Excess play front axle question

futz_roy

futz_roy

New member
I was in the dealership for a rotate and balance for my 2018 TRD 4Runner. They came back and said that when the suspension is loaded with vehicle weight they noticed front axle had excess play. They suggested replacing front axle. I was pretty shocked to hear this for a vehicle so new. Is this total BS? Any insight is greatly appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Register to hide this ad
What do they mean by excess play? This sounds like a suspension issue than an axle issue. There should be no play in a CV a axle.
 
Exceesive play or not

I've been having the dreaded needle bearing or front diff noise/vibration. Posted elsewhere on this site. I shook both axles just to see what's up (only 9K on her) and there was play. I asked the service manager at the dealership I trust if that was normal or could be causing vibration/noise. He responded that it was normal and many shops will cite it as a reason to replace. Any techs out there know for sure?
 
My plan was to check it out in my driveway when I get home, but would love to know more about what is “normal” vs excessive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
honda250xtitan said:
ive been told by experienced toyota guys the passenger cv has a touch of play, driver should be tight. YMMV. good luck.
Click to expand...

Actually mines is the opposite, passenger had little to no play and the driver one flopped around. Talked to a Senior Toyota tech and he said this was normal, I went ahead and replaced the needle bearing with an ECGS bearing and most of the play went away. To the OP....if their going to replace it under warranty I would let them, see how much they would charge you to replace the bearing while they are in that area.
 
futz_roy said:
I was in the dealership for a rotate and balance for my 2018 TRD 4Runner. They came back and said that when the suspension is loaded with vehicle weight they noticed front axle had excess play. They suggested replacing front axle. I was pretty shocked to hear this for a vehicle so new. Is this total BS? Any insight is greatly appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Are you under warranty? If so… DO IT


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BillsRunner said:
I've been having the dreaded needle bearing or front diff noise/vibration. Posted elsewhere on this site. I shook both axles just to see what's up (only 9K on her) and there was play. I asked the service manager at the dealership I trust if that was normal or could be causing vibration/noise. He responded that it was normal and many shops will cite it as a reason to replace. Any techs out there know for sure?
Click to expand...


Sounds like the manager just doesn’t want any warranty work for his best friend turning wrenches.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The way the front diffs are one of the axles have a bit more "wiggle" than the other (I want to say the driver's side? it's been a while since I tested it). I remember I almost made a mistake and recommended a new axle and/or diff to someone until I verified it on another same year/model Tacoma.

We've been swapping out the factory needle bearings for bushings on our lift kits, haven't had any issues. I forget who we're using for the bushings though...

But if you're not experiencing any vibration, abnormal sounds, leaking axle seals, or anything out of the ordinary; I'd say it's probably perfectly fine.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
The way the front diffs are one of the axles have a bit more "wiggle" than the other (I want to say the driver's side? it's been a while since I tested it). I remember I almost made a mistake and recommended a new axle and/or diff to someone until I verified it on another same year/model Tacoma.

We've been swapping out the factory needle bearings for bushings on our lift kits, haven't had any issues. I forget who we're using for the bushings though...

But if you're not experiencing any vibration, abnormal sounds, leaking axle seals, or anything out of the ordinary; I'd say it's probably perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

Not experiencing any of the conditions that you noted, but will likely take it somewhere for a second opinion.
 
Vibration

BlackWorksInc said:
The way the front diffs are one of the axles have a bit more "wiggle" than the other (I want to say the driver's side? it's been a while since I tested it). I remember I almost made a mistake and recommended a new axle and/or diff to someone until I verified it on another same year/model Tacoma.

We've been swapping out the factory needle bearings for bushings on our lift kits, haven't had any issues. I forget who we're using for the bushings though...

But if you're not experiencing any vibration, abnormal sounds, leaking axle seals, or anything out of the ordinary; I'd say it's probably perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

I do have that vibration from 42 or so down to 35 or so. Goes away in 4WD so I do suspect the needle bearing. Going in next week and hoping for some relief. I believe the bearing most folks use is East Coast? Ours is under warranty for 10 years or 100K so I'm hoping not to have to go rogue but might have to. We'll see!
 
futz_roy said:
They sent a video of the play in the axle.
When I was under the car, there was the same amount of play on the driver side and passenger side.
Any additional insight on if this is normal or excessive/unacceptable is greatly appreciated.

April 20, 2022 - YouTube
Click to expand...

