Oppo, I need your help diagnosing a rattle on my 2005 Toyota 4Runner V8. [UPDATE INSIDE!!!]
Here is the situation:
- metal on metal rattle/clanging over bumps, even small ones, from about 10-15 km/h
- based on the sound, it’s a heavier metal piece, not some lightweight tin or aluminum
- based on the sound, it’s not the hood or another large panel
- sounds like it’s from the front half of the vehicle, and seems to be more obvious when the front wheels hit a bump
- only audible from the outside, or with the windows down, but not at all present in the cabin with the windows up
- no clunking or other suspension noise, it was present before the suspension was replaced this spring; the noise did not get better or worse
- doesn’t change based on how much dirt/rocks are in the skid plates; they’re clean now and the noise persists
I checked everything I could think to check. All the exhaust heat shields I can find appear to be rock solid (I fixed one loose spot), the skid plates are bolted on tight and I can’t get any noise or movement out of them manually.
The only loose part I can find is one corner of the plastic radiator grille, and when I shake it manually (hard) it makes hardly any sound at all. I secured it with some rubber bands so it barely moves - no change in the noise...
I guess the next step would be to drop all the skid plates and get up on a lift? I’ll make a video later when I take the truck out.
Any help/ideas would be appreciated!
——
Update: I’m glad I took the truck to a shop before my road trip. It’s the brakes! The front pads are loose because the retaining clips are toast. The pads are rattling around, and badly worn, so I’m getting new gear put in.
Which reminds me that I posted this some time ago...