MrSeth
Member
So for the past year or so, every time I shifted my 4Runner from Park to Drive, or from Drive to Reverse, an audible thud could be heard accompanied by a forward lurch.
Since my vehicle had all stock driveline components, I decided it was time to start working my way from the back of the truck to the front of the truck replacing the 195k mile OEM parts.
At first I thought that just lubing the grease points on both drive shafts and all 4 Cardan joints would solve the thud. I ended up replacing all of the Cardan joints, cleaning and lubricating each drive shaft and their respective slip yolks. Still, a thud could be felt and heard.
I placed my Samsung under the noisy culprit side (drivers side front CV) and ran through the gears. I could watch the inner CV rotate probably 1/2" inch forwards and backwards each time.
I made the decision to replace the CV shaft assembly, so I ordered one from Rock Auto. They shipped it to me in two days.
THIS is my write-up of replacing the shaft and what I discovered had happened causing the thud.
--------------------------
PARTS: RockAuto
1. SURTRACK/TRAKMOTIVE TO8168 Does Not Include ABS Ring $47.00 shipped
TOOLS: Harbor Freight and Oreilly's
1. 35mm, 1/2" Drive Impact socket - Oreilly's $8.99
2. 19mm, 1/2" Drive Standard socket- Oreilly's $5.99
3. 25" 1/2" Drive Breaker Bar - Harbor Freight $12.99
4. Pickle Fork (Didn't want to use pry par on inner CV Joint) $13.25
5. 4 lb Hammer- Harbor Freight $10.00
6. Rubber Sledge Hammer (Small) $3.00
7. Off Brand Gloves- $6.00
8. Toyota Bottle Jack (came with the truck, what a deal!)
9. Tire Iron (I have a 4-way)
10. Wheel Blocks- I just backed up to a curb
Total Tools and Parts Cost: $98.25
(Texas Friend) Toyota Dealership Quote: $650
Savings: ~$551.75
------------------------
TIME REQUIRED:
As an ex-Ferrari Technician, I estimated that this project would take me about 1.5 hours for disassembly, inspection, and re-assembly.
After disassembly, photography, putting in a few pinches of Cope, changing music, and re-assembly, the project took me about 50 minutes.
Hopefully this write-up will save someone some time, confusion, or just give peace of mind to the avid DIY'er.
-------------------------
Let's begin!
-------------------------
DISCLAIMER!!!!
Now, I will say that I performed this maintenance, alone, in a parking lot on mostly even ground using no jack stands and my OEM Toyota bottle jack.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Use jack stands and have a buddy near by JUST in case your Toyota should fall during loosening or tightening the bolts plus removing/installing the CV shaft.
--------------------------
First, gather your tools up BEFORE you begin! Having everything readily accessible will save you some time and effort. Plus, you'll know if you lost a tool you will need BEFORE your 4Runner is half way apart so you can drive to replace it.
-------------
Next, with your vehicle on flat ground, with the wheels blocked, remove your center wheel cap like so. (If you are wondering, my bracelet says "Don't Suck")
-------------
Removing the center wheel cap will allow you to loosen your lug nuts without damaging the center caps plastic.
-------------
Why remove the wheel? We need to access the dust cap that houses the castle nut, retainer ring, and cotter pin. It's that black deal right there.
--------------
Grab your tire iron, from wherever you keep it, I keep mine in the back of my rig.
Now remove your lug nuggets!
-----------------------
Once those little guys are off, you can remove your wheel. Should have something that looks like this under there. We now have access to the dust cap.
--------------------------
Next, use a small pry bar, or a standard end screw driver to tap between the lip of the dust cap and your rotor. You shouldn't have to hit it too hard, be careful not to deform the cap as it is a tight fit.
Once removed, you will have access to the threaded and splined end of the outer CV joint.
-------------------------
Remove the plated retainer and cotter pin. If your cotter pin is rusted, I recommend replacing it. Really, you should replace it regardless, but our Zinc coated cotter pins are pretty malleable so I just re-used my OEM one.
-----------------------------
Next, after those components are removed and set aside, It is time to make the hub assembly more flexible to move the CV assembly out.
Toyota, in their infinite wisdom makes this extremely easy for us.
Behind the rotor, on either side of the lower ball joint, there are 2x 19mm bolts. This holds the upper assembly to the lower control arm and lower ball joint.
These guys here.
Removing these will allow you to swing the hub forwards and out of the way of the CV shaft. I didn't even need to remove the steering arm.
----------------
Once free, you can tap the threaded end of the outer CV joint back through the hub. When it pops out the back, swing the hub towards you (away from the vehicle) and to your left (vehicle front). The outer CV joint will flex (kinda its job anywho) and you can pull it free. Let the outer end rest on the lower control arm.
---------------------
After that, it is time to remove the inner CV joint from the front differential.
BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH THIS PART!!! If you tear one of the rubber garter rings, you will have an eternal leak of doom and will have to replace them. Just take your time, don't try to dig into the differential, don't pound anything with a hammer, and avoid going down that rabbit hole.
That being said, I wanted 2 points of contact whilst prying. I purchased a pickle fork instead of using a pry bar. It worked fantastically- I didn't have the fork slip at all and it didn't take much time to pop the inner retaining ring on the end of the inner CV joint back through the differential splines.
Place a pan or towel underneath the differential as fluid WILL SPILL OUT!
Look at dat diffy hole. It's a happy hole. Protect the rubber.
