When taking off or shifting gears I have a noticeable 'clunk' in the drive train and in my past experiences with other vehicles it was always the u-joints. I checked the u-joints and they are tight and the play is in either the transfer case or rear diff. I scratched a couple of marks on the rear diff and the driveshaft and found that I have about 5/32" of play... Should I be consider dropping the 3rd member and adjust the play with the R&P? I've had the vehicle less than a year and its my first Toyota, so any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

 

The gears are already worn in and changing gear lash now will change the contact pattern and may cause noise.

 

rotational play?
does it have a detroit locker in it? because those can have a whole lot of rotational slop.

have you tried dropping the driveshaft and figuring out which end has the slop

 

Thanks. No locker, probably the r&p are worn and need replacing...

 

i wonder what happens to rotational play if the pinion nut is loose? see if it's still staked down.

that much wear would mean lots of garbage in the rear end fluid.