T4R won't go after sitting overnight

[DavidL]

My '97 T4R 4x4 has 170K miles. I bought it last year and I'm really enjoying owning it.

One problem I've noticed when starting out to work in the mornings is a hesitation, some force holding the truck back when going from Park to Drive, almost as if a brake or e-brake is applied. I can apply a little gas and with a "thunk" sound coming from the rear, the truck overcomes whatever force was holding it still and rolls forward.

I thought at first that it might be a brake shoe binding up, but my mechanic said he didn't see anything wrong with the brakes (no oil on the shoe, etc.). Also, I noticed this morning that I can put the truck in Neutral when on an incline (and it's binding in Drive) and the truck will roll down the incline.

The above makes me wonder if it's something in the driveline. Is there anything that could be binding up in the drivetrain, it's onset primarily noticed in the morning after the truck has set outside overnight?

The transmission shifts fine and the transfer case works well, too. Thanks for any input and let me know if I can provide more info.

Thanks Much!

DavidL

 

[Lignum]

How is your tranny fluid level? I had a car that did something similar when the fluid got too low.

 

[JohnsD90]

The thunk leads me to believe you driveshaft needs to be lubed, even if that isnt the problem, it is probably a good idea to lube it up anyway.

 

[brian2sun]

Yeah, the driveline needs to be greased up at the very least. If it's that bad, you may have a bad u-joint(s). I'm kinda surprised your mechanic didn't suggest this because it isn't a toyota thing, it goes for all vehicles. If it is in fact the driveline (which I'm sure it is), you may want to find a more knowledgeable mechanic because this is as basic as it gets.

Pump grease in the zerk fittings along the driveshafts until the grease starts coming out. For the slip yokes (on the end of the driveshaft at the tranny), just pump about 10 pumps in there and you're good (the grease will not come out of those when it's had enough). Often you'll need to do the whole thing again in another day or two to completely get rid of the thump.

 

[CajunRunner]

Strange. You may find something of value in this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/59420-4runner-wont-move-forward-drive-when-cold.html. I had a similar locking up and thunking issue after sitting overnight in cold weather. Ended up being oil impregnated brake pads from a leaking seal. There were some different theories from 3 or 4 other guys with the same problem. The culprit for most sounded like contaminated rear brake pads in cold weather, although one or two seemed to remedy their problems with transmission fluid. Hope this helps.

 

[bak3rme]

like im starting to notice. in the mornings, when i go from park to reverse, there its not as smooth as it use to be. Its not too bad, but i notice it enough. do me and the OP have same problem?