Klunk

[Sants]

I have been reading about the issues and was wondering about the average number of vehicles that have this problem. Is a consistent thing or is it just a few vehicles? Like How many out of 10 have this issue?

The posts I researched had quite a few people with the issue and only a few without. i am assuming that mainly people with issues were making responses.

When I test drove my 04 v8 this past weekend the car felt smooth and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary except the the brakes had a little bit of pulse/waver when coming to a stop. I hope this isn't an issue. I just figured the rotors had to done or new pads. There was NO jerk upon stopping or starting that I could tell.

I have always loved 4runners and my parents had a 98 limited with no issues what so ever. I am starting to get a little worried abut my choice hearing about the klunk and rust issues. Can anybody calm me down with encouraging words?

Mine will only have 33,000 miles on it and it seems well taken cared of. It had some surface rust on the front arms and frame in front of the radiator but wasn't alarmed when i looked under the truck.

 

[DC runner]

Are you referring to the drive line klunk? The drive shaft on this generation is a lubed variant and does have a tendency to "klunk" when it is not lubed. My old truck did the same thing.

The simplest fix is to lube the drive shaft, there are threads here describing how. As with everything, it needs to be re-done from time to time.


If you CANNOT stand it, then you can do a solid non-lubed shaft switch from a Lexus. It fits as is. Personal opinion varies on the worth.



As for rust. This vehicle will rust, like any other. However, if you follow simple steps you can minimize it. Wash it down after snow storms or beach runs, keeping the road salt/grime and beach sand off the body will go a long way to preventing severe rust.
That said. Metal rusts. If you want 0 rust, move to central TX where it is warm and dry all year round.

 

[sonerick]

The driveline clunk seems pretty common, but generally you can keep it to a minimum by regularly lubing the slip yoke on the front and rear driveshafts with the appropriate type of grease.

The slight pulse you felt during braking was likely due to uneven deposits of brake pad material on your rotors, which can probably be fixed by re-bedding your pads or replacing the rotors/pads.

I live in MA, and the undercarriage on my '05 4Runner does show a little bit of rust (most likely due to all of the salt used during the winter). I plan on giving it a good cleaning and coating it with POR-15 or some other rust-neutralizing coating before winter. Yours sounds like it's in pretty good shape, but nothing to worry about.

EDIT: ^^beat me to it!

 

[Sants]

Thanks guys! I spoke with the dealer and the rotors just needed some work. I am just bugging a little. I have read a lot about the drive shaft and will keep a close eye on it! I just threw it out there and didn't want to start another klunk thread.

 

[Mytoy4]

I got it in mine too. It's not very often so I just put up with it.
I've had some issues with rust as well, but I get on it as quick as I can to prevent it from going any further.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

When I bought my 4Runner back in July, I too had the clunk and brake issues. I figured my rotors were warped or something, and I knew greasing up the drive shaft should help.

I greased up the drive shaft till the grease was starting to come out, drove it for a few days. It still seemed to have a little clunk still, although it was much better than before. I swapped out my rotors to Powerslot's and put on new pads and to this day, I have no signs of clunking at all from the drive shaft.

 

[Gatafly]

Could take 40 pumps of grease to get rid of the clunk, but then a few shots every oil change and you are good. I had a little under carriage rust and took care of it with POR 15 and now should never have to worry about the rust again. I highly recommend it.

 

[Dkon82]

I have an 04 V8 w/95k; bought it @ 90k and no sign of clunk or rust. Im pretty sure the previous owners took very good care of it as it rides better than many brand new vehicles IMO. The only imperfection is the rotors.

Being that I'm a valet attendant at the biggest casino in New Mexico, I have driven just about every vehicle hundreds of times, and I still have not experienced this clunk feeling from any 4th gen T4R ranging from 20k to 180k. I honestly drive at least 1 to 5 of them every night while at work. I hope this is encouraging; it is for me!