------------
BREAK TIME!!! Take 10 minutes, cool down, clean your tools, text your buddies, stare at a wall, something. Give your hands a break for a second.
Since my vehicle had all stock driveline components, I decided it was time to start working my way from the back of the truck to the front of the truck replacing the 195k mile OEM parts.
At first I thought that just lubing the grease points on both drive shafts and all 4 Cardan joints would solve the thud. I ended up replacing all of the Cardan joints, cleaning and lubricating each drive shaft and their respective slip yolks. Still, a thud could be felt and heard.
I placed my Samsung under the noisy culprit side (drivers side front CV) and ran through the gears. I could watch the inner CV rotate probably 1/2" inch forwards and backwards each time.
I made the decision to replace the CV shaft assembly, so I ordered one from Rock Auto. They shipped it to me in two days.
THIS is my write-up of replacing the shaft and what I discovered had happened causing the thud.
--------------------------
PARTS: RockAuto
1. SURTRACK/TRAKMOTIVE TO8168 Does Not Include ABS Ring $47.00 shipped
TOOLS: Harbor Freight and Oreilly's
1. 35mm, 1/2" Drive Impact socket - Oreilly's $8.99
2. 19mm, 1/2" Drive Standard socket- Oreilly's $5.99
3. 25" 1/2" Drive Breaker Bar - Harbor Freight $12.99
4. Pickle Fork (Didn't want to use pry par on inner CV Joint) $13.25
5. 4 lb Hammer- Harbor Freight $10.00
6. Rubber Sledge Hammer (Small) $3.00
7. Off Brand Gloves- $6.00
8. Toyota Bottle Jack (came with the truck, what a deal!)
9. Tire Iron (I have a 4-way)
10. Wheel Blocks- I just backed up to a curb
Total Tools and Parts Cost: $98.25
(Texas Friend) Toyota Dealership Quote: $650
Savings: ~$551.75
------------------------
TIME REQUIRED:
As an ex-Ferrari Technician, I estimated that this project would take me about 1.5 hours for disassembly, inspection, and re-assembly.
After disassembly, photography, putting in a few pinches of Cope, changing music, and re-assembly, the project took me about 50 minutes.
Hopefully this write-up will save someone some time, confusion, or just give peace of mind to the avid DIY'er.
-------------------------
Let's begin!
-------------------------
DISCLAIMER!!!!
Now, I will say that I performed this maintenance, alone, in a parking lot on mostly even ground using no jack stands and my OEM Toyota bottle jack.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Use jack stands and have a buddy near by JUST in case your Toyota should fall during loosening or tightening the bolts plus removing/installing the CV shaft.
--------------------------
First, gather your tools up BEFORE you begin! Having everything readily accessible will save you some time and effort. Plus, you'll know if you lost a tool you will need BEFORE your 4Runner is half way apart so you can drive to replace it.
-------------
Next, with your vehicle on flat ground, with the wheels blocked, remove your center wheel cap like so. (If you are wondering, my bracelet says "Don't Suck")
-------------
Removing the center wheel cap will allow you to loosen your lug nuts without damaging the center caps plastic.
-------------
Why remove the wheel? We need to access the dust cap that houses the castle nut, retainer ring, and cotter pin. It's that black deal right there.
--------------
Grab your tire iron, from wherever you keep it, I keep mine in the back of my rig.
Now remove your lug nuggets!
-----------------------
Once those little guys are off, you can remove your wheel. Should have something that looks like this under there. We now have access to the dust cap.
--------------------------
Next, use a small pry bar, or a standard end screw driver to tap between the lip of the dust cap and your rotor. You shouldn't have to hit it too hard, be careful not to deform the cap as it is a tight fit.
Once removed, you will have access to the threaded and splined end of the outer CV joint.
-------------------------
Remove the plated retainer and cotter pin. If your cotter pin is rusted, I recommend replacing it. Really, you should replace it regardless, but our Zinc coated cotter pins are pretty malleable so I just re-used my OEM one.
-----------------------------
Next, after those components are removed and set aside, It is time to make the hub assembly more flexible to move the CV assembly out.
Toyota, in their infinite wisdom makes this extremely easy for us.
Behind the rotor, on either side of the lower ball joint, there are 2x 19mm bolts. This holds the upper assembly to the lower control arm and lower ball joint.
These guys here.
Removing these will allow you to swing the hub forwards and out of the way of the CV shaft. I didn't even need to remove the steering arm.
----------------
Once free, you can tap the threaded end of the outer CV joint back through the hub. When it pops out the back, swing the hub towards you (away from the vehicle) and to your left (vehicle front). The outer CV joint will flex (kinda its job anywho) and you can pull it free. Let the outer end rest on the lower control arm.
---------------------
After that, it is time to remove the inner CV joint from the front differential.
BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH THIS PART!!! If you tear one of the rubber garter rings, you will have an eternal leak of doom and will have to replace them. Just take your time, don't try to dig into the differential, don't pound anything with a hammer, and avoid going down that rabbit hole.
That being said, I wanted 2 points of contact whilst prying. I purchased a pickle fork instead of using a pry bar. It worked fantastically- I didn't have the fork slip at all and it didn't take much time to pop the inner retaining ring on the end of the inner CV joint back through the differential splines.
Place a pan or towel underneath the differential as fluid WILL SPILL OUT!
Look at dat diffy hole. It's a happy hole. Protect the rubber.
------------
BREAK TIME!!! Take 10 minutes, cool down, clean your tools, text your buddies, stare at a wall, something. Give your hands a break for a second.
