Clicking noise

Good afternoon! so i have a clicking noise when i make a left turn and it happens at all speeds not above 30/35 mph. so before we say the obvious its the left cv axle.

i bought the 4runner in april (my easter present). middle october i took it to my mechanic and he told me i had to replace my steeing bushings and outer tie rod (driver side). so i replaced them the week or 2 before thanksgiving. had no issues/no sounds no nothing. so the first saturday of december i bought new tires and had them installed for the 4runner (stock 265/70/16) and roughly after driving 15-20 miles with them is when the clicking sound started. i have checked the cv boots and no rips/tears, no grease anywhere around the cv axles

 

What about the brake pads or the caliper itself?

 

Or on that same note, the brake dust shield. They often corrode and bend, especially given recent front end work and tires. If it's this, just bend it back out of place.

 

could the stabilizer bar/bushing cause it?

 

How loud is the click? New tires pick up rocks all the time and I've had them make clicking sounds.

 

im going to check these recommendations tomorrow/saturday. ive also been doing some reading it could be a wheel bearing possibly so im going to look into that.

 

the best way i can describe it is sounds like a bearing. kind of like a piece of thin sheet metal being twisted and it twists back. i cant here it do much over the radio but with the radio off you can here it pretty good

 

Wheel bearings rarely go bad in these cars before 400k miles. They are massive things.

 

it does it at all speeds 5mph and up when turning left. ive replaced both outer tie rods and replaced all 3 steering bushings. the 4runner pulls to the passenger side slightly but it needs an alignment

 

Does it make the same clicking noise if you’re in 4WD? I almost want to say it’s the needle bearing in the front diff

 

i havent tried it in 4wd but i'll try it tomorrow.

 

yes it still makes the sound in 4wd/4hi

 

Hm.

Ok I would check the the CV axel for play, grab it near where it connects to the diff and check for play (pull in out). Also could be the sway bar and or sway bar endlinks. You could disconnect the endlinks and tie the sway bar on both driver and passenger and see if it solves your issue to check.

Does the sound increase frequency with speed?

 

just checked for play. i pulled side to side or tire to tire or diff to tire how ever you want to look at it. no play in the driver side about 1/4" play in the passenger side

 

Could very well be the passenger side CV axel then, when you turn left more pressure is exerted on the right CV axel. Locating noises can be challenging and often misleading. Perhaps take a passenger with you and make tight turns in a parking lot with the windows down, have the passenger pay attention to the passenger side CV.

im less convinced it’s a driver CV/bearing. Unless it truly is a wheel bearing, which can be tested by jacking the car up and taking the wheel at 6 and 12 and shaking in a push pull manner- should have no play

 

i went ahead and ordered the axle and seal for right/passenger side. should be in tomorrow. wheel bearing seems solid still. thank you every one for your help! i greatly appreciate it

 

Wow right to it then lol, hopefully that works for you, please follow up on the fix. If it does happen to be that CV, I’d recommend seeing if you can rebuild it if it’s OEM, the Aftermarket CVs don’t seem to last as long, maybe it’s something stupid like a retaining clip

 

replaced the passenger side cv today. same noise is still present

 

You can buy a noise detector and clamp it on parts of the underside to locate the sound.

Not sure if you can rent one.

 

^ recommend that, doing a parts cannon isn’t the right move at this point

 

which brand or type do you recommend? i see theirs a few different kinds out their. i did order the cv for the driver/left side because the passenger was original so just doing peace of mind and being safe since it has 260k on it

 

Brand? I only buy Toyota (from online discount Toyota dealers). Mile for mile they are the cheapest parts you can get.

 

think that could be my issue with the gap?

 

Is that a greasable tie rod end? Shoot, maybe, pump er full of grease or take her off and see if you still click

edit: meant end link

 

sway bar link end on passenger side

 

An easy move would be removing the sway bar to test if it’s causing your issues, if you haven’t already

 

so i think i might have found the issue when i replaced the driver side cv. when i picked up on the tie rod assembly i picked it all the way up and let it go and the inner tie rod bottomed out and bounced a few times. id say thats shot and should be replaced

 

alright so i replaced both cv's, both inner and outter tie rods and both lbj and the noise is still their

 

alright so i believe i found it but need some advice. so i checked the rear drive shaft at both joints and no movement. so i moved on and went to the front drive shaft and spun it and the clicking noise was coming from the area of the joint near the transfer case. so how do i know if its the u joint or if the driveshaft in general? i also did grease everything up while under their also today