Clunk when stopped

P

pjku79

New member
So, I have had my t4r for a few months now and have started to notice a relatively sever clunk. It is kind of hard to explain and that's probably why I didn't have any luck searching for it. It always seems to happen either right when I am coming to a stop (sometimes already completely stopped) or when I lift off of the brakes. Sometimes it hits so hard it feels like someone bumped me from behind.

Initially I thought it had something to do with the a/c clutch turning on and off, but it still seems to do it with the a/c off. It seems like it might be engine RPM related, but I could just be imagining it. It doesn't do it consistently. Sometimes I can get it to do it when driving by lifting off and then getting back on the throttle, but mostly its only around being stopped.

I just had my timing belt replaced and while my friend was doing it I had him check the driveshafts. He said they were still in good shape, although one of the boots is torn.

I am in the process of purchasing parts to get rid of XREAS and do a 3/3 or 3/2 lift (I like the rake).

Thanks in advance.
 
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This is known as driveline clunk. It cant really be "fixed" What you can do is grease the drive shaft in a few places using the zerk fittings. It has been known to help a bit. There should be plenty of info on this forum about the clunk.
 
This thread has pics of all the zerk fittings

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance-detailing/28414-07-v8-4x4-zerk-fitting-pics.html

You want to pump 50 times or more on the zerk fitting on the slide yoke on the rear shaft since it is probably bone dry now.
Detailed photo here
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/63518-lubricating-propeller-shafts.html
Keep pumping grease until it stops expanding. That's the one that causes the clunk. You can do other zerks periodically but this one needs the most attention

Grease it regularly with 10-20 more pumps of grease. I do it every oil change never have a clunk.

If the clunking comes back shortly after then it means not enough grease went in
 
Its a known issue. Not much you can do besides lubricating it. A lot of members apply grease on every oil change and never experience the clunk.

I got fed up with it and just put the lexus gx driveshaft on it and no more clunk.
 
Thanks guys. Sorry it took me a while to get back, I was out sick the last two days. I will give this a try this weekend.
 
I got my 2003 a few years ago (2013) with 165,000 miles and had to pump a bunch to get that slip joint full. It has been quiet till recently - about 210,000miles. Time to get back under there and zerk away.
 
Yea, currently have the same issue, at first i thought it was the transmission not down shifting correctly or the engine mount. Looked around the forum and turned out to be a known issue thats not to serious and just needs lubrication. Probably try lubricating it sometime this weekend.
 
pjku79 said:
When you guys say a bunch, am I going to need more than one tube?
Click to expand...

The first time I did mine (likely the first time it had EVER been lubed in 95k miles) I went through nearly two three-ounce cartridges. I used something called "Green Grease" which was discussed elsewhere on the forum.

After I did mine the first time, it started to clunk lightly after about a week. Hit it with the grease gun again and no problems since then. It was likely so empty that the grease I put in found its way to the dark corners of the shaft and needed more.
 
OK, so I greased everything up good two days ago. I think I will have to go in and put a little more in. I used all of a 16 oz tube. I still feel a little clunk when braking and lifting off. There is still a noticable clunk when the vehicle is completely stopped. I really want to say it is related to A/C. I am going to play with the a/c to see if I can get it to go away when the compressor is not cycling. Anyone else seen this?
 
pjku79 said:
OK, so I greased everything up good two days ago. I think I will have to go in and put a little more in. I used all of a 16 oz tube. I still feel a little clunk when braking and lifting off. There is still a noticable clunk when the vehicle is completely stopped. I really want to say it is related to A/C. I am going to play with the a/c to see if I can get it to go away when the compressor is not cycling. Anyone else seen this?
Click to expand...



Sounds to me like the "Driveline" clunk is your issue. Like many others and myself, grease it up and live with the rest.
You'll get used to it [emoji16]
 
pjku79 said:
OK, so I greased everything up good two days ago. I think I will have to go in and put a little more in. I used all of a 16 oz tube. I still feel a little clunk when braking and lifting off. There is still a noticable clunk when the vehicle is completely stopped. I really want to say it is related to A/C. I am going to play with the a/c to see if I can get it to go away when the compressor is not cycling. Anyone else seen this?
Click to expand...

I've learned not to absolutely diagnose things I haven't seen for myself (ask me sometime about the fuel pump I swore wasn't the problem, and the week I spent sleeping on the couch.)

That said, I've never known an air conditioning system to make a clunking noise, and the compressor cycling shouldn't be tied to vehicle motion.

Are you sure you hit all six grease points, three on each driveshaft?(assuming you have a 4x4) I would say go give it another round in each now that the first batch worked its way in. I stole this photo from elsewhere on the site. There is a zerk at each end tucked into the u-joint, and then one "outer" zerk to lube the expansion splines. From what I understand it's the expansion zerk that gets noisy.

Also, how are you determining when to stop adding grease?
DSC02981_edited.jpg~original
 
Last edited:
Alright I'll give grease another shot. The u joints I squirted until I saw some leak it, so I know they are full. The other two, I put a lot in and never saw the d's move. It's possible those two need more.
 
pjku79 said:
Thanks guys. Sorry it took me a while to get back, I was out sick the last two days. I will give this a try this weekend.
Click to expand...

you only use moly EP2 grease on these slip yokes. also do not pump too much in ... only 2 pumps is all you need that's it. do it every time you do oil changes and check all the drive train fluids.


you pump it 10-50 times you will break it..
 
pjku79 said:
So, I have had my t4r for a few months now and have started to notice a relatively sever clunk. It is kind of hard to explain and that's probably why I didn't have any luck searching for it. It always seems to happen either right when I am coming to a stop (sometimes already completely stopped) or when I lift off of the brakes. Sometimes it hits so hard it feels like someone bumped me from behind.

Initially I thought it had something to do with the a/c clutch turning on and off, but it still seems to do it with the a/c off. It seems like it might be engine RPM related, but I could just be imagining it. It doesn't do it consistently. Sometimes I can get it to do it when driving by lifting off and then getting back on the throttle, but mostly its only around being stopped.

I just had my timing belt replaced and while my friend was doing it I had him check the driveshafts. He said they were still in good shape, although one of the boots is torn.

I am in the process of purchasing parts to get rid of XREAS and do a 3/3 or 3/2 lift (I like the rake).

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Did the driveshaft grease fix your issue? If not, any chance you had your transmission fluid changed before or while you owned the vehicle?
 
I had the same problem, but the more grease I add to the driveshaft, the more I get the clunk

Sent from my ZTE B2017G using Tapatalk
 
Rishi3 said:
I had the same problem, but the more grease I add to the driveshaft, the more I get the clunk.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the next move would be to remove the shaft and clean out all the old grease (like maybe some has hardened or something) and start fresh.

What would one use to flush out the old? WD40? Gasoline? I'd imagine a long skinny brush like the kind used to clean fridge coils would be handy.
 
hgill said:
Its a known issue. Not much you can do besides lubricating it. A lot of members apply grease on every oil change and never experience the clunk.

I got fed up with it and just put the lexus gx driveshaft on it and no more clunk.
Click to expand...

Anyway we can get a little more info on this?^^^^
 
I've had a similar clunk like this once. Turned out the alignment tech didn't torque one of the cam bolts on the driver's LCA. Tightened it up...clunk went away.

Good luck!
 
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