1978 Toyota Pickup Bent Axle Shaft Help!
 

Hey guys,

It was brought to my attention recently that my rear passenger tire wobbles, so I started asking some folks and they mentioned that the axle shaft is bent. I switched out the tires to make sure the rim was good, and it is because the same wheel keeps wobbling. I started looking around for an axle shaft for my pickup and cannot find anything. Everything is discontinued, so I started branching out to other similar trucks, Nissan 720/Ford Ranger/S10 etc., but I still have my doubts. Can anyone help me with a reasonable replacement for my bent axle shaft? I am not looking to swap the rear diff or change the drive train, just for a simple axle shaft replacement. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a W50 transmission 2WD truck, but I can't find the ID plate with the differential code on it, so that isn't much help. I read that these pickups had a 7.5" rear differential and that the axle shaft had a 30 spline count, not sure how many variations there were, and not sure if it is okay to go with a shaft that has less splines.

Thanks guys!!

Thanks for the reply.

I will give Jim a call and I figured I would constantly need to check the wrecking yards. My other question is: what other years should I keep an eye out for? Also, based on your answer I can assume that other trucks' rear axle shafts will just not work, correct?

Thanks again.

In my research I came across that, but that doesn't really tell me much about the shaft itself.

It tells ya that the only axle that will work will come from from a 7.5 inch ring gear,53 inch wide, 5 lug rear end, from a 1973 to 1978 two wheel drive mini truck.

What else do you need to know???

I understand, but I also need spline count and length for the passenger side. That way if I can purchsse one from, say a Ford Ranger, then I can match the axle shaft with full confidence.

I guess im indirectly asking if ONLY a 73 - 78 axle shaft will work.

Yes, that is the only shaft that will work. Probably have to come from the same side (left or right) as well. Sometimes the left and right axles are different lengths. I don't know for sure about these.

It is a certainty that a Ford ranger axle, or other manufacturers axle WILL NOT FIT> You need a Toyota axle as specified above. One from '73 to '78 mini-truck five lug rear end will have correct spline count and length.

Fair enough. Thank you!

Unless you pull the actual axle to verify it's bent, how do you know it is bent? Might it be the bearing instead?

Let me start by saying: your videos contain a ton of info, so thank you for that.

See I always thought it was a wheel bearing that caused a wobble, but three different people, two shop guys, have said, bent axle. Granted, I haven't pulled the axle due to bad weather, but once I do, I will let you guys know for sure. Next week looks much more reasonable to begin taking out the axle. I am just preparing for the worse in terms of cost.

My question is, once I look at the axle, will it be obvious it's bent?

Dzhezzi -

No problem on the YT vids, I did em because there really isn't a lot of info out there on the 75-78's, & I didn't have a FSM (factory service manual). Glad to share what I have learned & try to help someone else.

I'd suspect the bearing first myself, as it usually takes quite a lot to bend the axle. That's a forged steel part & if it is bent at all, I'd also suspect that it's bent between the bearing & hub. It's just simple physics; short length of shaft is stiffer than a longer length. I can't think of a way for the axle shaft between the bearing & diff to bend, unless it been hit by a piece of heavy equipment. :gijoe: Or maybe the inner axle bearing on the diff end of the axle is worn out/out of spec? Either way the bearings are an eventual wear part(s) & were meant to be replaced when needed. Second I'd have a look at the axle flange. Sometimes a super hard pothole hit (or other impact) can bend flanges. Toy_Tek has the right idea on that. You could also visually test it with the wheel & drum off, rotating it while looking at the flange edge on (like back to front of vehicle) & seeing if it wobbles. The dial indicator is of course more accurate but not everyone has one to use.

Two shop guys say it's bent, but still they weren't looking at the actual axle were they? No knock on shop guys, but they always want to jump to worse case scenarios. I get considering having to rehab the whole thing though, gets you mentally prepared for anything you might find.

Whether it's obviously bent or not depends on amount of bend & where bent. I found a vid on Youtube showing a similar problem on a newer Tundra. The rear axle technology hasn't changed much over the years so it pretty much the same. Here's the vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hunh...ature=youtu.be

That vid looks to me like a bent flange or a bad bearing, likely the bearing, because you can hear some odd clunk-rattle noise while it's spinning. Usually sure sign it's a bearing.

Think I found some info that may help.
https://toyotaminis.com/forum/thread...erences.10707/

Wow, thanks a ton guys, I'll get to checking each thing individually.
Thanks for all the info.

Answered

So I took off the wheel and drum, finally got around to it. It shows the same amount of wobble as the video. So I am going to remove it and check the bearing. I can't really hear a clunk, but maybe my hearing just isn't that good.
Thanks again.

