Crunch noise

[Oli.g]

Hi, another problem with my Colorado

was driving along today and the car felt different, sounded like a belts loose or something

just went to do a lift then and had a big clunk/crunch while going along, pulled over an nothing looks loose but it’s dark.

had to limp it home due too being on a 60 road in pitch black, everyrotation of wheels it felt like a grind or crunch

could this be my front diff? It goes into gear and drives and stops it’s just that there’s a horrible grind every meter or so?

mid so does anyone know where I can get adiff for a 3.0td 1999 manual Colorado?

 

[Beau]

Stick the front up in the air and spin a wheel. Do the same in the rear too and listen to the diffs. If not that, then move on next to the trans. If it still moves, then CV's must be fine.

 

[Oli.g]

Thank you @Beau ill try that tomorrow!

im hoping it’s something cheap and easy to find parts as it took me a month to find a seller with a rear diff when that went

times like this I wish I bought a discovery, being broken for parts in every town but there’s literally no 90 series breakers in England haha

 

[AdventureWagon]

In the meantime could you remove the front prop and lock the centre diff? That would prove all the rest is working.

There would be plenty of front diffs around scrapyards here (though a lot of them will be from automatics), but shipping is gonna be the killer for that.... happy to help with this though if you want. Fair warning though it cost me A$75 to send a photo album to the UK recently so expect many hundreds just for shipping.

 

[BobMurphy]

Does the handbrake still work OK ??

Its not unknown for the linings to detach from the shoes - and noises are notoriously difficult to trace.

Next, I would look at the propshaft UJs - if they are dry and losing rollers you will get a crunch noise.

A 'crunch every meter or so' sounds like one rotation of a wheel. Check the wheel nuts and the dust shields.

How old are the brakes ?? - look at the front disks for lumps of rust coming off the disk and catching in the caliper.

All simple stuff, but we always fear the worst when a new noise occurs.

Bob.

 

[Oli.g]

Well a little update, drained diff oil and still looks like honey! No metal in it

pulled the front wheels off and changed thepads as I took it for a drive today round the block and it justmade a grinding sound over 20mph

passenger side wheel was ridiculously wobbly so I’m guessing my wheel bearings gone! Hopefully that’s all anyway haha

 

[Oli.g]

this is the wheel

 

[BobMurphy]

I'm surprised - the front wheel bearings on the '90' are enormous double-row sealed units (that's why I didn't mention them as a possibility):

And, I'm afraid, getting them out is not for the feint-hearted. You will need to remove the steering knuckle and use a large press (I have a 30-tonner, but 20 should be OK with luck).

I had to make a special jig in order to press the hub out of the bearing.

Its all "Heavy Duty" stuff !

And, while you're at it - Replace the lower ball joints if they haven't been done for a while. They are under constant tension and can give way without warning.

Wonder how I know ???

Bob.

 

[Tractionman]

I remember that one Bob, what an unexpected disaster. Main thing is you all came out of it ok.

 

[diggerdave]

At least when it happens on a green lane you're going slowly....

 

[Tractionman]

No less that sinking feeling though Dave, and not so easy for recovery ?

 

[Oli.g]

I changed my other bearing beginning of the year and changed the ball joints to terrain tamer, I’m very paranoid about them failing
Sending it to a local garage to have the bearing done as I’d have to pay to get it pressed out anyway and it’s too rainy to be stripping it down haha

thank you for the help everyone!

 

[Bob]

Ball joint failure is real, and very random...

This happened this morning as I let out the clutch in my yard. Luckily I heard the clonk and stopped immediately, after moving a matter of a foot or so. I had though the steering felt a bit odd on my last journey home, and now I realise how lucky I was that it didn't give way on the main road... Brings a new meaning to 'the landcruiser will always get you home' It did just that...

Now to fit 2 new ball joints instead of a whole front suspension & drive unit and maybe a neck vertibrae or two

 

[Beau]

Wow! Buy yourself a lottery ticket Bob! I'm assuming those are the originals at 350,000 miles? If so, I'd say you were pushing it. When last have you actually checked play in them?

I replaced mine at 250,000 miles with a miniscule amount of play. More for peace of mind than anything else.

 

[Bob]

Yeah they are the originals Beau.. I'm a lucky boy.. I actually had it booked in to get a full underside run through of shocks, bushes etc today (not even a joke) and was going to drive it to the workshop to swap with a bus he had ready for me... The truck had been lying up for most of the Covid lockdown so I wanted it gone through on a lift.. ball joints were on my radar but I should ahev done them earlier... Word to the wise...

 

[BobMurphy]

Man ! that was lucky (Luck of the Irish ??). The ball doesn't look in bad condition - mine were rusty throughout (no grease nipples fitted).

Toyota really dropped the ball (sorry ) with this design. The '100-Series and later' are much better with a stirrup on the knuckle and the joint in compression.

Maybe these pictures should be permanently fixed to the site 'welcome' page !

Bob.

 

[Beau]

People in the states are well aware of this problem as the 3rd generation toyota 4runner and 1st gen Tundra and tacoma share the same front IFS. They also sold a lot of these trucks here and with the miles people in the US drive, and lack of any a MOT equivalent it's a common failure if you check out the forums. From what I've read, it seems they don't just fail from defect, but from wear and tear. So checking them every so often goes a long way.

 

[Bob]

Man ! that was lucky (Luck of the Irish ??). The ball doesn't look in bad condition - mine were rusty throughout (no grease nipples fitted).

Toyota really dropped the ball (sorry ) with this design. The '100-Series and later' are much better with a stirrup on the knuckle and the joint in compression.

Maybe these pictures should be permanently fixed to the site 'welcome' page !

Bob.

To be honest it's such a critical part of the front suspension, I should have sorted it sooner, but dang it if these things don't just keep going mile after mile... I haven't heard of it happening to many 90's on our side of the small pond... But mileage tends to be a lot lower especially on the farm trucks. Not many around like mine... I think it will become more common with age, and the fact there's still so many of them on the go here.
Moral of the story.. just like ourselves... Check your balls... Could save your ass

Either way I have 2 brand new ones on the way to me tomorrow so it'll be back on the road as soon as you can say "can somebody change that nappy because my hands are filthy"

 

[AdventureWagon]

This is a pretty well documented thing on the high mileage Aussie ones too - they usually last about 300,000km here.

Guide to checking here (not by me)