Greasing driveshaft doesn't fix "clunk"

[othompson824]

Hey guys so I've had my 2006 4runner for about a year now and the driveshaft "clunk" has been a thing for pretty much the entire time. From my research the most popular thing that's been done is greasing it. I've done this twice now and neither of the times did it fix the clunk. I'm wondering is there anything else that could be causing this issue? Do i just need to replace the driveshaft? Thanks!

 

[shiftmx]

What does it do that makes you think it's the driveshaft? I went through a similar situation where it ended up being the brake pads and not the drive shaft.

 

[Ida4runner]

v6 or v8? AWD? how many miles? clunk coming from front or rear? could be DS universal joints, CV joints in front? Worn out splines in drive shaft.

 

[othompson824]

What does it do that makes you think it's the driveshaft? I went through a similar situation where it ended up being the brake pads and not the drive shaft.

Mainly because throughout my research thats what people have been referencing most. Also I just replaced my front pads and rear pads/rotors less than a thousand miles ago so it can't be that.

 

[othompson824]

v6 or v8? AWD? how many miles? clunk coming from front or rear? could be DS universal joints, CV joints in front? Worn out splines in drive shaft.

v6, 4wd, i'm not sure if i could determine whether its coming from front or rear. Probably front is my best guess

 

[Bluesky 07]

Greasing the driveshaft is more of an art than science. I have a 2007 V6 4WD and the first few times I greased the driveshaft, it either didn’t go away or came back shortly afterwards. The temptation then may be to just blast the grease in there but that’s not a good idea. The ones that crackle are easy, just add till you hear it and/or see grease exiting the joint, but the expandable ones aren’t so obvious. It’s very difficult, for me at least, to detect the telltale expansion, though I found that an LED headlamp helped a lot.

No offense intended but are you certain you’re hitting all the zerks? If yes, one approach might be to leave the crackle joints alone and add 10-15 pumps to the expandables, drive, and repeat a couple of times. Not like around the block, give it a a week or so before adding more. Just don’t overgrease those expandable joints.

What’s interesting to me is that first I couldn’t get rid of the thunk and now I can’t recall the last time it happened. And I don’t grease it often at all, a couple of times a year.

 

[MikeinNH67]

What does it do that makes you think it's the driveshaft?

The driveshaft sticking is pretty common and easy to distinguish. Hard braking or breaking down a hill will pitch the rear end up a bit. When you take off the rear will drop and clunk as the shaft slides back to it's normal position. Kinda annoying. I've read the easiest way to prove it out is to remove the zerk near the slide out part so air can move easily. Some have mentioned drilling the ball out of the zerk. I've also read to really fix it it's best to take it apart and remove all the old grease before adding new. I have the issue but have yet to do anything about it beyond greasing.

 

[thegame7]

The key thing for the slip joint is using grease that doesn't break down. Any standard grease will over time. What you need is grease or paste with high molybdenum content in it. I bought a tube of Honda moly assembly paste to put on mine but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Honestly the design of the slip yoke greasing is pretty poor. When you grease the slip yoke, it fills the void on the end of the driveshaft then when you see it extend, all it means is that void is full. No grease actually gets deep down in the splines. Definitely recommend removing the driveshaft and separating the 2 sides, apply liberal amounts of moly paste/grease to both sides of the splines then re-assemble.

I still wonder if it would work to drill and tap on the other end of the slip yoke so the grease has an entry and exit port on either end. Might be the only way to ensure grease actually coats the splines. Easier to pull it apart though

 

[othompson824]

No offense intended but are you certain you’re hitting all the zerks? If yes, one approach might be to leave the crackle joints alone and add 10-15 pumps to the expandables, drive, and repeat a couple of times. Not like around the block, give it a a week or so before adding more. Just don’t overgrease those expandable joints.

What’s interesting to me is that first I couldn’t get rid of the thunk and now I can’t recall the last time it happened. And I don’t grease it often at all, a couple of times a year.

tbh i might not be. I believe i am though, theres two that i'm getting, the slip yolk that I inject grease in till I see it seep out and the driveline that I inject till it expands. Any more I should be doing? Pictures so i know what to look for?

 

[Bluesky 07]

tbh i might not be. I believe i am though, theres two that i'm getting, the slip yolk that I inject grease in till I see it seep out and the driveline that I inject till it expands. Any more I should be doing? Pictures so i know what to look for?

There are 6 total. The video below is a good guide and there are multiple threads on the forum as well.

A couple of things that imo make this a much more pleasant task:

- These zerk caps that keep crud off the fittings (and work on your caliper bleeder fittings too); and

- The LockNLube Grease Gun Coupler, which keeps the grease gun from falling off at the weird angles needed while getting to all the fittings. Search for it on Amazon. I tried to link to it but somehow the Amazon link kept redirecting to this item on eBay, where it was more expensive.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P-kwgAhyIX4?start=6" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[randy88fj62]

The factory service manual has two types of greases listed. One for u-joints and one for the slip yoke.

Without getting under the truck to check the driveshaft you have no idea what is causing the clunk.

And, if no conclusion can be made, then removing the driveshaft is the only way to inspect.

I had a bad front u-joint at the tcase and if was easy to spot. I removed it, pressed the old one out and re-installed a new u-joint. It's been happy ever since for the last 3 or so years.

If you can't wrench for one reason or another then it's time to take it to a mechanic. It's rather simple work that can be done without going to the dealer.