Rear End Noise

I have a 23 Pro with around 12k miles. With the cold weather we have been having, I noticed strange noises coming from the rear of the truck when I back out of my driveway. After I drive it for a bit it no longer makes noise. The truck only gets driven once every week or so. Is this normal for Fox shocks?

 

You're going to have to define the noises a little more. Squeaking? Grinding? Thumping? How about a video? Is is still under warranty?

 

A low squeak, not too loud. It is under warranty for the 36 month until November. Would the shocks be covered under the 5 year/60k warranty?

 

Probably your rear driveshaft. It's a noisy ol thing. A known issues with the 4runners.

 

It sounds more like a shock issue than a u-joint.

 

I had something similar and it would up being the trunk latch. Closing it on a microfiber towel completely resolved the issue for me. I sprayed some silicone grease and that worked out. It was a pain to find because it really sounded like the struts were doing it.

 

Likely not. They're usually considered a wear item. Wouldn't hurt to ask though.

 

Spray some silicone on your rubber bushings

 

Constant squeal?
Cyclical squeak?
Is it associated with suspension movement or body movement?


Could be brake squealers tabs, or suspension, or driveshaft.

 

It happened when I backed out of my driveway where it meets the street. I tried Taylor's advice, it seemed to work. It was 18° when I drove it this evening, no noise.

 

Bushings love silicone lubricants, especially poly bushings. You'll notice temporary relief when you spray your shock bushings, if it persists, maybe you could replace shock bushings with poly bushings?

 

Yeah I recently went out on a trail, got some sand and mud on some suspension parts, took to a diy car wash to get all the dirt out. That’s when I got my squeaking. Pushed up and down on the back bumper, and sprayed silicone on every bushing I could find, and noise went away. Sometimes it’s just the simple things.

Dislodging all that dirt, or even putting the truck on a lift to relief some of the weight off the suspension will do that too, so some silicone spray always worked for me. Glad it helped.

 

That’s good. Another thing that occured to me is that since your 4runner is new, it could be the “normal” brake squeal in reverse. Usually happens with light brake pressure when slowly backing out.

I’m still not super clear on the description of what you’re hearing. However, regarding bushings, keep in mind that the rubber ones on the 4runner really shouldn’t make any noise unless torn.

These bushing are rubber that is vulcanized between an outer steel shell, and an inner thick steel tube, through which a bolt goes through. A bolt that is properly torqued through one of these bushings will not allow the inner steel tube to rotate relative to the steel that it’s clamped to. The steel tube is clamped by the pressure of a tightened bolt, meaning that the only movement is flex in the rubber. Flexing rubber doesn’t make noise…unless maybe it’s torn.

However, a loose bolt passing through a bushing could result in noise if the steel tube rotates relative to the steel that’s sandwiching it. So unless you’ve done suspension work and left something loose, it’s doubtful you have noise coming from any of the rubber bushings on a stock 4runner.
Especially one so new.

I have had squeaking noise from the rear suspension on one occassion. It was my fault, because I sprayed wool wax on the lower coil seats. This must have allowed a tiny bit of movement between the coil and the metal seat as the suspension flexed. It went away after I soaked the coil seat with brake clean a few times.

 

Before you drive it. Grab a hold of the roof rack and rock the truck side to side as hard as you can. You'll be able to tell if you have a noisy shock.

 

Mine does it when it's cold. It's more of a "bump-bump" sound though. I blame it on tire flat spots from sitting overnight.

 

It doesn't do it if it's warm outside or if it gets driven more often.