Hello all,

My car has developed a bad U-joint - the front one by the transmission. This is the 2WD driveline.

Symptoms: Shakes around 50 and 70MPH, Squeaks a low speed under load, unhappy when shifting from P to Drive / Reverse. Symptoms mostly have gone by spraying the ujoint with lithium grease. Note this is the 2WD and there are no Zerks to grease it sadly.

So I know I'm going to need to replace it, but I wanted to ask some questions since searching the forums has given me some mixed info.

1) Is it advisable to replace the U-joint, or does the whole driveline need to be changed - I am hearing mixed info and wanted to hear what the vets have to say.
2) Am I risking further danger to damage if I drive on this U-joint for now? I know spraying grease on the u-joint is just a bandage fix, but I want to see if it is safe to go about my life until I take it into the shop.

Vibrations from the driveshaft can (and will) ruin the transmission output and rear diff pinion bearings. Get it fixed ASAP.

A new u-joint *may* be enough to fix it, but a new shaft may also be needed. The 2WD driveshaft has a rubber coupler section in it that can wear out, which would require a complete shaft replacement.

So, take a risk and replace just the u-joint or go with a complete replacement shaft for a 100% fix. You can get one from a local drive shaft shop or even from RockAuto or similar.

-Charlie

I replaced both front and rear U-joints on my 2WD with aftermarket about 2 years ago and haven't had any problems, if that helps.

Granted, it's my daily driver and I don't off-road or have any upgrades or anything like that.

If it has an OEM drive line with the rubber liner and you where going to keep it for quite a while I would price out a new drive line made. I there is a place that has alot of 4runner parts or you can find some one that is parting out a 4runner there are many that have there drive lines replaced you could get lucky buy it and take it to a drive line shop and have them check balance it could put you money ahead.