Troubles removing front drive shaft

[the_fornicator]

Hi there,

The U-joint in my front drive shaft is a bit loose so I tried taking off the front drive shaft over the weekend and ran into a bit of a snag and wondered if I'm not doing something properly or not.

I have a 2nd gen 4Runner (1995 SR5 5spd 22RE) and the front bolts and nuts on the drive shaft came off without a hitch, the nuts on the rear part of the shaft came off no problems, but here's where I'm lost.

Are the bolts in the rear part of the drive shaft (that go into the transfer case flange) supposed to come out or are they fixed somehow? The heads of the bolts seem pretty small so it makes me think that they don't come out.

To make things super fun, the drive shaft seemed seized -wouldn't budge. I tried pulling it, hitting it with a bit of heat, tapping it with a hammer, penetrating oil, and eventually lightly kicking it (lol), and nothing. The front drive shaft didn't budge.

Are the bolts supposed to come off at the transfer case flange or are they permanently fixed there? I tried hitting the bolts with lubricating oil, letting it soak for hours, and then tapping them with a hammer, but with no success. None of the bolts budged. Is the drive shaft supposed to pull right off with ease?

Any suggestions on how to get that thing off? Thanks!

 

[KidVermicious]

Both my 4Runners have/had bolts on both sides of the front driveshaft. I suppose you could have studs there - are they rounded on the back or are they bolt heads?

The driveshaft itself will definitely be seized to the flange. Keep smacking it.

 

[ajohnson]

I know some models have front output flange studs, not sure about yours though.

Hit it harder

 

[DeclansDaddy]

When I removed my front driveshaft the front seemed to have studs but turns out they are bolts with a pretty long shank I'm assuming to center better and they were just stuck. We're the nuts on the driveshaft side or on the back of the transfer case flange. If I remember correctly if they seem like the bolts are coming out of the transfer case they must be studs. There's not enough room between the flange and dust shield to put a bolt in. Either way once you take the nuts off a few good whacks aught to get it off.

 

[the_fornicator]

There are bolt heads in the back, but they are small. So, they might be studs or might just be there so you can hold the bolt in place while you tighten the nut.

Pics (edit, holy batman sorry for the large pics lol)

 

[Link12]

It's just bolts. Use a brass hammer and knock them loose or put the nut part of the way back on and knock them out. I have had the drive shaft feel like its still bolted up when its not. Sometimes it just takes a very hard hit to get them free.

 

[KidVermicious]

Yup, those are bolts. They're just frozen in place from years and years of exposure to wet and salt and such. Get to smackin'.

When you bolt it back up, get friendly with the antiseize. I never put anything back on my truck anymore without liberal application of antiseize.

 

[DeclansDaddy]

When you bolt it back up, get friendly with the antiseize. I never put anything back on my truck anymore without liberal application of antiseize.

Remember always wear gloves when using anti-seize.

I always seem to end up looking like the Tin-Man from Wizard of Oz whenever I get my tub of anti seize out.

 

[the_fornicator]

Awesome. Good to know, thanks guys.

Yeah, every bolt that I've taken off so far gets a hit of either graphite or copper antiseize depending on what metals are involved. I've learned enough the hard way lol

 

[CAN-03runner]

If you say you've used heat, and aren't adverse to using it again.... get a squirt bottle full of water. Heat up the bolt, then squirt cold water, heat, squirt, heat,squirt.... expansion and contraction, expansion and contraction.

This method has worked very well for me on lots of bolts....Differential fill plug anyone....

 

[the_fornicator]

Awesome, thanks! I'll definitely give that a shot should hammering the shit out of it not work lol

What's weird is that I wanted to change the front drive shaft out with a newer one (still used) because, in 4WD, around 40-60kmph, I would feel a good bit of vibration. By the time I hit 80-90kmph, the vibration would get so loud, you couldn't have a conversation with the person in the passenger seat.

After I gave up on taking out the front drive shaft because of the bolt issue, I bolted back on the front end.

After that, the vibrations stopped. I can go 100kmph without so much as a hum. Why the hell is that? lol does the drive shaft (front or rear end) have to bolt on a particular way? I know they say to mark the drive shaft with whiteout or something before you take it off, but is that absolutely necessary? You'd figure it's just four bolts on any way it goes. Thoughts?

Thanks!