Hey guys. I have a 1996 SR5 4runner. I am pretty much a novice who has been working on my front end solo.
So the other night I am putting the CV axles in. I put in the passenger side and it lines right up almost flush no problem. Then I go over to the driver side. I hammer it around the lip with a pry bar and after it seats it has a gap. I thought something was wrong because the old one was flush. I took it out and tried again. Again a gap. So I took it out again and made sure the seal and everything was right. I got the old CVs out of the shed to compare them and I see the new CV axles from Toyota have dust shields while the old ones don't. Bought them a while ago so I forgot the new ones were different. So I figured the shield is the reason for the gap. I was using a pry bar on the lip again and just as it was almost seated I heard a clank. It sounded similar to a bolt dropping in the engine compartment. I wasn't hitting very hard when it happened so I wasn't sure what would cause the noise. After a bit I gave up looking and finished seating it. After I got it seated I turned the axle and suddenly I was hearing a grinding/clanking type sound. So I took it out again to see what was going on. Everything looked fine. I then spun the gears and realized the noise was coming from the gears. It was quiet before.
I have no idea what happened but I am guessing it isn't anything good. Have no idea how to proceed. Seems to look normal. On first observation I thought the gap was bigger between the ECGS bushing and gears. I did the swap last year and I don't remember how much space there was. I honestly could be mistaken about that. I posted a link of the sound maybe someone has an idea of what could of happened. Any help would be appreciated.
Gear Noise - YouTube
Linear Mode
