97 severe drive shaft squeak

[giovannie23]

Hi guys,

I have a 97 and recently developed a driveshaft squeak. I greased all the zerks and even sprayed wd40 in hopes it would silence it but nothing has worked. It seems to get lounder when trans is in reverse. When im driving i will slip it into neutral and the sound goes away but comes back as soon as i shift back into drive. It only happens when in drive or reverse and at low speed when I'm at freeway speed there is no squeak or maybe cannot hear it

I attached the link to a video hopefully someone has had this same issue from the driveshaft that can lend a helping hand.

Thanks in advance!!

3rd gen 4runner driveshaft squeak - YouTube

 

[spartacus]

Hi guys,

I have a 97 and recently developed a driveshaft squeak. I greased all the zerks and even sprayed wd40 in hopes it would silence it but nothing has worked. It seems to get lounder when trans is in reverse. When im driving i will slip it into neutral and the sound goes away but comes back as soon as i shift back into drive. It only happens when in drive or reverse and at low speed when I'm at freeway speed there is no squeak or maybe cannot hear it

I attached the link to a video hopefully someone has had this same issue from the driveshaft that can lend a helping hand.

Thanks in advance!!

3rd gen 4runner driveshaft squeak - YouTube

Check for play in Cardan joint and u joint.

 

[rdruss]

One of the ujoints may not be fully taking grease to one of the bearings, or as mentioned, check the cardan/slip joint.

 

[Devbot]

Or similarly, if the needle bearings in one of the caps have gone... well it doesn't matter how much grease you put in.
That's kinda the shitty thing about drivelines an u-joints: they tend to go in a hurry with little warning. Just last month out of the clear blue sky my cardan started squeaking - and I mean that literally. No rain or anything that week, and it didn't even start squeaking until I was halfway home after leaving work. Was just cruising along and suddenly at the drop of a hat, squeak squeak squeak....
If you have an OEM driveline unfortunately you cannot replace the u-joints in the cardan. Believe me, I tried to ignore the warnings thinking "it's just a driveline, what could they mean?" and after a solid 9-10 hours I finally got the new joints installed and the noise/vibration was twice as worse as before I started - the main problem being the cardan appears to be held under tension and once the u-joints are knocked out, the yokes flare outwards by 10-20 thousandths and make it impossible for the caps of a new joint to sit in evenly, and instead will gouge into the sockets of the yokes. If I remember right the center ball in the cardan is also halfway open and SUPER easy to knock the needles out, which is of course a part Toyota never made for replacement... so if that happens you're just as screwed. Honestly just an all around crap design for a prop rod.
A new rear driveline sounds like quite the investment but it's really not, a driveline shop will make you a custom shaft that's actually serviceable AND much stronger than OEM for $300-400, but a new OEM shaft will run you $450+. I don't even think you can grease the center ball on the OEM shaft which is just absurd. Mine was only $350 and came with a forged cardan and case hardened slip yoke.

 

[giovannie23]

So after playing with it a bit more it definitely sounds like it's coming from the u joint that butts up against the rear diff. I like to go with Toyota parts so I may have to wait till Tuesday to get a replacement. I will update once I swap them out. Thank you guys!

 

[Devbot]

So after playing with it a bit more it definitely sounds like it's coming from the u joint that butts up against the rear diff. I like to go with Toyota parts so I may have to wait till Tuesday to get a replacement. I will update once I swap them out. Thank you guys!

The slip yoke joint can be replaced like normal and doesn't require a whole new shaft

 

[giovannie23]

I wanted to update this thread! I got the new ujoint from Toyota poped it in and no more squaks!!

I had a hell of a time getting all the caps off. I ended up taking a angle grinder to them to save the hassle.

If your having a hard time with the caps just cut them!!

 

[brillo_76]

I wanted to update this thread! I got the new ujoint from Toyota poped it in and no more squaks!!



I had a hell of a time getting all the caps off. I ended up taking a angle grinder to them to save the hassle.



If your having a hard time with the caps just cut them!!

Yes. It's better to cut the u joint out then push out the caps. As it's only one cap instead of 2.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[giovannie23]

Yes. It's better to cut the u joint out then push out the caps. As it's only one cap instead of 2.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

yup took me 2 hours of fustration before i realized I need to just cut the damn things

 

[brillo_76]

yup took me 2 hours of fustration before i realized I need to just cut the damn things

My buddy actually bent things and snap collers trying to change u joints. So I just cut them anymore to not bend things.

 

[giovannie23]

My buddy actually bent things and snap collers trying to change u joints. So I just cut them anymore to not bend things.

I can only imagine how frustrated your buddy was especially once he realized he bent things up.

Cutting them should definitely be the standard procedure! I'm glad I'm done with that repair.

Now my runner starts and shuts right off, time to figure this one out now

Thinking either the fuel filter or pump

 

[brillo_76]

I can only imagine how frustrated your buddy was especially once he realized he bent things up.

Cutting them should definitely be the standard procedure! I'm glad I'm done with that repair.

Now my runner starts and shuts right off, time to figure this one out now ��

Thinking either the fuel filter or pump

Probably not crank position sensor or it would not fire at all.

also make sure the MAF sensor is plugged but that should throw a CEL light if that was the case.

 

[mtbtim]

I heard about the cutting method after making this video. With the right technique and tools, it can be done without cutting, but I think I'll probably try cutting the next time I do it.

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[Spiker Engineering]

Totally not 4Runner related, but I just replaced the driveshaft on our GLK350 that's been clunking for a while. Turns out it's a common failure, often disintegrating at speed and taking out the engine or the transmission in the process. Lucky me to catch it early.

Here's a link to the "play" in the u-joint - MB GLK Driveshaft Clunk - YouTube

And here is the post mortem autopsy. I have been working on cars for many years, and never seen anything this bad. The bearing cup has completely disintegrated, and the cross was just rubbing on the housing, which is why it is so worn away.

 

[brillo_76]

I have never seen a u joint do that.. impressive...

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

 

[giovannie23]

So I think I installed u joint upside I been having a slight vibration every since.

My u joint zerk and my slip yoke zerk are on opposite ends. Can this be the reason for my vibration?