Is my slip yoke stuck?

[Slick McFavorite]

So I've been trying to get rid of the u-joint/slip yoke clunk by greasing them up via the zerks. Thanks a bunch to everyone who has contributed to those threads on how to do that, very helpful. Well I've been really successul with greasing the u-joints and the front slip yoke but im concerned about the rear yoke. At rest the front yoke is completely unexpanded and now well greased up. The rear slip yoke however is not fully unexpanded at rest and would not take very much grease. I thought maybe it was over filled and that was forcing the expansion so I pushed in the zerk nipple and grease started spooging out by itself with the release in pressure, along with a bigass air bubble. I though I was in the clear so I jumped on the back of the vehicle and drove it around for a day and looked at the yoke again to see if it looked any different, but it did not.

This morning I fully removed the zerk fitting and jumped on the back to try and release any build up pressure from the grease or air bubble and it didnt change. Could this yoke be seized or is this amount of expansion normal for being at rest? Also something else that seems off to me is the amount of space between the tires and the tops of the wheel wells. Shouldn't the front and back be pretty similar? The front doesnt seem to have very much space in there. I bought this 4runner in May with 70k miles on it so I dont know if the shocks are going out or if this is how its always been. Perhaps this is the reason the rear yoke is partially expanded at rest or maybe the yoke is causing the wheel well spacing issue? What do you guys think? I'm very much learning as I go here.

 

[philskeeter]

Well I can't comment on the slip yoke but I can say the amount between the front tries/fenders and rear tires/fenders is normal. It's known as the famout "toyota rake"

 

[Slick McFavorite]

Ah well thats some good news at least! Last thing I wanted to hear was a "yup classic front suspension failure, have fun with that" lol.

 

[jonesmw10]

Could this yoke be seized or is this amount of expansion normal for being at rest?

Personally, I would assume normal. Mine looks like that as well. If it was seized, I would think you would know. It probably wouldn't feel very good when going over bumps. The fact that I see that clean steel there as well tells me it looks like it is moving as it should. I'm sure someone else will chime in as I'm no pro, but if it isn't clunking or anything I would think it's ok.

 

[Slick McFavorite]

Personally, I would assume normal. Mine looks like that as well. If it was seized, I would think you would know. It probably wouldn't feel very good when going over bumps. The fact that I see that clean steel there as well tells me it looks like it is moving as it should. I'm sure someone else will chime in as I'm no pro, but if it isn't clunking or anything I would think it's ok.

Yeah that clean metal is a good sign and I did get my wife to jump up and down on the bumper while i watched the yoke yesterday. It did move a few millimeters (i need a bigger wife for this job) so i know it can at least move a bit. The whole reason why I even looked at the yoke in the first place is because I have the clunk and this yoke isn't reacting to the grease the way the front yoke is. Currently greasing everything is only relieving the clunk for a day or two. =/

 

[JEL]

Looks normal to me as well, I was just under both of mine yesterday and my 4th gen looked like that. The clunk hasn't been a problem for me in my 4th gen, but it's a nagging issue on the 3rd that I can't permanently get rid of, greasing it helps for a couple weeks to a month or two depending on how much it gets driven, but that damn clunk always comes back.

 

[JB.]

Y The whole reason why I even looked at the yoke in the first place is because I have the clunk and this yoke isn't reacting to the grease the way the front yoke is. Currently greasing everything is only relieving the clunk for a day or two. =/

The clean area in your pic compared to the total distance looks just like it does on my truck on flat ground. The only difference is mine has noticeable grease around the seal edge (I keep it well greased).

The rear slip yoke can take a ton of grease. I've put in more than 100 pumps before.

You can pull your hair out trying to get rid of the clunk if you want, but you should know that it's not an indicator of improper maintenance or a wear or reliability issue. Personally, I ignore the cluck. All I care about is doing the proper maintenance.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/63518-lubricating-propeller-shafts-2.html#post698052

 

[flighht2k5]

its kind of irrelevant, but these trucks don't have slip yokes

 

[JB.]

Quit yoking around.

 

[Slick McFavorite]

Cool thanks for the help guys. I feel better now and will squirt some more grease in there and see what kind of results I get.