Drive shaft noise or U joint noise (LEXUS 4/06 TSB page 18) aka Driveshaft thump/bump

clunking noise still there...

I took it to the toyota dealer for the 6000 mi service and to lube it to fix the clunk. They couldn't detect the clunking noise, more surprisingly, they would not lube the slip joint per my request...another wasted trip to the dealer. Anyway...I ended up borrowing a grease gun at the local gas station, gave it a shot, but the clunk is still there. The only thing I can think is that maybe I didn't give it enough grease? Any thoughts would be appreciated, especially how much grease to shoot and/or other possible solutions. Thanks.
 
I actually pumped about 10 hots of grease into mine and then put a very light coat on the splined shaft itself. Light coat only though! Otherwise it will just fly off all undernieth the car.

Do yourself a favor and go spend the $20 on a grease gun and some grease.
 
Thanks, Webshot. I'm buying one today and I'll give it about the same as you suggested. I only gave it 2-3 shots yesterday, as the mechanic at the local shop advised not to over-lube. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.
 
I hope it works for you like it did the rest of us. If it does not, then you might have other issues! If your toyota dealer does not want to work with you on finding the problem then go to a different dealer. I have found that two of the three Toyota dealerships in my area just plain $uck when it comes to customer service!

Good Luck!

webshot
 
Webshot--I bought the vehicle at Toyota of San Francisco: took it there first; moved to NJ then took it to Galaxy Toyota; then took it to Freehold Toyota. They all $UCK !!! I firmly believe they are paid not to fix warranty-related items...like the clunk, the rattle in the dash, the squeaky brakes...the only thing they've fessed up to so far is the sqeaky driver's seat, and the malfunctioning stereo. I am thoroughly frustrated by these issues and Toyota's lack of desire to fix them. If this lube does not fix the clunk I will likely ditch the 4Runner, I'm sad to say, as I like it, but find this particular issue to be unacceptable in a $40k vehicle. I'll be back w/ the results of the lube...
 
I can understand your frustration! I went through the same BS with my Tacoma when I had it. I had to put up such a fight to get them to fix/replace the throwout bearing and clutch plate, that I just gave up and traded the truck in when first gear went out at 60,000 Mi. Now I have decided that these guys are really not to bright and that I must do all the repairs myself! I bought the all the service manuals for the 4runner as soon as I got it.

Keep in mind though, any other brand of car like Ford, Honda, or otherwise, will also have dealers that act the same way.

I'm starting to think that the dealers just don't make any money on warranty repairs so they just don't like doing them. Thats the fault of the manufacturer though.

webshot
:50cal:
 
still clunkin'

Webshot--I wanted to drive the vehicle to see if the lube would do the trick. Although is seemed to help, initially, the clunk returned yesterday after driving the 4Runner about 160 mi w/ some stops along the way. I gave it another dose of lube last night. If that doesn't work, I'll go to the local garage with it as a final effort. I'll keep you posted, but I may be SOL, unless anyone has any other thoughts. Thanks.
 
After reading numerous responses regarding the infamous "clunk sensation" in the 03' and 04' 4 runners, I can finally say that lubing the propellor shaft with nlgi 2 lithium grease will fully eradicate the problem. yes, there are numerous grease fittings along the front and rear driveshafts along with numerous other fittings on the u-joints/ double cardan joints as well. I practically went nuts at every stop light until I decided to investigate further......so I bought some Valvoline synthetic nlgi 2 "lithium" grease and a grease gun from the auto parts store, and pumped
about 15 shots of grease into the prop shaft fitting at the front of the vehicle. In fact, I just kept on pumping until I saw grease expand back out of the fitting. A lot of people don't realize that there is a hollow section of the prop shaft that needs to filled with a certain amount of grease at all times. Otherwise, as you go over bumps and your suspension and or driveshaft expands and compresses, the "clunk" becomes noticeable because there is simply no grease to "dampen" the travel in the component. Now, once you get enough grease to see grease overflow back out the fitting, you should only need to give that particular fitting a few pumps every few months depending on conditions/ useage.
I hope this helps some of you out there. Trust me, I am probably in the top 1% of the mega "anal retentive" crowd and the clunk has not returned in several hundred miles. If you have greased this fitting and the clunk has returned, carefully try it again until the prop shaft is full of grease. Be careful not to use any other type of grease gun besides a manual handheld unit....air guns etc. could create excessive pressure and blow a seal.

