Still need help after reading - Take Off Vibration

This is what the slip yoke looks like when its pulled out of the tranny. You measure how far out it is from being flush:


This is what it looks like stock or after the proper driveshaft spacer:


Photos from TAC1

 

well that sucks. was hoping to hear it all worked out good for you. im lost with mine not sure what to do next.

 

thanks for posting the pics Ric im going to have to try this myself.

 

Bennett I didnt realize yours was 4x4. I'm pretty sure yours is configured different then that. Sorry i couldnt be more help. There was a guy on here a couple weeks ago who's cb bolts fell out/broke and he took it to shop and wound up getting his driveshaft lengthened and it took away all his vibs. not sureif his was 4x4 or not.

 

Hey Bennett, Just taking a quick glance through your posts and I have a few thoughts.

First, a couple updates I haven't posted on the other page yet.

1> the silicone fill: I have tried this. It might work on a brand new carrier bearing, but it won't on a worn out bushing. Why, you might ask??? Cause a worn out bushing looks like this...



Thats with silicon in the bushing. Notice the egg shape where the bearing goes.

Here's an update on my status, I got my vibes down to the minimum with the original carrier bearing, I replaced the CB with the Dorman part No: 934-401 off of Rock-auto. Bam! no vibes... for 25k miles. Then they came back. I filled the bushing with silicone, based on what I read off of a Mitzu 3000GT site. I figured it couldn't hurt, but the bushing was already collapsed. So I put on a genuine Toyota bearing. This lead me to conclusion 2.

2> The toyota bushing, even new, is softer than than the Dorman aftermarket unit. I still have soft vibes with a toyota cb.

Now I have a new carrier bearing (doorman) one in hand to install, but I've moved and no longer have garage space to change it out. Whats more, I no longer have my spare truck with me (left it with family) so I can't go without the Tacoma. My plan was to fill this one with silicone and install, but I haven't been able to yet.

That being said, are you capable of doing a cb replacement yourself? (space, time, tools(pullers and torque wrench), and know how) If you haven't done this yourself, I wouldn't try it without experience. If you have, maybe I can workout a deal with you for my spare bearing.

In the meantime, do you have current measurements, relative to the transfer case output flange? I can check these for you.

Edit: I didn't want to discourage you, but driveshafts are heavy, and accidents happen... Case in point



I had safeties, (jackstands, partially set bolts, etc) and I removed them one by one to get more range and flexibility while I was under my truck. Then that happened. It happened back in May, but its not something I'm forgetting anytime soon.

 

Sean,

Thanks for the advice and taking the time to read my post. I have relied on two different shops to take angle measurements, but feel like it is best if I just buy my own angle finder and do it myself. As soon as I do that, I will post an update on the angles.

I have never installed a CB. The most I have done is simply take off the driveshaft to have the CB replaced and then reinstall it. I am afraid my "new" CB is a little too worn to add the silicon to. After all this headache I am tempted to just get a one piece and eliminate the vibrations all together.

BTW sorry to hear about the crazy accident. That didn't look too fun. Stitches?

 

If you can buy the one piece, I recommend that. I don't know about okc, but there is a company in tulsa on 11th street that can build you a one piece with a double cardon on the front. It's like the tom woods one but I think they could do it a lot cheaper. I was debating putting a double carson in the center joint on mine, and they quoted me around $400 (I have a DCLB and they would not do a one piece that length in my current tube size). That was a new center yoke, double carson, with shortening the rear shaft and balancing. I would think they could do a whole new shaft for cheaper than a Tom Woods plus shipping.

If you're willing to wait a week or two, I can send you an angle finder.

A side note, I thought I read you had your cb replaced at some point in time. If you did, who did it? Does is have the arrows stamped in the metal on it?

 

$400 isn't too bad. I will have to check out shops around here in OKC and get some quotes. Thanks for the offer on the angle finder but I am leaning towards just getting a new DS.

I did have my CB replaced last week and I THINK it did have the arrows stamped on it, but I would have to go look to be sure.