All right, so the bearing is good, but the axle shaft is indeed bent. I have ran into a different issue now. I ordered an axle shaft from Yotajims and have found that the axle shaft I ordered is actually longer than the one I pulled out. I have pictures attached, maybe someone can advise me on what to do next.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...27af014d89.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...bdda88eca7.jpg
The shaft from yotajims
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...c9b5b3e435.jpg
The shaft I pulled out

Is your new, too long axle 5 lug, or 6???

5 lug.
I called Yota jims, and I verified that it was for a '78 2WD.

One more thing that crossed my mind, it seems like this rear axle shaft had work done, could someone have machined it to try and fix it? Because the old axle shaft doesn't have a nicely defined lip before the splines like the "new" one does.

So, I tried installing the longer one, everything seems right, but after the splines catch it won't go any further and I don't want to use too much force. It seems like that extra inch is what sticks out and does not allow the backing plate to mate up with the housing flange. Any help would be much appreciated.

I have been talking to the YotaJims people, but they are still trying to see what they can figure out also.

Help!
 

All right, gathered a bit more info before the rain started.

The rear axle width (approximately backing plate to backing plate) is about 47-1/4 inches, maybe a little under 1/4, not around 53 inches. Also, I noticed the bolt pattern on the third member doesn't have one bolt at the twelve o'clock position, but rather two that are side by side, would that make it an 8 in?

Do I have a different rear end axle housing?

Here are some pictures.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...563be9cef1.jpg
Driver side
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...2d9dde0df7.jpg
Passenger side
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...35a9dd7689.jpg
Top of the third member
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...ab5e09a87c.jpg
Top of the third member different view

I suppose it is clear that the shaft I received is incorrect, but now I need to figure out my next steps.
Should I get a rear axle from a different truck? There are a few 1980 through 1984 Toyota pickups in the junkyards around here, so I can shoot for one of those. I would just make sure it is an 8" third member and hook it up to my current driveshaft. Could I try any other truck? Ford Courier? Ranger? S-10?

Seeing as I have given up trying to find an axle shaft for this particular rear end.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

That is good to know. I did not know that the older Hilux Trucks came with an 8" differential.

:safari:

Aww man, the machine shop option seems to be the quickest route.

I was thinking, why not just change out the rear end with a 1980s pickup and keep the same driveshaft, but that might not work either. I've done my research on other trucks, like an Isuzu, since it was readily available in the junkyard, but it sounds like that will require some driveshaft modification. Either way, it looks like I might need to visit the machine shop.

Yes, you could swap the rear axle, but it will be wider unless you have it chopped, at that point might as well have just done the axle shaft instead of axle tube + shafts, lol. This may change your road handling, I believe wider rear than front is less stable.

I'll keep my eye out for any Hilux being parted out.

Are you a member of ToyotaMinis? There isn't a whole lot of info out there for pre-pickup Hilux trucks, but it's the best resource I've found so far

What about from say from a 1982 Toyota pickup?

You could, but if it's 2wd I believe you're swapping to a 7.5" 5-lug with 55" WMS width.
An 8" I believe would have to come from a 4wd or from a v6 model but those will also be wider.

Talk to this guy, he's up north from you, but has what you need: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts...796088456.html

All right guys, I finally tracked down the correct axle shaft. After some asking around I found that I need an axle shaft from the earlier models, not from the later ones. The year 1978 is a funky one because it seems there was some transition in the middle where later model '78 trucks use 1979 and onward axle shafts.

Now I just need to clean this one up and install it. All of you have been very helpful, here is to hoping that this fixes my wobble issue. I'll keep you guys updated.

Sweet! :great:

Good information to know.

Now you don't have to attempt to get another wrong axle shaft to work or replace the entire axle.

:safari:

I don't get it either, but the wobble seems to be gone.

However, now the car won't start, it just turns over and I can't smell fuel. I pour some fuel in the carburetor and it starts, but dies instantly. The car has been sitting for about two weeks and it has been raining and cold, so I am stumped.

Could be a bad mechanical fuel pump if you still have it. My fuel system was upgraded with electric fuel pump, filter and a pressure regulator.

No, this has an electric pump in the fuel tank, but it whirrs whenever I turn the key and have the oil sensor switch disconnected.

All right guys, I am learning a ton so thank you all, but now I have another concern.

Since the truck won't start while I have it in the air, I decided to redo the whole drum brake system while I figure out if it is a fuel pump issue, or just needs more fuel. Got everything off, and bought a new wheel cylinder. But it does not seem to fit, the one that was in there before, just slides in and out with ease. The new one hits the flange where the studs are for the wheel, it looks like it will fit if I force it in, but is that normal? Does anyone have any experience with that? Do you have to use a bit of elbow grease to get that little sucker in there?

Thanks guys!