Double Cardan joint

No, you HAVE to get outside clip. I replaced mine with one from Rockford Drivelines, part number is K2540 u-joint. Perfect fit. The guys there were very helpful.

 

Damn. Thanks for the info. Luckily I haven't taken it apart yet. Might see if someone want to trade for an older one.

 

Getting an older one may mean problems in the near future anyways. Which u-joint are you replacing? Carrier bearing side or rear diff side? I replaced end one, which is closest to the carrier bearing, it really wasn't bad. The other one would require reading Dirty Pool's write-up. He is an expert!

 

I'm building a few driveshafts out of several between my own and some I've picked up at the salvage yard. I've been taking them apart to clean/inspect/rebuild and replace as needed. I wanted to keep spare parts on hand as well.

I'll be running a one-piece shaft in the back so no carrier bearing to worry about and a dual double cardan for the front dana 60.

 

Damn that's an awesome collection you have going!

 

subed

 

Just to add a bit to this thread, Cruiser outfitters does not carry the Matsuba UJ236. They can order them from Japan, with a 6 mo lead time, lol.

Jess at High angle is the only place you can get them, and they are reasonable at $33/each.

http://www.highangledriveline.com/

 

Hi, Long time reader, first time posting..

99' 4x4, tacoma, with Double Cardan Joint. Had the Back end U-joint go out. Started feeling the Vibrations a month ago, Hard shift into drive started, for my case, the vibration felt more like it was coming from the front passenger side of truck. After jacking up the rear and putting trans. in Neutral, from under the truck, the drive shaft had a good play in the rear U-joint.
While i have it all off, I decided to replace all the U-Joints... BAD IDEA on my part!! Now after Many trips to the parts stores for the Correct U-Joints.
The back U-joint was correct from Napa, But the "DC-Joint" I did some research and found on here that Precision-#513 part did fit.
Soo , I busted 3 pins from the Centering Ball. I will be looking for replacement pins today.. Anyone know if part stores have them or item# ?

Great resource you all have been! Thanks

 

replacing Needle Bearings on centering ball !! Sorry called them pins, I would like to find replacement needle bearings for the centering ball, I cleaned the old one out, the Ball joint looks to be in really good condition.

 

You will not find just the needles. There is a less than microscopic chance they could be found from some application somewhere but that would mean a whole lot of searching, opening boxes, measuring, more searching and so on and so on. I would not bother going that route.
Short of replacing the ball (comes with needles) maybe hit up the fellow "45acp" few posts back with the "collection" of parts, he seems to be a decent sort. Measure yours with a micrometer first. Even if you purchased a new ball (aftermarket only) there is no guarantee the needles will be dimensionally the same as OEM.
One more thought, you could hit up a driveline shop and pester them about rummaging through their junk pile but the chances of success would still be slim to none.

If you have to go with a new ball, this shop here in Grand Junction had the "ball kit" in stock. The kit consists of the ball, outer race, needles and the ball seal. There are 2 sizes based on the diameter of the pin shaft so measure yours first.
http://www.bakerstransmissiongj.com/#!__drive-line-service

 

Nice write-up.

Quick question. You mentioned that the parts and methods listed were good for first gen 4x4 x-cab trucks. Mine's a single cab but appears to have the same drive shaft. Is everything from your post still relevant for me?

 

Yes, most single cabs did not come with DC joints but they are out there. The only difference in the DC joints for all 1st gen Tacomas is the "inside vs outside clip" versions. The outside clip style may be a little easier to work with and seems to be found on the later years.

 

Thanks again.

 

One more question. You said that it wasn't a good idea to remove the ball unit between the two u-joints unless you are absolutely sure it is bad. How can you tell whether it's bad or not?

 

In simple terms, if it ain't broke don't fix it. In the end it will come down to logic. If there is a vibration that is not the result of bad u-joints, the drive shaft support bearing or bad drive line angles, only then suspect the ball. Of course a visual inspection for wear marks or scoring will give a clue. Keep in mind that the ball portion of the DC joint is very durable and with a little lube will last a long long time. A little bit of play between the ball and the ball race is common but I have never come across a specified number for max play.

The only reason I replaced mine at around 200K was to deal with a torn/missing "grease pressure relief valve". It is a little rubber flap in-line with the ball socket that allows excess pressure from a grease gun to escape and prevent it from hydraulically pressing/pushing the ball out of place. Mine was missing and grease would just squirt out the hole where the valve was. No grease would ever get to the ball or it's needle bearings and it was squealing like a stuck pig. FWIW the replacement ball had the same or slightly more play than the OEM ball had at 200K with the lack of grease issue.

 

Alright, not to hijack this thread, but I have rusted out and seized up U Joints, and the two that correlate with the double Cardan appear to be in pretty bad shape as well, I saw in the first page that it's not as easy To change those ones as it is the other U joints? Are they different sizes?

 

I got to looking around for replacement drive shafts today just so that I know what my options are. I found a 2-joint, double cardan rear drive shaft from a 2004 Tacoma (single cab, 4x4, 2.7L just like mine but newer) with only 33k miles on it (supposedly). It looks like it's in good shape but I can't find any part numbers to assure me that it'll fit my truck.

What do you think? Would a shaft from the 2004 (last year for 1st gen) work on a 1995 (1st year 1st gen)?

Update: per Toyota only shafts from trucks built between 95 and the first half of 2000 are compatible. I'm just updating the post in case anybody stumbles across it later and finds it useful.

 

Dirty, Thanks for the response on the other thread and the re-direct...

What I saw is some rust on the ball itself (within the cardan joint), although both U-Joints seemed solid.

I greased the shit out of the joint (it looked like it had been neglected... for way too long), but seemed 'ok'. but I can see a failure in the future...
options?

 

I know Fort Worth Gear and Axle does this type of work, might be worth sourcing a local driveshaft company for those with less than above average mechanical skills.

 

See post #35. Unless you have a vibration and have tried everything else leave it alone. Keep in mind that a vibration from a DC issue is usually pretty bad. The DC is a good chunk of rotating mass located right up next to the rubber mounted support bearing. Once the DC/shaft starts flopping around it gets bad, fast and worse with speed. If you are dead set on changing it out and the joints are good, you will only need to remove the front u-joint next to the support bearing and only the 2 caps in the "H" at that. You will end up like the second pic in the write up and have at the ball from there. Note that the ball race is not equally centered on the ball (front to back). I forget which way it is, so check it out as you pull the old one.

Well, you should look back. Back at the pinion angle you have now, I saw your pic. Toyota welded the spring perches on the rear so as to point the diff pinion at the support bearing, as it should be with a DC shaft. With the 1 piece shaft you want the t-case and the pinion shaft angles to be nearly equal with the pinion pointed a little more into the dirt. Now your only recourse will be to install tapered shims of the correct angle.

http://www.4xshaft.com/driveline101.asp
Look at the 2 drawings. Then there is this bit from further down "The real benefit to a C. V. (double cardan) drive shaft is smoother operation at higher operating angles and longer life."