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

[JohnnyT]

Stealerships are lazy. They have a kid they pay $12 an hour to do oil changes and grease jobs. Do you think he has any pride of workmanship?

The seal will leave a mark on the slip part of the drive shaft. Have your friend pump more grease into the fitting until he can see one-quarter inch of fresh slip joint. That will solve your problem.

That's exactly what he showed me under the car. I just didn't know you call it a slip joint. He showed me that quarter inch of new grease.

I agree on stealerships, I guess. But I'm a great example of the kind of person they can take advantage of - someone who is not knowledgable about truck mechanically and doesn't know how to look for the right things or ask the right questions. That is why having good friends you can absolutely trust (as well as many on this forum) is golden!

 

[peroxide]

any update from those that replaced the driveshaft with the lexus part? has the clunk returned? Also, did you all replace just the driveshaft, or did you replace the lower control arms as well per the Lexus tsb?

I've tried greasing the hell out of the driveshaft, and i see grease coming out of the slip yoke, but the clunk is still there.

 

[Iowa4Runner]

any update from those that replaced the driveshaft with the lexus part? has the clunk returned? Also, did you all replace just the driveshaft, or did you replace the lower control arms as well per the Lexus tsb?

I've tried greasing the hell out of the driveshaft, and i see grease coming out of the slip yoke, but the clunk is still there.

Same story with me, I took the original clunk-happy driveshaft apart, cleaned the old grease off and loaded it up with gobs of new grease. The clunk came back almost immediately.

As for the Lexus replacement parts, all I swapped out was the rear propeller shaft (~7,000 miles ago) and things have been good so far. I'm not sure how much it matters but I'm using different grease now.

 

[peroxide]

Same story with me, I took the original clunk-happy driveshaft apart, cleaned the old grease off and loaded it up with gobs of new grease. The clunk came back almost immediately.

As for the Lexus replacement parts, all I swapped out was the rear propeller shaft (~7,000 miles ago) and things have been good so far. I'm not sure how much it matters but I'm using different grease now.

Thanks so much for your input. Will the propeller also fit on a V6? Do you know if this is the right Lexus part number? 37110-60A40 ?

 

[Iowa4Runner]

Thanks so much for your input. Will the propeller also fit on a V6? Do you know if this is the right Lexus part number? 37110-60A40 ?

Yep that's the Lexus part number I orderered from here. It worked on my 4WD V8 4Runner, but I can't remember if the V6 uses the same part#.

 

[teamblend]

so i lubed up my slip joint in the driveshaft... was really quite easy. i followed the directions here. my shaft must have been really dry, as it took a lot of pumps in to the driveshaft to get any to come out of the seal. i drove it around the block for a while to seat the new grease, and still had very minor clunking. so i brought it home and shot more in to the joint, and my clunk is now gone.

not only is the clunk gone, but the suv rides better now too. im guessing by the driveshaft not being able to slip and flex with the road, the suspension was not able to work as designed. there is noticeably more suspension travel in the rear now, and it rides very smooth overall.

if i have to lube it every oil change, or sooner - no big deal. it was really easy, and since the shaft isnt sealed, it needs to be done anyway just from the nature of that joint. toyota really should be keeping everyones lubed up when the oil is changed, or a service is preformed... knowing the dealer, they arent doing the shaft due to neglect or improper training.

im happy with my 4runner again

 

[ghostridr]

I have also noticed this in mine. To me it seems that the transmission shift's real hard after comming to a complete stop, or sometimes when I roll from a stop. Not so much a driveshaft problem but that the transmission just shifts hard in 1st gear. I wonder if it is a side effect of the "Smart" transmission not shifting from 2nd to 1st gear right away when comming to stops.

Anyone else?

I have a V8 4x4 limited

webshot

I too believe the "clunking/lunging/thumping" during acceleration from a stop and deceleration to a stop when breaking is transmission related, I discovered the hard way last weekend. I was intermittently having the issue off and on from 30k-60k.

Last weekend, I did a tune up, oil change, and that's when my trouble began. I was being absent minded and accidentally drained my sealed transmission overflow pan instead of the oil pan. I think I drained about 3.5qts of ATF WS fluid. After finishing the rest of the tuneup, I took it out for a test drive and the lurching/lunging/clunking became more evident and dramatic.

Symptoms of loss of transmission fluid when breaking to a full stop, is one can feel the tranny having a hard time disengaging then a quick re-engaging (lunging forward) causing you to step on the break pedal to compensate for the extra momentary acceleration and when accelerating one will notice a delay of gear engagement after engine is reving, then gears will catch and truck will accelerate. Also slipping of gears.

In the end, I took it to the stealership to have a full ATF flush done which cost me $240. After getting it back, my ride has been smooth as butter and no more of those issues, also not feeling rough shifting through the gears anymore after the ATF flush.

 

[Blue05]

Hey guys need some help here

About 2 weeks ago i just started to get the clunk when i stopped like everyone else. I had been regularly going to my own mechanic that i have been going to for years before i bought this 4runner used. I have gotten about 4 oil changes there done where i had them also lubricate all the 6 joints. I took it to them and tried to explain the problem that was happening and that it is happening to a lot of other 4runners as well. They took it out for a test drive and told me that it is not the drive shaft but the transfer case trying to shift from 2HI to 4HI. I had a hard time believing this and tried to explain that they need to re-grease my drive shaft but they insisted it was the transfer case cause they could not reproduce it in 4HI. I took it home and reproduce the clunk in 4HI 3 times.