My CV axle moves like this. However, this video doesn't help much. The tech should have measured total movement with a dial indicator. Then we would have a number to compare with ours.

Get a specific diagnosis in writing. What is the spec for replacement? What symptom(s) do they observe? What does a dial indicator read? What parts do they recommend? Who pays? (I think there is no spec.)
 
Last edited:
My driver side has a bunch of play, maybe 0.060”. From the forum I somehow concluded this is normal. No leak and no vibrations.
 
futz_roy said:
They sent a video of the play in the axle.
When I was under the car, there was the same amount of play on the driver side and passenger side.
Any additional insight on if this is normal or excessive/unacceptable is greatly appreciated.

April 20, 2022 - YouTube
Click to expand...

That lateral, side to side, play is no good. There should be a small amount of straight in and out play. I had the same thing happen on the driver side at 100,000 miles. Caused a vibration in the steering wheel under acceleration. I caught it way before it got as bad as yours is. I made a video the same way you did if you want to check it out to see the comparison. New axle time! You can refurbish them OEM gold bricks before they get really bad. I've been abusing the sh1t out of $60 A1 Cardones on the trail over a year smooth as a cloud so far. Kept OEMs for trail back ups. Here it's the vid link.

登录 Facebook | Facebook
 
M 21 TRD Off Road Premium had the same play less than 5000 miles. I put the ECGS bushing and new seal got rid of 80% of that play, I didn’t trust the dealer to fix it were i am so i did it my self. I also had a slight vibration that started around 30 to 40 mph in 2WD & went away in 4WD. Now there is no more vibration in the diff.

I did notice the driver side axles sticking out about 2mm from the diff to the dust shield on the inner axle, i saw a video on youtube guy had almost the same thing he said he checked a few 4Runners at the dealer to compare and was the same. Other than the steering wheel shake once & a wile i think I’m god for at least 250 300 thousand miles.



futz_roy said:
They sent a video of the play in the axle.
When I was under the car, there was the same amount of play on the driver side and passenger side.
Any additional insight on if this is normal or excessive/unacceptable is greatly appreciated.

April 20, 2022 - YouTube
Click to expand...
 
214RUNNER said:
M 21 TRD Off Road Premium had the same play less than 5000 miles. I put the ECGS bushing and new seal got rid of 80% of that play, I didn’t trust the dealer to fix it were i am so i did it my self. I also had a slight vibration that started around 30 to 40 mph in 2WD & went away in 4WD. Now there is no more vibration in the diff.

I did notice the driver side axles sticking out about 2mm from the diff to the dust shield on the inner axle, i saw a video on youtube guy had almost the same thing he said he checked a few 4Runners at the dealer to compare and was the same. Other than the steering wheel shake once & a wile i think I’m god for at least 250 300 thousand miles.
Click to expand...

That little gap between the diff and axle is normal
 
Jakeepoo3 said:
That little gap between the diff and axle is normal
Click to expand...

Yea i figured that it was ok, i forgot to check it to compare before and after i think it was a total of about 4mm. if i pushed the axle in to the diff it was about 1/2mm from flush with dust shield and 3 1/2mm out. 4mm isn’t that much but i wasn’t sure what it was before so that got me over thinking about it.
 
Last edited:
Jakeepoo3 said:
That lateral, side to side, play is no good. There should be a small amount of straight in and out play. I had the same thing happen on the driver side at 100,000 miles. Caused a vibration in the steering wheel under acceleration. I caught it way before it got as bad as yours is. I made a video the same way you did if you want to check it out to see the comparison. New axle time! You can refurbish them OEM gold bricks before they get really bad. I've been abusing the sh1t out of $60 A1 Cardones on the trail over a year smooth as a cloud so far. Kept OEMs for trail back ups. Here it's the vid link.

登录 Facebook | Facebook
Click to expand...


When you say yours had straight in and out play, do you mean the cv axle itself would slide in and out of the dif slightly? For some reason my drivers side axle doesnt seem locked in? It slides in and out like an eighth to a quarter of an inch
 
Jake.e said:
When you say yours had straight in and out play, do you mean the cv axle itself would slide in and out of the dif slightly? For some reason my drivers side axle doesnt seem locked in? It slides in and out like an eighth to a quarter of an inch
Click to expand...

my passenger side does the same. not sure if it's that much but yeah.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 339 (members: 3, guests: 336)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,307
Messages
3,554,054
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top