U-Joints? Help my Diagnosis!

[OldManKamps]

So I have this vibration that has been steadily getting worse over the last month or so. I've been reading things online on how to diagnose u-joint failure and I'm 99% sure that that is what the issue is. At 80 km/h in 5th gear(manual), the vibrations start and get louder and stronger with speed. At 90km/h or 2300 rpm in 5th, the vibrations are quite bad and there is a noticeable increase in vibrations at this engine speed. When my foot is taken off the accelerator, the vibrations stop immediately. The vibrations are also mitigated a bit if I increase the throttle. Basically they are really bad when the throttle is steady cruising. I greased up the u-joints but this had seemingly no effect or it made it worse.

What do you guys think? Is this an easy job to tackle myself? How much would a mechanic charge to fix it?
Thanks!

 

[fblainen11]

I want to say mine were about $300 for front or rear u-joint and a rear diff fluid change.
I was out of town and wasnt able to DIY so I had a dealership change it.

 

[GangsterOfLove]

It's not hard to do but I had mine done at a driveline place because I wanted to make sure the driveshaft was balanced.

$170.

 

[Stiles97]

From what I have read the rear u joints aren't super difficult but the front one on the rear shaft is a different story. Iirc the parts are very hard to get to rebuild it. I had a very similar vibration in my 97 w/ 5sp man. I took the shaft off to inspect it and found that all the joints operated smoothly and had no perceptible play. Turns out in my case that the nut on the rear output shaft flange on the transfer case had come loose. This allowed the drive shaft to ' wobble ', mimicking a faulty u joint. So, I retorqued it and my vibration has been gone for going on 10k miles now. The t case had never been off or had any issues. The nut was still staked to the shaft but was loose. Only took maybe a 1/8 turn max to torque to spec but that cured it. Hope that helps. Matt

 

[pauldub]

Remove the rear drive shaft, put the car in 4WD and drive it. If the vibes are gone, the rear drive shaft is at fault.

 

[Stiles97]

I would agree with that, for the most part, except for that in my case with the shaft removed the vibration was gone but it was not the shaft that was at fault. While you have it off check that nut on the flange where shaft is bolted to. Make sure you mark the shaft also if you take the slip joint apart.

 

[OldManKamps]

Remove the rear drive shaft, put the car in 4WD and drive it. If the vibes are gone, the rear drive shaft is at fault.

This won't cause any problems by doing this?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[tH1e swiN1e]

Have you greased them? Id try that first, and if you still have the vibs after greasing them then Id replace. U-joints are cake to replace. Its like a 15-20 min trail fix.

 

[Stiles97]

Just go the minimal distance required to verify. I had no issues doing it with mine.

 

[kolelt]

Replacing a u-joint isn't hard at all. Takes about 30 min. Probably most pain in the neck is removing the drive shaft. I replaced my u-join in my front driveshaft. It was cake. How ever, the double cardan is little different. From what I hear it's not rebuildable but I'm not sure on this.

 

[cfranck1]

Just make sure you index the driveshaft before you take it off!!
To make sure you put it back in the same place it came off of.

 

[JayRolla]

I diagnosed mine by putting it up on jack stands, having someone hit the gas in gear while I watched and listened to shaft.

You can buy rebuild parts for the double cardon but they are crap and will fail quickly. You really have three options for that joint.

1. Get a junkyard one and hope its good.

2. Have a custom driveshaft built.

3. Call these guys High Angle Drivline-Call Jesse at 530-877-2875
They quoted me $170 I believe. He uses OEM parts from another toyota CV shaft to rebuild the double cardon. Of course he would not give info on what vehicle he uses parts from but he said it will be OEM and will outlast any of the crap parts sold to build them.

 

[I_bRAD]

Have you greased them? Id try that first, and if you still have the vibs after greasing them then Id replace. U-joints are cake to replace. Its like a 15-20 min trail fix.

Sounds fast! I think I'd take 15 mins just to get the driveshaft off!

 

[OldManKamps]

I diagnosed mine by putting it up on jack stands, having someone hit the gas in gear while I watched and listened to shaft.

You can buy rebuild parts for the double cardon but they are crap and will fail quickly. You really have three options for that joint.

1. Get a junkyard one and hope its good.

2. Have a custom driveshaft built.

3. Call these guys High Angle Drivline-Call Jesse at 530-877-2875
They quoted me $170 I believe. He uses OEM parts from another toyota CV shaft to rebuild the double cardon. Of course he would not give info on what vehicle he uses parts from but he said it will be OEM and will outlast any of the crap parts sold to build them.

You're the only one who's saying stuff like this.. Why is everyone saying you can just replace it in 30 minutes?

 

[JayRolla]

You're the only one who's saying stuff like this.. Why is everyone saying you can just replace it in 30 minutes?

The rear u joint is serviceable. U joints on front shaft are serviceable. The front double Cardan cv in rear shaft is not serviceable. If the serviceable u joints are the issue them yes it's easy. Good info in this thread.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/168308-double-cardan-joint-rebuild.html

 

[99Runnr]

Driveshaft and u-joint problems are semi notorious on these trucks.

I had a vibration and it took forever to track it down. 2 businesses couldn't figure out it was out of balance, finally they did. Rebuilt it and re-balanced for $200 roughly.

Just unbolt the driveshaft, test it as stated in fwd and repair accordingly. Best tip for removing the driveshaft, get yourself a nice lengthy 12? or 14? mm box wrench for the nuts. After years and years on there, and a weak little box wrench, you will hate life more then likely. I got a nice set from HF for like $25 and it's been the best tool's I've ever purchased besides my Dewalt cordless impact

 

[OldManKamps]

The rear u joint is serviceable. U joints on front shaft are serviceable. The front double Cardan cv in rear shaft is not serviceable. If the serviceable u joints are the issue them yes it's easy. Good info in this thread.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/168308-double-cardan-joint-rebuild.html

Hmmm okay, well from reading that thread, a lot of the people are saying that they get squeaks and clunks from the ball in the double cardan. However, I get NONE of that. No clunks, no squeaks, nothing. So it could just be my very rear ujoint in the shaft! That would be great!

What do you think?

 

[JayRolla]

Hmmm okay, well from reading that thread, a lot of the people are saying that they get squeaks and clunks from the ball in the double cardan. However, I get NONE of that. No clunks, no squeaks, nothing. So it could just be my very rear ujoint in the shaft! That would be great!

What do you think?

Sounds like the rear u joint. Lift her up on 4 stands. Have someone put it into gear and gas it a little while you listen to pin point the sound. And use extreme caution when doing this.

 

[pauldub]

It's time to quit talking and get your hands dirty. You're not going to diagnose it any other way.

 

[OldManKamps]

It's time to quit talking and get your hands dirty. You're not going to diagnose it any other way.

Well I finally found the time on a saturday and got to work at it! My issue with diagnosis was that i kept leaving it in gear when I'd move the shaft! :ybrick:
So i went down there in neutral and discovered that the rear u-joint is absolutely ****ed. Close to broken and half and dropping my driveshaft on the highway....
So i popped off the slip yoke and now I'm gonna bring it to my mechanic to swap in a new ujoint!
Thanks so much for the help guys!!