FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Help me diagnose this abnormal noise from the front. Video/sound bit provided.

Just the other day I noticed a clicking/ticking noise on the freeway above 50mph. It's a constant ticking and sounds like it correlates to the wheel revolutions.I can hear it with the windows down and its more prominent next to a wall or car which will echo the noise.
I thought I may have a nail or screw in the tire and the noise was it smacking the pavement every revolution, but I found no foreign objects in the tires upon inspection. Jacked up the front and found no loose parts or bolts neither.
I took the FJ to Steven's Creek Toyota to have them diagnose it. They called me back telling me two techs inspected and took the FJ for a road test, but weren't able to replicate the noise. My guess is they didn't take the FJ onto the freeway and drive it above 50 mph. Sure enough, when I picked up my FJ today, on the way home the noise was obviously still there and pretty loud. I am taking my FJ back to the dealer Thursday and have a tech test drive it with me.

Here are a few clips of the noise:

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii285/jluu4/f1e781fa.mp4

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii285/jluu4/76b93f85.mp4

Any ideas on what it could be from?

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Permalink Reply by Bozly on May 23, 2012 at 8:40am

Hard to tell from the video but it doesn't sound constant, is it? Being that it happens above 50 might indicate wind has something to do with it. I had a similar thing happen and it drove me crazy for a couple of months, turned out the nut that holds the bushings all together in the upper A arm had backed off and the washer was flapping in the breeze. I only figured it out on Hells Revenge when it had come completely apart and I saw my A arm moving fore and aft instead of up and down.

Have a look at the nut aft of the shock tower and see if it is tight. The fact that you can hear noise means the nut and washer are still there and all you need to do is tighten it up. I would also suggest replacing the stock nut with a nylox nut and the problem is solved for good. If thats not it, good luck, noises are painful and irritating to find.

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on May 25, 2012 at 7:10am

Yikes thats a tough one...Any noise going over speed bumps or ruts at a lower speed? What aftermarket items do you have? could be a loose skid plate bolt that is just getting a good amount of wind vibration at that speed.

If you shift to neutral while driving does it continue?

Does applying the brakes make it go away?