Utah_saint;):
 
Rford,

Have you been taking your 4runner off road or drive through a lot of wet weather? Just curious because it would not hurt to do what utah_saint is describing! After every winter I lube my drive shaft, but instead of just giving it a couple of shots, I pump grease through it until all water and contaminates squeez out of the joint. You have to make sure you use a hand pumped grease gun though! No high pressure stuff like utah_saint said. It does not hurt to just pump the grease until the joint is cleaned out. Just take it slow and get ready for a mess. I'm not sure if your up to it, but just something else to try.


webshot
 
OK. I took it back to the nearest dealer (second time there) but got the service manager directly. He knew exactly what the problem was at the first stop on our test drive. He explained it just as we all understand it via this thread. Fortunately, he was more of an "action" person that anyone else at the 4 prior, various dealer visits. The fix: they removded the driveshaft, cleaned it and the splines, relubed and (knock on wood) the problem seems to be fixed. Ultimately this all goes back to proper lubrication, and I still don't understand why Toyota, at the TSB level, has not addressed this. For now, I'm happy w/ the fix and I no longer have to entertain thoughts of selling the vehicle, as I have been for the past month. It's a great rig, but this clunk was crushing me. Thanks all for the advice.

Finally, Webshot, I have done lots of offroading, but mostly in very dry and dusty conditions, and it's perform well. We got our first snow today and as much as I tried to spin out, the VSC actually kicks in and keeps the vehicle from spinning out. Pretty cool stuff...
 
I just want to give an update:

According to the link i provided to CLUBLEXUS on my recent post, there seems to be a redesigned splined driveshaft from Toyota for Lexus GX. However, there is still no official TSB about it yet. I am sure that if this fix works, then there will be an official one (a costly one for Toyota no doubt, which may explain the delay of TSB fix).
 
Just to post a follow up... I did 4 shots of grease into the slip joints zerks and for about 200 miles it was fine. Then the clunking came back. I also noticed that there are numerous zerks fitting along the driveshaft, but have not had a chance to lube them all. I'm hoping that lubing them all with a sh!tload of grease will cure the problem.

theman1971.
 
This happens on my '97 4 runner and I was worried it was something much more serious...thanks for the postings, I will try this fix ASAP.
 
Gang,
I attached a pic of what my 03 repair manual says to do about servicing the driveshaft with grease. It also shows where and tells what to put in it. Evidently, you need two types of grease, a moly lithium grease and a regular lithium grease.

I ordered some moly grease and regular lithium grease as well as a grease gun online from aubuchon hardware and it should arrive this week. My dad also found the same stuff at Napa back in the States.

I hope this helps you all. I'll let you know how this goes.
Jon
 

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My 2003 4Runner was doing the same thing, the thunk/tap when I would release the brake pedal after a complete stop. FirstToyz turned me on to this thread. I just had my truck lubed by my personal mechanic. He was horrified to see all 4 universals and both slip yokes were bone dry. Bottom line, no more thunk/tap. Best $10 I ever spent.

By the way, my dealer tried to convince me the thunk/tap was normal operation for the vehicle based on similar complaints he was hearing from other 4Runner owners. I have now educated him.
 
Hello Everyone,

I would like to lube the joints myself but I need to know what kind of grease gun should I buy to do the lube job to the 4runner and the kind of grease I should buy to get rid of the clunk.Are the joints close to the back? I understand there are two types grease, I don't want to use the wrong grease. I am so happy with this forum, I has given me so much information and enlighten me about my 4runner.
 
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