Installed GX470 Driveshaft - Clunk/Thump Gone!!!!

skyak said:
Update on the Lexus Driveshaft.

About 8,000 km now on the new driveshaft. Still buttery smooth with zero clunk.

So far so good, but time will tell...
Click to expand...

is your 4R 4x4? I keep talking to toyota service centers and they seem put off by the idea of putting this Lexus driveshaft on a 4R with 4x4
 
Yes it is 4WD (has the torsen diff).

The GX470 has the same set-up as the V8 Ltd (I believe).

Is yours a non-AWD model? I doubt it matters anyway.
 
Last edited:
skyak said:
Yes it is 4WD (has the torsen diff).

The GX470 has the same set-up as the V8 Ltd (I believe).

Is yours a non-AWD model? I doubt it matters anyway.
Click to expand...

I got the 08 v6 SE 4x4, so wasn't sure if it would work with the GX470 driveshaft... you think the v8 vs v6 matters on the driveshaft?
 
Yep. Not sure of the mileage, but mine started to thump again after about 7-8 months...although, it was not as noticeable as before.

Greasing it at every oil change seems to have kept it barely noticeable...it seems more noticeable in cooler weather.
 
I believe you want it on the slip yokes...see this sticky thread...

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance/28414-07-v8-4x4-zerk-fitting-pics.html

For the Ford grease, I don't think you can just squirt it in there...I believe you have to disassemble the drive shaft and apply it directly to the slip yoke and reassemble.

At least that is what is recommended from the Ford TSB on Rangers.

You might contact the vendor to see if they have any suggestions...
 
Greased my new to me 08 4x4 v8 Sr5 (28k miles) after reading this thread. It's pretty obvious It had never been greased before as it took about 1/2-3/4 tube of grease. So much for being "Toyota certified" and all that should entail. I did the front driveshaft and u joints as well.

Oddly, I don't think my '05 2wd v8 t4r has any fittings on the driveshaft or u joints. ill have to crawl up under there tonight and look. If it does, I'm sure I have greased them at some point...just not recently.
 
Last edited:
SC Joe said:
Greased my new to me 08 4x4 v8 Sr5 (28k miles) after reading this thread. It's pretty obvious It had never been greased before as it took about 1/2-3/4 tube of grease. So much for being "Toyota certified" and all that should entail. I did the front driveshaft and u joints as well.
Click to expand...

SC Joe, did you have clunking noise or were you just doing it as a preventative maintenance?
 
SC Joe said:
Greased my new to me 08 4x4 v8 Sr5 (28k miles) after reading this thread. It's pretty obvious It had never been greased before as it took about 1/2-3/4 tube of grease. So much for being "Toyota certified" and all that should entail. I did the front driveshaft and u joints as well.

Oddly, I don't think my '05 2wd v8 t4r has any fittings on the driveshaft or u joints. ill have to crawl up under there tonight and look. If it does, I'm sure I have greased them at some point...just not recently.
Click to expand...

I believe that is correct. The 2WD driveshaft has no zerk fittings whereas the 4WD has zerk fittings. I don't know if anyone with a 2WD has reported the clunk, only 4WD 4Runners.

I didn't experience the "clunk" until my truck hit the 10k or so mark. I grease the fittings every 5k miles and the clunk comes back within 1k miles or so. It would be nice to get rid of that noise and the feeling it produces.
 
empty403 said:
SC Joe, did you have clunking noise or were you just doing it as a preventative maintenance?
Click to expand...

Actually both. The vehicle had about 29K miles on it and it would "clunk" sometimes when it came to a stop. I don't think it had ever been greased before.
 
pickerdd said:
I believe that is correct. The 2WD driveshaft has no zerk fittings whereas the 4WD has zerk fittings. I don't know if anyone with a 2WD has reported the clunk, only 4WD 4Runners.

I didn't experience the "clunk" until my truck hit the 10k or so mark. I grease the fittings every 5k miles and the clunk comes back within 1k miles or so. It would be nice to get rid of that noise and the feeling it produces.
Click to expand...

First time it did I thought someone bumped me from behind at the stop light...but noone was behind me.
 
I also had the Lexus propeller shaft installed and my truck is a new truck. I asked the service tech to put the Toyota and Lexus shafts together on the bench to see if we could visually notice a difference. We both couldn't see any difference.

Doesn't matter though. It did the trick. Was well worth the cost.
 
here is the email I just got from the dealership. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Mr. Webb,



We have contacted Toyota about your problem and have come to the determination that the “thump” you are feeling is normal operation for that vehicle. The torque of that vehicle gets transferred out through the joints in the driveshaft as you come to a stop. This can happen instantly or take some time for it to happen. Lubricating the propeller shaft and drive shaft is the only fix, and it will not fix the symptom 100%, it will however make it better. Also I know when we checked your brakes the first time in, we didn’t see an issue. Brakes can squeak intermittently at times with condensation buildup on the rotors and pads.





Greg Heins

Service Manager

Jay Wolfe Toyota

9650 NW Prairie View Rd

Kansas City, MO

816-584-4561
 
Yeah its pretty ridiculous in my opinion. I was talking to a factory rep a while back about the issue and he told me that Toyota in japan consider that a normal characteristic of an SUV and that its normal...

The new driveshaft that you can get via the TSB for your Lexus is not even in the production line, they still use the same "defective" (I use that term loosely since the driveshafts are fine other than that noise so not really defective in function...) driveshaft and replace it only if the customer complains...

Its just one of those really odd things that Toyota does that makes no sense...
 
I think this is a "MEH" moment. Some people care, others don't. It has no impact on driveability so Toyota moves on.

Every SUV I have owned did this. My 84' Runner, my 90' Runner and so on. You have all this built in expansion in the system for the 4x4 components, much like expansion joints in a bridge, that allow some give and take. Every now and then it causes a little thud. Doesn't bother me in the least. I do grease it up and it goes away for a long time. If I notice it again and I happen to have 5 minutes, I poke my head up under with my grease gun and fill it up.

I think Toyota probably doesn't simply consider it an issue. Kinda like brake squeal. Brakes Squeak. Some more than others, some not at all, but it isn't an issue of safety unless you are hearing the "screech" of the warning tab.

We all hate it, but we have all had those pads we bought that just seemed to squeak a bit more than the others. Happens. Part of life. I am glad to see that the Lexus driveline swap is one solution for those who it really irritates.

Me. I will save that money for beer.
 
Here is a photo of both shafts.

The one on top is the shaft installed by Toyota as a possible fix to the clunk. It did not work.

Lexus has a more recent TSB that I viewed only at the dealer and based on that, I received the shaft on the bottom.

The Lexus part # is 37110-60A40.

Good luck.
 

Attachments

  • DSC03597.jpg
    DSC03597.jpg
    132.7 KB · Views: 1,814
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Experience with GX470 Driveshaft Swap
2
Replies
23
Views
15K
dasx86
D
F
Thump / clunk drive shaft issue
2
Replies
31
Views
43K
SurferUK
SurferUK
J
4th Gen driveline "Thump" being acknowledged by Toyota?
Replies
8
Views
2K
morphius909
M
skyak
My 4Runner Mods/Fixes - 1 Month after Purchase - TYVM T4R.ORG
Replies
9
Views
4K
skyak
skyak
Kmvreter
V6 4th Gen driveshaft thump experience
Replies
4
Views
6K
DocMT
D

Members online

Total: 478 (members: 1, guests: 477)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,315
Messages
3,554,104
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top