Slip Yoke caused my vibration....

[STRAP22]

I know there has been a lot of talk lately about drive shaft issues and the new TSB that just came out. My problem wasn't with the "Thump" that most have been dealing with. If this has been covered before, I missed it.

I have been fighting a vibration at 50-70 mph ever since I put my new Icon suspension and Icon upper control arms, new tires and lubing the drive shafts.

Before this I had a Donhoes with Camburg UCA's. They lasted 6 years and since they needed rebuilt, I elected to just replace it all and rebuild the DR's for a backup. Even with the old suspension it did not have this vibration.

After installing all the new parts and re-balancing the tires several times (with the adapter), road forced them twice (two different machines) and still had the vibration. Then we removed and re-installed the rear shocks, front coilovers, and upper control arms, thinking that maybe something didn't get torqued correctly. Still had the same vibration as before.

I have read several threads on this forum and others about lubing the drive shaft and thought maybe the tech didn't lube them correctly or maybe knocked a weight off the drive shaft. After re-lubing the shafts and checking all of this, everything appeared fine except the slip yoke. With the vehicle on the ground, it looked like it would look if it was on the lift and extended.

I did another search for drive shaft vibrations. As I was reading this my Toyota rep called and I mentioned this to him. He said that he has seen over-greased slip yokes causing all kinds of strange conditions. He suggested I should try letting some grease out. (I know some will say it will squeeze out around the seal, but it also can extend the shaft too much and not allow any room for it to slide properly)

At this point I figured it can't hurt. When I took the zerk loose, it came off like a high caliber bullet. I then backed it up on the curb a couple times to compress the suspension and the shaft to push any excess grease out. After that I cleaned up the excess grease and I replaced the zerk fittings on both the front and rear slip yokes. I went for a long drive and I tried to make it vibrate at the speeds and conditions I had been feeling it at and no vibration. It was as smooth as could be. I just can't believe that was all it was.

This may not work for everyone, but it fixed my vibration problem. I will update this if it comes back.

 

[jimithing]

Well that's interesting. How does the zerk come off? I'm assuming it just unscrews but can you put a ratchet on it or did you just use a pair of pliers or something?

 

[STRAP22]

Just used 7mm socket. It is the one on the yoke, not the U-joint.

 

[ebg18t]

Interesting. Thanks for posting. Never heard of too much grease like this causing a problem.

 

[talonjade]

out of curiosity what type of grease are you using?

 

[TOY2G]

That is great, I was hoping to would find some magic solution. I guess it was all in who you know.

let us know if it comes back so we can all go pack our drive lines with grease again...lol

 

[Steve240]

bumping this old thread to see if there is anyone else that would agree with this.

I just finished putting a lift on over the weekend, 5100's with eibach springs with front diff drop, LC 7 wraps with LC shocks and panhard bar drop.

Truck rides great no shaking in the steering wheel at all, problem is I have a serious driveline vibration coming from the rear end. It starts as low as 15-20mph during acceleration, kind of settles out between 50-70mph but comes back over that so I haven't been over 70 since putting the lift on. It really only seems to be there on acceleration, if I decel through the problem speeds with the truck at idle the vibration is barely noticeable

I have searched the forum and read alot of threads on vibration after lift. None of the threads had any actual solutions except this one but it seems to easy to be true. This caught my attention since I had my driveshaft serviced by toyota in November when I had trans fluid changed. I'll give it a try tomorrow night but I am interested to know if anyone else has had driveline vibrations and how they fixed them.

 

[syncretic.buffalo]

Bumping this old thread again for some clarification. I have a 2007 4Runner v8 4x4, stock height. Been chasing this damn phantom vibration forever. Only seems to happen between 50-70MPH when accelerating uphill, but I’ve also had it happen anytime I stomp on the gas. Isn’t TERRIBLE, but still strong enough that I can notice it.

I’ve had the truck for about 3 years and never greased the spider or slip yoke...I know I know, always meant to do it but never did.

Last week I got tired of the binding from the rear driveshaft and finally greased all the fittings.

The classic 4Runner clunk at stop went away, and the vibrations are severely reduced, but I’m still getting them noticeable enough while at highway speeds, especially accelerating uphill. Question is: should I spring for a new rear driveshaft and finally but this issue to rest, or should I first try the curb method to remove some grease from the slip yoke.

Cheers