ahh, the 2wd is an odd ball d-shaft! now i know thanks DC!

 

so deathcougar, i have a sliding trans yoke? whats the chance of that causing my problem do you think? is it hard to get to?

 

Spence: Now that you mention it, i am not 100% sure!! I *think* the 2wd 4runners have a sliding yoke in the trans...but I do not remember! Run out and check your truck, now I am curious!

I know the prerunner Tacomas are bolt on, but I cannot remember on the 2WD 4Runner!

*edit* Found some info on the net. The 2wd 4Runners indeed do have a slipyoke in the trans, much like the 2wd non-prerunner trucks. Edited accordingly!

 

Reguardless the type of sliding yoke your just checking for play.

 

Here is a good pic that shows the two styles. Top is a driveshaft with a slip yoke in the shaft. Bottom is a shaft with the slip yoke going into the back of the trans or t-case:

 

spence,

My apologies, I was merely trying to help you out in understanding what my view of your problem with your vehicle was. Just to clarify any issues you might still have, one thing you must know is, Yes, there is a difference between a slip YOKE drive line, and a slip SHAFT drive line. I am no expert on drive lines nor do I play one on TV, I can only give you info. from my exp. in dealing with the problem you described in your initial thread. Everyone here seems to be losing sight of the fact of your original cry for help. Too many chef's spoil the soup, I just tried to be the guy who stir's the pot. The only way I can see your slip YOKE being your vibration problem is if you lifted your two-wheel drive runner (pre runner style) and did not compensate for your rear end droop. Usually when that happens, the trans. rear out put shaft seal is also damaged thereby leaking tranny fluid onto you garage floor and under floor of your vehicle. I have worked on rigs where the owners replaced their drive shafts with farm tractor style slide shafts (ie.. square shafts, star shaped shafts and triangular shafts) and common cause of vibrations from those styles were the counter weights. That is if the u joints were still ok. My apologies to anyones toes I might have stepped on, Ill go back to being a wall flower.

 

Sounds like it's your U-joint...No...not that hard to replace...just keep track of your needle bearings if they happen to fall out. Have a descent magnet around and some grease. Dont forget to have a hammer, two different size metal tubing pieces to whack the caps out with (maybe you need only one of these), MARK the shaft pieces so you dont envoke more vibration once you get it all put back together....mark the mounting flange to the differential and the mounting flange to the drive shaft...a white piece of chalk or a scraper...you only need to make a scrape mark so you can line them back up in the proper alignment/ orientation. Hopefuly you did buy a joint that has a zerk fitting, especially if you do alot of water crossings where your drive shaft gets dunked in the water.

misalignment, u-joints and bends/dents are the most common reason for driveline vibration.

Good luck with the repair.

-Ted

 

If your u joint has play sounds like your narrowing the field. Replace it and test it, with any luck you will have solved your vibration issue. If not keep trouble shooting, but if you already checked everything else you should be golden. With driveline parts looseness or "play" is not your friend, nor is damage ie dents, dings, or cracks (probably more of a concern for the offroading crowd). Oh and grease is your friend.

 

Just a note, don't over grease the slip joint, it could hydro-lock.

 

no need for any apologies stepside, i appreciate whatever you may have to contribute even if its a little off-topic. Im really hoping that it is the rear ujoint and my problems stop with that. the shaft looks fine and all the weights are there. Im just hoping its not a problem with the bearings/seals still or i would have wasted time and money on it, but it certainly did need them as it leaked considerably and the squeaking stopped with the new bearings. ill keep everybody posted. the new u-joint should be here tmrw so hopefully ill get it in by tmrw night.

the rear u-joint is definitely worn out as i can detect a lot of play with it in neutral, just hoping that its the last thing i need to do. i was confused at the dealership when ordering because they told me there was two for the front but that seems like it would only be necessary for the slip shafts.

 

anybody have a good link to replacing the u-joint?

 

just an update, spent today pulling the driveshaft and then trying to remove the joint i got stuck. i was able to use the hammer and socket method to pound the joint one-way but went to far down so that the end i was pounding on went through its hole and i cant realign it to pound it back the opposite way and i couldn't get any movement the other way. so tomorrow im gonna try using my blue-tipped wrench and a cut-off wheel.

 

So around a year or so I did the rear axle seals on my 4Runner myself with the help of a friend, we removed the axles and took them to a shop where they cut off all the junk and pressed all new junk on(including bearings), i payed 50 for labor.

Installed everything back together and was good for a while but started leaking within a month probably.I lived with it for a while then took it to Courtesy Toyota of Winter Park, FL for WP, TB, front and rear brakes, and rear seals. They said that the mechanic who pressed the new bearings, seals, etc had pressed them on too far, causing the leak... is this possible?

Anyways, that was about a month ago and they're leaking again. I called just now to schedule an appointment and didn't get the impression the service advisor was the brightest. He insisted on calling my rear drum brakes "shoe brakes" and kept saying there was probably a problem with my "wheel cylinder"....

PS Mods, is there a thread for dealer reviews?

 

Wheel cylinders do exist, there's one inside each drum brake, those are what push the shoes against the drum, without them you wouldn't have rear brakes. If those are leaking, it's not gear oil you'd be seeing but brake fluid. If you're seeing gear oil, there's no way it can be bad wheel cylinders. Can you take a picture of where the leak is coming from?

Calm down dude.

 

yea i know, but i don't see how they could be causing the seals to leak

 

Is your diff breather plugged?

 

it will be the next thing i check, anyway to check it short of removing it?

 

I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that the gear oil ruins the shoes on here, can anyone confirm this? I plan on making sure they put new shoes on if so.

 

pretty sure this isnt the tech thread...