stabmaster

So for completeness here...I ended up finding the issue, and it cost a grand total of $0. I had been jacking up my car using the toyota supplied jack under the left door, checking things - no obvious problem I could see as I was unable to run the car while looking... Took it to mechanic #4 - heard problem, jacked it up with a proper jack under the front and ran it - no noise? Ran it round the block a few times - still no noise. Turns out after the tyre blew, when mechanic #1 changed the front tyres and put put the wheel back on they managed to loosen the wheel bearing connection somehow? The mechanic mentioned looseness between the drive shaft and something or other...but he said when he jacked it up from a point at the front it fixed it inadvertently. Thanks for your help everyone, I hope your days are free of sudden ninja attack.

Thanks for the advice cerby, I'm going to have to look over these things with some help on the weekend. If it really does require a new transmission I think a quick sale is in order and a new car. It's an auto, so I can't experiment with the clutch. In fact I will play around on the weekend, mechanic #2 was trying to reproduce the sound in reverse at one stage, and said it went away? Thanks all. I'll update again if there is a happy ending.

I just spoke to the latest (#3) mechanic who told me it is in fact the transmission bearing...He says it appears to be on the left only because the transmission is closer to the passenger side than driver's side. He quoted $1,600 for a reco'd transmission plus work. Is it normal for a transmission bearing to only be problematic under 40kmh? It is quiet when pacing along at 60-80, albeit a little rattly. Also when I drove in it with mechanic #2 as a passenger I could feel vibrations on the floor as a passenger, but very little towards the centre. I can't feel this in the driver's seet. This all started after a blown tire on the front hand passenger side btw, no issues before that. Apart from the noises it makes it drives well. I'm wondering, on cerby's advice whether someone here has a place I can take it and give me a realistic answer? I'm in Boronia VIC (3155).

Thanks guys. I have to correct myself - it was indeed only the left side, but was so loud people heard they were hearing it on the right... It looks like a bearing and not the struts as suggested, they wanted 1k+ to replace the struts so I'm glad i called that off...I'll repost if replacing the wheel bearing solves the problem.

Hi all, I have an AE92 that 'squeels' from the front wheels when driving under 40 km/h. I've spent about $850 so far trying to fix this problem but it is still there... The squeeling sound started after a blown tyre, which blew about 200m from home, so I drove home on it and changed in the driveway (stupid I know, but could be part of the cause?). Took it in to get two new front tyres and a wheel alignment, and about a week later it started squeeling from the front left wheel when slowing down at lights, whether I was braking or not. It appeared to have a slight grinding sound that matched the rotation of the tires as I slowed. It has since gotten progressively worse, and squeels louder from both wheels after another two weeks or so. When I first start driving it in the morning, I can't hear anything - it seems to come on after about 5-10 minutes of driving, after it has warmed up a bit. I have also noticed that the accelerator seems 'loose' with slight pressure, so when i leave my foot on it just lightly, it squeels. I've taken it to a mechanic who said it was probably the brakes, which needed some attention anyway and spent about $850 sorting those, with a service and a few other bits, but the sound is as bad as ever. I was hoping to get some help from users to point me to the likely problem, as I am a poverty stricken student, and have borrowed $550 to try to solve the problem before it gets worse. What would be the most likely source of the sound? Mechanic has suggested replacing the front (and rear) struts? Thanks in advance.