Rearmost ujoint Writeup

[NHRunner]

There is a steady flow of driveline vibration threads on the forum. Most of the threads that I see involve a vibration somewhere between 60 and 75 mph. The culprit is often times a universal joint or even the double cardan joint.

I had a really bad vibration between 60 and 70. I could barely produce any noticeable play in the rearmost ujoint, but figured I would replace it anyhow.

I used a greasable ujoint from NAPA. Using real Toyota ujoints would probably have been best, but I needed mine in a hurry and it only cost me $19.99. The NAPA ujoint I chose: NAPA AUTO PARTS

The Camelback page with ujoints for a '99 are linked below.
1999 Toyota 4Runner Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping

And linked below are some other good write ups and videos on ujoint replacement. Our ujoints rely on an internal C clip, like the joints in these links.

Pirate4x4.Com - The largest off roading and 4x4 website in the world.
JeepWire - Changing Axle Shaft U-Joints
Replace a Driveshaft U-Joint | 2-Minute Tech on PowerNationTV

I started by jacking up the rear end to give myself a little more room to work. Do so safely.

First, unbolt these 4 14mm bolts at the rear pinion flange. I needed to use plenty of PB Blaster and a big pipe on a breaker bar. Air tools would help. I was too lazy to drag the air tools out.

Now you should mark the driveshaft to make sure you can realign the splines when reassembling. If you don't line the shaft back up correctly, then it will very likely leave you with a fun new vibration. I used pencil, permanent marker, and a center punch. The permanent marker and pencil wore off by the time I was done. Just use a center punch and put little dots on the front and rear portions of the shaft.

Now you need to remove the zerk grease fitting that fills the slip joint. This will allow you to compress that shaft and remove it. It's also a good time to press out all of the old grease in the slip joint so that it can be replaced. Don't lose the zerk!

Now, you can pull this portion of the driveshaft.

I cleaned mine up with ~half a can of brake cleaner. Try to keep the inside of these splines clean. You do not want reassemble that with grit in it.

Remove the ujoint zerk, if you have one.

Next, you need to pop out these C-clips with a couple flat screwdrivers. Spin them around on the ujoint to get them into a more workable position. I hammered on one end of the ujoint to relieve some pressure on the clip. This is what they look like:

Now you can begin hammering out the old joint. I started by hitting each bearing cap with PB Blaster. I used an 18mm socket to push one side and a 32mm socket on the receiving side. This job took two people. I held everything in place while my brother hammered. :smash: And don't miss the socket. There may be some consequences to hitting the ear of the shaft with a BFH.

Here is what it looks like once you have pushed the ujoint through one side.

Now you can pull that bearing cap off of the joint. This may require pliers, depending on the condition of the cap/joint. As you can see in the picture, this rusty part is the cause of my vibration.

 

[NHRunner]

Grease was not making it to the endcap and bearings because it was a little stopped up!

Now you can repeat the above steps for the other 2 endcaps.

Wiggle everything apart and you should now have everything fully dismantled. I went ahead and cleaned up the shaft again with brake cleaner and a good wipedown. I lightly coated the outside and ears of the shaft with Fluid Film to stave off rust.

Reassembly

Now, I only needed my vice and 2 small sockets to press the new ujoint bearing caps in. *Be especially cautious to not disturb the needle bearings. You will regret it when you have to put them back in place!

Here's my setup:

Once one bearing cap was pushed into place far enough, I popped in a C-clip. Then, I took the ujoint out of the vice and hammered the opposing bearing cap into place. Next, I popped the opposing C-clip into place.

Repeat this process for the other 2 bearing caps.

And note Nevada's suggestion:

the only thing I will add, make sure the joint moves freely every direction, after you finish installing the joint. often times they will be tight one direction.

IF you have one that gets tight, try smacking the yoke, right behind the u-joint ear. this will often relieve the pressure just enough to free it up.

Thread in and torque the new zerk fitting into the new ujoint. Do not overtighten. Next, I greased the new ujoint until it looked like I had pushed out most of the assembly grease that came in the new ujoint. I used General Purpose grease per the FSM.

Reassemble the rear driveshaft inline with the marks you made earlier.

I slid the 4 14mm bolts into position to loosely hold the shaft in place. Next, put the 7mm zerk back into the slip joint. I found the best thing to do next was to fill the slip joint with a Lithium/moly (per the FSM) until the shaft pressed itself into place against the spindle.

I believe, by the torque specs in the Master Directory of Information, that the driveshaft bolts should be torqued to 54 ft-lbs.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/129548-torque-specs.html

Now take it for test drive! My vibrations were all gone. I can now hear my tires for the first time.
:typing:

Do please correct me if you see anything wrong with how I did this.

 

[NHRunner]

I just want to reassure people that this is a relatively simple project and a really great starting point in the search for hunting down drivetrain vibrations.

It only cost me $20 and 2 hours of my time, plus a little grease.