Then all of a sudden the clunk is completely gone after the third time , i cannot reproduce it for 2 days. Now i don't know if i'm paranoid or not but i think i'm hearing a clank noise when i accelerate after coasting for a bit, i can't reproduce it often and i'm not sure where if it's coming from. This seems to have started right after the clunk disappeared I crawled underneath and checked my driveshaft play and there is a little bit(I can turn the shaft back and forth about 1/8 inch at the round part that connects into the transfer case).

Just hoping if anyone can tell me how much driveshaft play is normal if any and where that play should be. I'm just really hoping i didn't damage anything or just can help me in general. Gonna keep driving it to see if i can be sure about the clank noise.

 

[MICA4R]

Called a bunch of Lexus Parts centers for the drive-shaft.

This is the part # we need: 37110‐60A40

Sterling Mcall most expensive $425
Sewell in Dallas cheapest $350

I can't find it anywhere for $270.

Any help?

-At this point I am going to swap it out because 1) I am tired of the clunk 2) My passengers always ask if I just got rear-ended.

Toyota is worthless when it comes to this issue.

 

[MICA4R]

Went to lexus to see if I could get a break on the price. This is what I got. If you have any idea on how to get the part for $270 please let me know.

 

[DC runner]

I will tell you where you can get it cheap, a pick and pull. TX has tons of them. Find a lexus of the year with it, go and rip it out.

 

[MICA4R]

I will tell you where you can get it cheap, a pick and pull. TX has tons of them. Find a lexus of the year with it, go and rip it out.

Thought of that, but the GX would have already had to have the TSB performed on it prior to getting totaled. Per the dealship not too many GX owners have had it done because they probably aren't as in-tune with their rig.

 

[CAN-03runner]

Called a bunch of Lexus Parts centers for the drive-shaft.

This is the part # we need: 37110‐60A40

Sterling Mcall most expensive $425
Sewell in Dallas cheapest $350

I can't find it anywhere for $270.

Any help?

-At this point I am going to swap it out because 1) I am tired of the clunk 2) My passengers always ask if I just got rear-ended.

Toyota is worthless when it comes to this issue.

Does this part fit both V8 and V6? Aren't all GX's the V8?

 

[peroxide]

Called a bunch of Lexus Parts centers for the drive-shaft.

This is the part # we need: 37110‐60A40

Sterling Mcall most expensive $425
Sewell in Dallas cheapest $350

I can't find it anywhere for $270.

Any help?

-At this point I am going to swap it out because 1) I am tired of the clunk 2) My passengers always ask if I just got rear-ended.

Toyota is worthless when it comes to this issue.

I couldn't agree with your more. My passengers ask that as well!

I have done extensive research on this, and I think both parts should fit. I myself have a V6. However, I do not have the $350 to blow to buy a part and not have it fit. I guess, I could always sell it on the classifieds section to someone that owns a V8.

MICA4R, if you perform this fix, please share with us, so that we may also benefit from your experience.

Thanks

 

[lorigrl]

More thumping

Just purchased a 2007 4W Limited with 50,000 miles, certified at my local dealership. Husband test drove it, I drove it and immediately experienced the now infamous "thump". ( I should mention we also looked at a 2005 SR5 4W that I drove, NO THUMP) It's driving me nuts! Took it back to the dealership the next day, explained the sensation to the service guy and, you guessed it, told me this is "normal". A Toyota tech at another site told me to take it back, and have a certified warrantee inspector drive it and at least get it documented in case it gets worse. No other suggestions as no TSBs ( duh) Soooooooo sad now as I was extremely excited to get my new truck, and LOVE the thing, otherwise.
I can't accept having to pony up for a Lexus replacement for Certified vehicle I have had for a week. Will keep you posted. :cry2:

 

[JM2Runners]

09 Limited 20k miles - Clunkin' like a sack-a-potatos

I have owned this t4r for a week. At lunch with client this afternoon... client asked.. what was that clunk..

found this thread... could smack an engineer for this one.

It appears all the attempts to have this fixed wind up failing, but im going to give it a go when I go to pick up the plates.

I am curious if the lemon law play a role here? Any thoughts?

Can anyone confirm that both parts fix the issue for a v8?
thanks,

 

[TRDCal]

I bought a $13 tube of grease and that fixed the problem. Paired with my new :wink2: electric grease gun the job was a breeze. In the beginning of this this tread there's talk about using 2 different types of grease on the propeller shafts. Well i'm not so sure cuz my manual says and I confirmed it with my dealer, slip yokes + u-joints all take the same grease.

Anyways, my driveline is smooth as butter now so i'm happy

 

[TWILL]

My 07 T4R Limited that I just bought has the "clunk". I took it back to the dealership and they lubed the shaft. It still clunk's but isn't quite as loud. I'm going to take it back for the Sulfer Smell TSB and see if they re-address the "clunk" issue.

 

[missslucrew]

Bought my 2004 4-Runner Limited V8 three weeks ago....I have a "thump" and I HATE it! I bought a grease gun and Mobil 1....but I just can't bring myself to try the DIY myself!!! Anyone in Central California that would help me out for the right amount of alcohol or other type of drink???? I wanna do this myself...but need a little instruction for the first time...if another passenger says, "Oh, what was that??" again, Im going to scream!:dammit:

 

[krnewenham]

Confirm that the driveshaft is compatable...

It has been confirmed that the driveshaft is compatable...what about the control arms? Has anyone used the Lexus Gx470 control arm kit to replace the t4r control arms?

My 06 sport not only has thumped for 100K miles, but it seems as if the driveshaft has become very sloppy and is generating a vibration. I gave up on Toyota long ago!

I ordered the 60A40 propeller shaft assy and the control arm kit. My research suggests that all parts are compatable, but am interested to know if anyone on this forum has direct experience with the control arms. Drive shaft was $280 and control arm kit $376.