion (or in the middle) is part number 90366-40068 (part on the diagram is 41201A).
The side bearings (or outside back bearings) are the same and they are part number 90366-51001 (part on the diagram is 41301A).

Hope this helps.
Orly.

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[Spencer]

Thanks!!!!


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[Spencer]

I was able to spin the axle coming from the transfer case to the front differential. When I did I heard a mild clunking noise inside the transfer case is that normal when you rotate the transaxle counterclockwise clockwise?


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[Orly]

Spencer,

I did not hear a clunking noise coming from the transfer case. I hope that the transfer case is not giving out. I have no idea what could be causing the sound you are hearing. Let me know what is determined to be the noise.