When greasing your ujoints, double check to make sure that grease is squeezing out of all 4 sides, otherwise you may have the same issue as me. My ujoint had no significant play, but the one rusty needle bearing cap was enough to create a horrible vibration.

 

[Joelev]

reserved for thanks

 

[squabeggz]

Thanks for this. I'm about to tackle this as well. Glad I bought a press though...something about using a BFH on bearings.

 

[96LTDrus]

I'm in the middle of this myself. In my case, nothing felt that loose or overly tight on the rear u joint, my brother replaced it with a Moog unit, vibes went away for a while but now they're back strong as ever. Took my driveshaft off, a local shop in Indy is balancing it as we speak and will replace the joint if necessary. We'll see what comes of all this, The balancing cost is $40 and a new joint with labor is $35 (forget what brand but it is greaseable). From what I've heard Toyota driveshafts can be rather sensitive to balancing, something to do with how the u joints are installed and how they sit. We'll see what comes of it.

 

[nevada]

good job.

the only thing I will add, make sure the joint moves freely every direction, after you finish installing the joint. often times they will be tight one direction.

IF you have one that gets tight, try smacking the yoke, right behind the u-joint ear. this will often relieve the pressure just enough to free it up.

 

[NHRunner]

good job.

Thanks man.

I added your quote into the original post. My ujoint was actually stiffer in one direction than the other after hammering, but I think it's all settled in now.

 

[nevada]

Thanks man.

I added your quote into the original post. My ujoint was actually stiffer in one direction than the other after hammering, but I think it's all settled in now.

sometimes its a guessing game, and you have to go back and forth a bit to loosen it up.
sometimes they never loosen up. it just depends on how difficult they came apart, often times the ears of the yoke get bent in slightly. I have changed thousands of u-joints, and each one is slightly different than the last.

 

[Merninater]

I am about to do my front driveshaft joints and I have a question. I just wanted to confirm when doing the front driveshaft there is no need to mark anything because it is one whole piece? (Unlike the rear shaft that you did that goes into the spline). And will new U-joint come with new caps? I do not want to re-use caps especially if I have one that looks as rusty as the one you just showed in this thread. I plan to pick up 2 NAPA brand U-joints for the front shaft this Saturday to do it.

 

[alumarine]

Yes, the ujoints will come complete with bearing caps.

 

[Merninater]

Yes, the ujoints will come complete with bearing caps.

Thank you.

 

[Merninater]

Is the front drive shaft (T-case to front axle) a 1 or 2 piece? Using input from this thread to do my front driveshaft joints this weekend

 

[pauldub]

The front drive shaft has a slip joint as does the rear shaft. This is not commonly called a two piece drive shaft; however, when you fully extend it and pull it apart, you will have two pieces.

 

[Merninater]

Front is a two-piece with slip yoke, etc. ... not sure why that matters for u-joint replacement though. Be sure to matchmark shaft sections and yoke to flange both ends. Also note zerk fitting orientations and keep same or per FSM if possible.

Thanks I was just curious as I am now going to change them tonight. Haven't had a chance to look under there today bc it has been raining all day.

 

[MandAtaco]

Nice write up BTW!

 

[Merninater]

Wasn't able to do my U-Joints on my front driveshaft last night because it was still raining (no garage). Can someone confirm if my front driveshaft U-Joints are a proper diagnosis of the following issue I am having?

2002 V6 4wd. I have no vibrations when in Rwd but only when I engage 4wd I get high frequency vibrations (that can also be felt in the wheel) upon acceleration and deceleration. The harder I hit the throttle the higher frequency the vibrations become. And when I am just gliding in 4wd they are negligible. As soon as I disengage 4wd the vibrations are gone. My second idea for diagnosis is that I have a worn/loose inner tie rod but I feel like that would contribute vibration across the board (Rwd and 4wd).

 

[blue1]

Wasn't able to do my U-Joints on my front driveshaft last night because it was still raining (no garage). Can someone confirm if my front driveshaft U-Joints are a proper diagnosis of the following issue I am having?

2002 V6 4wd. I have no vibrations when in Rwd but only when I engage 4wd I get high frequency vibrations (that can also be felt in the wheel) upon acceleration and deceleration. The harder I hit the throttle the higher frequency the vibrations become. And when I am just gliding in 4wd they are negligible. As soon as I disengage 4wd the vibrations are gone. My second idea for diagnosis is that I have a worn/loose inner tie rod but I feel like that would contribute vibration across the board (Rwd and 4wd).

Did you ever figure out what this was? I'm experiencing similar problems at acceleration , but not at coasting, but with rear driveline

 

[kolelt]

Yeah I have a bad ujoint in exact spot. I though Toyota didn't make ujoint anymore

 

[Merninater]

Did you ever figure out what this was? I'm experiencing similar problems at acceleration , but not at coasting, but with rear driveline

Yup. My drive shaft has a pretty decent dent in it. U-joint was most likely fine. It's proving difficult finding someone that can repair the shaft. Might end up picking up a used one.