 

Even if you purchase a new shaft, you will still need to align your axle 1-2 degrees down of the new shaft. For this you should have an angle finder.

I don't think your new carrier bushing will permanently deformed just yet (The Toyota product has arrows, the dorman one doesn't). If you dare try the black RVT silicone, it comes in caulk gun sized tubes that make stuffing a cb much easier. You do need to set the parking brake, drop the bolts holding the cb and let the driveshaft rest on a jack stand. There are two large holes on the top and the small one on the bottom. You can push the RTV through the top holes until it comes out the bottom, do this on both sides and make sure you have the very top of the bushing filled as well. This can be a huge mess and can take 48 hours to set hard (driveshaft needs to be held by a jackstand until the RTV is set). But again I haven't tried this on a new bushing to see the results yet, and if your angles are off, it will just make something else the weak link ( ie. may cause driving vibrations if the shaft isn't aligned just prefect).

A new shaft will probably be more than $400 as you would need a new tube, and I'm not sure you can reuse the slip shaft section (if they could separate it from the old shaft, they would have to be willing to put it at the end of the new shaft, as the double cardon yokes have a ball and socket mechanism.) But I think locally you could get it made for $600 to $800, maybe less.

(oh and I didn't answer this before but yes that was 6 stitches)

 

Finally have a solution!!

Cost was $370 at Precision Drive LTD in OKC. David was very helpful and very fast. If anyone in the OKC area is looking to eliminate driveline vibrations and have a custom one piece driveshaft built, these are the guys to go to! The truck has no vibrations at any speeds and the truck simply feels more solid now. Best money I have spent on the truck.

 

glad to hear bennett. i was looking into the spacer might have to look for a shop around here and see what they can do. you have dakars with no shims or cb drop??

 

Correct. I tried all combinations of the shims and CB drop and never had any success. I think all of these trucks respond differently however and some guys have had luck with shims and/or a CB drop. They are fairly inexpensive and worth a try before resorting to a one piece driveshaft if you are experiencing vibes.

 

i had shims put in at the time of the leaf install. had a take off shutter and then put the ome cb drop in and that made the shutter worse and gave a 40-50 mph vibe so i took it back out. then had the shims taking back out and had vibes all around. then put just the cb drop in which is still in now and have a slight vibe at 50-60 mph. some days i think its fine and other days i hate it.

 

sounds all too familiar! The best setup for me was with neither the CB drop or shims. I was .6 degrees off in driveline angles but it was not close enough to eliminate the take off vibrations. Save yourself the headache and spend the money on a one piece driveline. I didn't lose much clearance and now it feels like a new truck!

 

sounds good. thanks again for posting this.

 

Bennett thanks again for this post. decided to wait on the ds until I get a new leaf pack. im sure it will raise the back up a little more.

 

Just found this thread. Very nice. The Go-Pro footage alone deserves a bump...

I'll just add that I'm getting this too with a completely stock 2013, so I'm not sure what that says about Tacoma's quality. But I just bought the truck a month ago and it was CPO with a full warranty. I doubt the dealer would be willing to ship in a custom drive shaft from Oklahoma, but do you think there's anything else that could be done?

Could this shudder lead to premature failure of parts, or is it just more of an annoyance?

I do plan on raising the truck ~2" in the next month or so, so maybe I'll just wait until after to see if that affects the shudder at all.

 

I would def take it in to the dealer before you lift anything.

 

Been doing some more reading on this.... not sure what to think anymore.

From what I read only trucks with 4+" lifts should need a CB drop.

The main symptom of axle wrap seems to be a *clunk* while accelerating and breaking. Definitely not what I'm seeing.

And the sheer number of posts and articles out there seems to indicate that a lot of Tacoma's have drivetrain vibrations.

Bennetts video seems to show exactly what I'm experiencing. Although it has been harder to reproduce the last couple days since it has gotten so cold out - although I think that may have to do with my tires not gripping as well, so I can't get as solid of a launch without the tires spinning.

Anyways.... have an appt. with the dealer for tomorrow morning, so we'll see what they say. At the very least I'll get this shudder on record before the lift.