I've been reading through the forums on this, and I thought I had a solid action plan. My wife's 99 4runner 2wd auto is doing the "toyota clunk" when at a stand still and the brakes are released. Sometimes, it's a light tap...other times, rather violent.

I read up on lubing up the driveshaft via zerk fittings. But...when I crawled under the chassis with my trusty grease gun, there are no fittings to be found It's got a single piece drive shaft, I've run my hands all around the yoke and it's completely smooth, no fittings. No visible fittings in the U joint either. So I must be missing something, is there another way of lubing the splines up? All the pics I've seen are pretty strait forward, fittings easily visible...so I dunno what is up.


Edit: Appears 2wd DS's are sealed units from factory, so it's not the ds that's making the noise. I'm going to check the rear drums as next possible culprit.


James

 

Well, it could be excess play between the driveshaft slip-yoke, and the transmission output bushing.

But that would most likely be felt as vibration, going down the road.

It's possible the rear brake shoes are not releasing smoothly, causing the noise.

Good luck.

 

from what ive read, the 2wd shouldnt need to be lubricated any more than they already are. There are no zerk fittings.

 

The 2wd models are not serviceable (ie no zerk fittings).
Check the U-joints for excess play.

.....it could also be rear drums in need of adjustment.

 

Jaime, isn't there a few threads about the drums getting stuck when some type of fluid (I can't remember specifically) starts leaking and gums up the drums? This may help this guy.

 

Instead of starting a new thread:

On my way home from school today, I started hearing a clunk near the rear of the 4runner. It only "clunks" (lightly, nothing too loud, but definitely noticeable) when accelerating, usually right after the transmission shifts for the first time. Does not happen when accelerating fast, only with moderate acceleration. Does this sound like the driveshaft fittings need to be lubed? I just got it back from the shop a week or two ago and they were supposed to do that, but I guess these days you have to do it yourself?! Anyways, I will start by lubing it myself, and see if the problem goes away. I read the write-ups about this, but how do I know how much to put in? Also, what grease can I use from autozone that would be comparable to Toyota grease, and do I really need two separate types of grease like it says in the manual?

Thanks!!

 

Another thought: I can hear this sound in 2wd and 4wd.

 

I have the answer (I think!). The driveshaft sits between the frame and the axle. The suspension dives as you brake. This means the driveshaft has to change length. They accomplish this with a spline shaft. The spline shaft is "sticking". Doesnt hurt anything but causes unwanted "clunk". The fix is to remove the drive shaft, remove the grease, put valve grinding compound on the spline, go back and forth maybe 200 times, regrease and reinstall. Toyota has a fix for this now and should do it under warranty. Call the regional manager if local Toyota dealer does not know about this.

 

You have the answer to a 4 year old thread ?!?!?

 

Come on Scuba, it's 3 years. That's been the trend lately...

 

The problem of the driveshaft having to change length and the possibility of feeling that movement is not a new one. Been around for years. It is probably caused by too tight a spline connection. Things move around under there, you want it to move smoothly without clunking, but they don't always cooperate. That driveshaft has to move back and forth folks. It can clunk. Now there might be other sources of possible clunking in the driveline. But if you have the Toyota clunk, look into this. It was the cause in my case (and some others too, apparently). So it doesn't really matter if it's 3 or 4 years old. Google "Toyota Clunk" and I got a hit here. Others will also.

 

For anyone that is still having this trouble, I want to offer this ray of hope for you.

I took my truck to my local dealership (Team Toyota in Baton Rouge, La.) this weekend (15 May 2010) and it appears they have solved my problem. They started on it at 7am and were finished just after lunch. My service advisor was Kevin and I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with Team Toyota regarding this procedure. I do not have access to a scanner to show you the invoice directly, but the details are typed out below verbatim regarding the work they performed.

It appears the relevent document was T-SB-0067-09 and it is covered by a 6 year / 60,000 mile warranty (at least, according to the TSB). The work performed was no charge to me.

Admittedly, it has only been a few days since the repair and I've only driven a few times since, but the difference it already very noticable. The only thing I will say is that on one line of the invoice, it almost appears they are saying they replaced the driveshaft ("replaced transmission mount, bolts, drive shaft"). In reality, they did not change it, only realigned it, as stated a few lines further down. It's not a problem...as long as the clunking has gone away...it's just a confusing entry on the invoice.

Below is cut and pasted from the invoice:
A C/S LOUD POPPING (CLUNKING) NOISE WHEN STOPPING AND STARTING OFF AFTER BRAKING.
CAUSE:
SUSP PER BULLETIN, REPLACED TRANSMISSION MOUNT, BOLTS, DRIVE SHAFT
2503 WT93
1 51203-0C030 CROSSMEMBER SUB-ASSY
1 12371-OF080 INSULATOR, ENGINE MO
4 90119-08895 BOLT, W/WASHER
55483 1.50 TC9005 1.5 T-SB-0067-09. PERFORM TSB AS STATED. REPLACE TRANSMISSION MOUNT, BOLTS, MOUNTING BRACKETS AND REALIGN DRIVE SHAFT.
***********
B C/S THERE IS A LEAK BETWEEN TRANSMISSION AND DRIVE SHAFT
CAUSE:
SUSP SEE TECHNICIAN STORY
2503 WT93
1 90311-40034 SEAL, TYPE T OIL
55483 1.50 366091 .9 + Z-TIME .6 (FOR CLEANING SPLINES AND TEST DRIVE FOR NOISE COMPLAINT) TEST DROVE VEHICLE FOR NOISE COMPLAINT ON LINE A. HEARD SLIGHT NOISE COMING FROM DRIVELINE. REMOVED DRIVESHAFT TO REPLACE SEAL, CLEAN AND CLEAN DRIVE SHAFT SPLINES AND REINSTALL 180 DEGRESS OUT. TEST DROVE VEHICLE AGAIN IN PARKING LOT AND COULD HEAR NOISE COMING FROM DRIVELINE. SEE LINE A FOR NOISE FIX.

 

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