U Joint Issues

NorthShore4Runner

NorthShore4Runner

New member
posted this in the maintenance section without much luck. figured I'd try my hand here in the 4th gen section
Just bought ( 2 weeks ago) a 2006 4runner SR5 V8 4WD with 111k on it. Theres a clunking coming from the drive line when it comes to a stop or sets off from a stop. I'm fairly certain this is indicative of a worn U joint somewhere along the line. Just looking for thoughts on how to diagnose which U join specifically it is, or if its best to replace the 3 along the main drive line, or just go ham and replace all 9?
 
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NorthShore4Runner said:
posted this in the maintenance section without much luck. figured I'd try my hand here in the 4th gen section
Just bought ( 2 weeks ago) a 2006 4runner SR5 V8 4WD with 111k on it. Theres a clunking coming from the drive line when it comes to a stop or sets off from a stop. I'm fairly certain this is indicative of a worn U joint somewhere along the line. Just looking for thoughts on how to diagnose which U join specifically it is, or if its best to replace the 3 along the main drive line, or just go ham and replace all 9?
Click to expand...

first thing i would do before replacing parts would be to get underneath with a grease gun and hit all the zerks along the driveshaft and u joints, i forget how many but if you pump them all full your clunk may go away
 
wnelax04sr5 said:
first thing i would do before replacing parts would be to get underneath with a grease gun and hit all the zerks along the driveshaft and u joints, i forget how many but if you pump them all full your clunk may go away
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Do you know, off the top of your head, what the appropriate grease to use is? If not, i'll search around and figure it out
 
It's prob the slip joints needing grease. The 06 I bought last week did the same thing. Use Moly based grease for the two slip joint zerks and general purpose grease for the 4 u-joint zerks
 
mine is 2006 also and i had a similar problem. i took it to the dealership and asked for the driveshaft retorque/grease and they charged 25 bucks for it. now the noise is gone.
 
Regarding your other question on grease guns, I personally like the one i found at Pep Boys. It was about $35 and is red in color. Says PowerBuilt on the side. Not sure its anything great but it works much better than the similar priced one I bought at Autozone.

For what that is worth. LOL
 
Ps. Just Found the same red grease gun at Home Depot for $26 with the Lucas brand name on it instead of power built.
 
again, thanks for the help. I grabbed a tube of lucas oil red and tacky.

could only find 1 fitting, where the drive shaft meets the tranny. couldn't find one at the rear diff end though. is it possible my particular 4runner has just one fitting and the rest are non greasable? or am i having an idiot moment?
 
As a 4x4, you should have something like the following on a 3rd gen 4runner. If its been a while since it's been done, you may have to wipe old grease and debris out of the joints to find them. Also you may have to spin the front shaft or move truck a little to get back one to spin to find them.

1 zerk inside U-Joint on front drive shaft closest to engine
1 zerk inside U-Joint on front drive shaft furthest from engine
1 zerk on outside edge of U-Joint on front drive shaft furthest from engine (slip joint zerk)

1 zerk inside U-Joint on rear drive shaft at very rear of truck
1 zerk outside U-Joint on rear drive shaft at very rear of truck (slip joint zerk)
3 zerks inside double U-Joint on front of rear drive shaft



EDIT: Just realized this is a 4th gen and not a 3rd gen. In that case scratch 2 of them as I don't think you have the double U-Joint on the 4th gen. So it would have 6 total.
 
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Thanks everyone! Greased them all up this morning. No more clunking. Even feels like it's driving a little smoother though I'm sure that's in my head
 
When you grease the slip yoke be sure to keep pumping grease until you see the shaft move. First time you do this it could take 40-60 pumps. After that grease them every 3-5k miles and pump until it moves.
 
Gatafly said:
When you grease the slip yoke be sure to keep pumping grease until you see the shaft move. First time you do this it could take 40-60 pumps. After that grease them every 3-5k miles and pump until it moves.
Click to expand...


Well I better get back under there tomorrow! Certainly didn't pump it 40-60 times
 
Prolly a better recomendation, is to pump it up until you feel resistance on the grease gun. Then drive it and let it get pressed into the splines. I wouldnt just keep pumping. The back pressure on the differential can cause more issues than a dry slip joint
 
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