Toyota issues "fix" for axle wrap / driveshaft clunky-thumpy

[philsey]

* update *

Well, it's done. In and out in 45 min., including the always-free car wash.

The part was ordered Wednesday, was in stock in KC, and at the dealership this morning.

I ran errands, aka lotsa stop-and-go for 2 hours afterwards, and the problem is gone.

Well done Toyota.

 

[DDM4]

2000+ chevy tahoes (and all the vehicles sharing that platform) had this exact same issue as well, never recognized by chevy. I had it in an 01 tahoe and an 07 avalanche. Looked angrily into an empty rearview mirror plenty of times looking for the ******* that hit me.

The EW comment is concerning. Is there a clear breakdown of what each EW offered for the 4runner provides/covers?

 

[TOPDECK]

Mine just started this week. Sucks.

 

[Reata]

Just got mine done. Amazing what they charge for that sucker. $721, of course it cost me nothing and was under warranty but still that is a crazy number. I wonder if they would let me keep the old drive shaft. I am going to call back and ask if I can have it.

P.S. mine started about 3,000 miles. I too thought it was just a rough downshift after stopping, but I can't tell you how many times I looked in my rear view to see if someone had tapped my rear end.

They wouldn't let me keep the old one. Something about it "has to go back for warranty purposes".

 

[-JD-]

I've had this problem intermittently. Would be hard to recreate it for the dealer though.

My 3rd gen did this exact thing as well. As someone else mentioned, greasing the slip yoke would always help, but the issue never went away completely and the vehicle was fine for 100's of thousands of KM's...

 

[rebelbowtie]

2000+ chevy tahoes (and all the vehicles sharing that platform) had this exact same issue as well, never recognized by chevy. I had it in an 01 tahoe and an 07 avalanche. Looked angrily into an empty rearview mirror plenty of times looking for the ******* that hit me.

The EW comment is concerning. Is there a clear breakdown of what each EW offered for the 4runner provides/covers?

pretty much all GM 4x4 vehicles suffer from this slip yoke clunk, they did in fact put out a TSB for it though and offered a replacement slip yoke. the DIY fix though on a lot of forums believe it or not was to stick a tennis ball inside the slip yoke.

 

[SigSense]

stick a tennis ball inside the slip yoke.

Buddy of mine did this with his Tahoe, but generously lubed the ball with Vaseline first. Worked like a charm.

 

[DDM4]

pretty much all GM 4x4 vehicles suffer from this slip yoke clunk, they did in fact put out a TSB for it though and offered a replacement slip yoke. the DIY fix though on a lot of forums believe it or not was to stick a tennis ball inside the slip yoke.

My 01 Tahoe was a 2WD. It was a while ago but I seem to remember something similar to what you're saying regarding a TSB now that I think about but I remember vividly my local Chevy dealer telling me to pound sand concerning my 07 4wd avalanche.

 

[rebelbowtie]

Sorry you had a bad dealer experience

 

[whodat]

Thanks for posting this Philsey. Dealer ordered mine next day, took 45 mins, so far so good. All free because still under warranty. They didn't even try to reproduce the thump, they took my word for it, especially when I told them about the TSB. Thanks again!

 

[Victor_inox]

Thanks for posting this Philsey. Dealer ordered mine next day, took 45 mins, so far so good. All free because still under warranty. They didn't even try to reproduce the thump, they took my word for it, especially when I told them about the TSB. Thanks again!

You forgot to mention if it was doing it or not.

 

[whodat]

Sorry, it started very early, I would say roughly 3 to 4k miles? Never bothered to bring it in as it was once in a while that it occurred in the beginning. But it was more noticeable lately. No more as of now, got it done since last week btw.

 

[Victor_inox]

Sorry, it started very early, I would say roughly 3 to 4k miles? Never bothered to bring it in as it was once in a while that it occurred in the beginning. But it was more noticeable lately. No more as of now, got it done since last week btw.

Thank you. I will do the same. mine is not doing it yet but I`ll try to convince my dealer that I need it anyway.

 

[whodat]

No prob man. But why fix something that isn't broken? I mean it should be an easy procedure to get it "fixed" but who knows who will be working on your 4R and mess something else up, when there wasn't anything broken to begin with. I had the thump since 3k miles, got it fixed at 20k miles, I drove from NE to TX, TX to IA hauling stuff, no problems with safety on my end. If you get a thump, you'll probably get it early on before your warranty is up. I wouldn't do anything if you don't have the thump, my 2 cents. Good luck man.

 

[alc9020]

My thump started at 10k miles. What is the difference with the new shaft that fixes the thump? I'm just wondering if this could come back in the next 10k miles when warranty expires for most. Also I read about installing axlewrap bars in other trucks to minimize axle wrap. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[Victor_inox]

My thump started at 10k miles. What is the difference with the new shaft that fixes the thump? I'm just wondering if this could come back in the next 10k miles when warranty expires for most. Also I read about installing axlewrap bars in other trucks to minimize axle wrap. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

warranty expires at 60000 or 6 years. plenty of time for me im at2500 miles right now,working from home saving gas and Toyota money for warranty work.
I dont understand what part or shaft was redesigned and how. would be nice to compare old vs new.
I`m slamming on my brakes now trying to get the thump so far there no thump. I know if it don`t start until first oil change I `ll be asking dealer to replace it just because.

 

[BAYOU]

I have had the "THUMP" since about 3500 Miles and I stupidly thought it was just tension built up in the brakes, and the pads releasing, The thing is I get it sometimes under soft braking as well. The dealer will have my truck in a week having the rims powder coated due to a mishap during a tire rotation, so I will hopefully have them replace the prop shaft while it is on the lift. "they are probably going to hate me after this visit" but hey it's an expensive truck and should be 100% at 15,000 miles. Does anyone have a definite way to get the axle to thump? I want to be sure the tech feels and hears it? Thank forum- :beer:

 

[philsey]

....The thing is I get it sometimes under soft braking as well....

Mine got to the point of thumping at every stop, sometimes just more pronounced than others.

.... The dealer will have my truck in a week having ... so I will hopefully have them replace the prop shaft while it is on the lift.

Don't forget, the dealer is *supposed* to test drive it first, then order parts. So, you have a lead time involved. They only get .8 hrs from Toyota, so they may not go through the entire procedure, eg "disconnect the rear prop shaft, drive it again .... etc" - mine didn't.

.... Does anyone have a definite way to get the axle to thump? I want to be sure the tech feels and hears it?

Don't ever grease it? IDK. Mine seemed more likely to 'fail' after being warmed up/driven stop-and-go for awhile.

At a minimum, I'd make the complaint, take the test drive, get a service report started, keep coming back 'til they fix it. My dealer is CS-oriented, which is nice.

I am very glad to have this fixed - it had become an annoyance.

 

[whodat]

For me, 90% of the time I would get the thump at this steep hill. I would ease off the brake and get the thump. But I also got the thump at stop lights and parking lots. It was never at high speeds or slamming the brakes/accelerator. Hope that helps.

 

[BAYOU]

Thanks guys! I am really noticing the problem now and it may be that I am looking for it more or that it is getting worse.:shrug:

Does this also cause rough shifting which I have noticed a few times when I go to pass on the mountain roads up here, say like 40 mph hard acceleration to 65-70, real hard downshift and clunk? :ybrick: Thanks guys-