Possible driveshaft or ujoint vibration

[chrissurfr]

Hey guys,

I have a vibration from the rear/middle of the truck between 30-40 mph.

I have replaced the needle bearing, also the rear carrier has been replaced, so its not those.

Has anyone with a 5th gen had a drive shaft or u-joint that needs to be replaced?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[tm965]

have you greased the driveshaft?

 

[Jetboy]

Grease first. Then a rear drive shaft is cheap and easy to swap to try it. I think you can find a junk yard one for around $100. They are very durable, so it would be unusual unless you really hammered it. Mine has nice spiral rock rash on it. I've put most of the weight of the 4Runner on the rear shaft in the rocks and didn't bend it, so you'd have to hit it pretty hard. It's not like an F150 or GM truck shaft that's barely stronger than a soda can. It's robust.

 

[chrissurfr]

If I swap out the drive shaft...does that include the ujoints too? or do I have to get the separately?

 

[Jetboy]

If I swap out the drive shaft...does that include the ujoints too? or do I have to get the separately?

Typically a used shaft will include everything from flange to flange including the u-joints. Depending on condition you may need to replace them. My experience has been that Toyota OEM u-joints are excellent if they are lubed on time. My last 4Runner still had good joints at 220k miles and they were original. So I would not expect to need to change them if you buy a low mile takeoff shaft.