Help with front end problem.

Hey all.
I have a problem that’s new to me, tried to search but I since I’m not sure what the problem is I didn’t find much.

Today while driving down the highway I started to get a bad reverberation sound/feeling from the front end, sort of like a loose wheel, at first I thought it was just rough road, but it kept getting worse, and then when I braked it was really bad and shaking. It’s not apparent at low speed.
I pulled off and checked the wheels, lugs were all tight.
With the wheels straight forward I started rocking each wheel and the front right had play and would knock, knock seemed to be right behind the rotor, I had someone else rock it while I looked underneath, I could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anything moving abnormally. It wouldn’t do it when I turned the wheels.
After checking I kept going, but kept it a bit slower and the sound/feel mostly went away, but still noticeable and more so while braking.

This is my first 4wd vehicle, could it be related to the cvs? How do you diagnose a bad cv? Maybe a really shot wheel bearing?
I have recently replaced the LBJs (oem), shocks, and stabilizer links, but I don’t think those have anything to do with it. I have noticed binding on that side when making a tight left hand turn, only when fully cranked though.

Where I live the max speed is 50km (just over 30mph), and I rarely take it off island, so this could have been developing for some time and I just wouldn’t notice, but I had been driving for a while today before this happened.

Any help or advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

 

Tie rods?

 

Tie rods? Loose rack (loose bushings)? Loose brake caliper?
Jack the truck up in the air and try and move each wheel up and down, and left and right and see if you can identify anything.

 

CVs usually make a high frequency vibration only when accelerating or turning, unless they break, which is a lot more than a vibration, more like a hammer knocking.

What yours sound like is a worn out ball joint, or tie-rod end.

Really, you just have to go through your front end, it could be any of these things.

Jack it up, then place a SECOND jack under the lower control arm an jack it up just enough to take the pressure of the springs off it. You may have to play with the second jack a little to find the sweet spot where it takes the pressure off the ball joints.

Grab the tire and try to move it, up and down, left and right, side to side. This is a lot easier with the tire on the vehicle as it gives you more leverage.

Grab the CV joint and try to move it. It should slide fairly easily side to side, but not up or down, or front to back.

 

Thanks guys, just got back home and it didn’t get any worse.
I’ll jack it up and do better diagnostics ASAP, which may be a few days.
I didn’t check the tie-rods and will, but am most suspicious of the bearing at this point, just from what little I saw and felt, it really seemed to be at the hub of the wheel.
Thanks for the tips on checking movement in the CV Jong.

 

Jack up and pull/push tire at:

6/12 to check for worn ball joints

3/9 to check for worn tie rods

 

Alright, looks like upper ball joint.
Anyone have a recommended DIY for those? I read a few, but if someone knows one they think is best that’s always helpful.
Looks like a press is needed, guess I’ll get one of those too
Preferred brand?
Anything wrong with these: https://partsavatar.ca/2000-2006-toyota-tundra-upper-ball-joint-mevotech-original-grade-gk90255

 

I've used Mevotech parts before and they didn't last long. I'd spend more on something like Moog. You don't want to cheap out on suspension components. I didn't have an accident but I noticed premature wear. Those help keep your vehicle safely on the road. Just my 2 cents.

 

How many miles and how big of a lift.

 

Okay, I don't cheap out where it matters, and I don’t want to replace them again any time soon.
I did see Moog available, $50 some each.

No lift, stock everything basically, Bilstein 4600s, 375k km or so, I’m sure these UBJs are original.

 

I usually buy moog for suspension parts. Not the most expensive but I think they are next step up above all the cheap brands.

 

At 230k miles I’d say the upper ball joints are definitely roached. Could be one of your issues.

1st gen Tundras have small Tacoma sized steering and suspension. Most of it is junk after 200k.

 

Yeah, I’ve been working through replacing the various suspension components, I kinda overlooked these or I would have done them when I did the lowers.
Luckily my truck was a commuter truck until I got it at around 350k, so it had pretty gentle use and was exclusively dealer serviced.

 

I can get Moog or ACDelco for about the same price, is either one better than the other?

 

Personally, I get Moog and avoid ACdelco, but thats mostly just because they screwed me on a reman starter once that arrived seized and full of rust, with a fresh coat of paint on the outside.

 

Alright, reason enough to go Moog, ordered

 

The OEM stuff isn’t very expensive at all. The only things I didn’t go OEM was the sway bar links, and that was for two reasons. One, OEM was incredibly expensive, and two, they are very easy to replace if they fail.

Moog, AC, Napa, it’s just the color of the box, the $hit is made all over the world. I used to work for Kragen Auto and we would switch boxes all the time to what ever company they decided to sell at that time.

 

I checked OEM, almost $100 each CAD- OEM stuff is pricey in Canada, I paid almost $400 for both OEM LBJs.
The Moog see to be well enough regarded in this application, might not get the longevity of the originals, but hopefully good enough.

 

Sankei is good too. Made in japan and has a '555' stamped on it. I know Napa carries them.

 

I replaced mine with moog about two months ago and the moog wouldn't seat all the way. I did some online research and it looks like the moog are slightly larger to accommodate for stretching, but my Sequoia with 290k miles wasn't stretched enough to need them. I ended up pulling the moogs and replacing with OEM.

Not saying yours will do this for sure, but I wish I had saved the $100 and gone with OEM in the first place. (Not to mention the time wasted)

Also, how are the upper control arm bushings? I used moog for those and the steering is so much more solid now.

 

Good to know and watch for on install, here’s hoping that’s not the case, but good to know so I’m not too frustrated if it does happen.
The bushings are probably on their way out too, good point, I’ll give them a good look before tearing into it. Thanks for the tips