Squeaking noise and severe vibration at 40-50 mph

So my 2010 Tacoma TRD OR with 88k miles had a loud squeak once it began rolling and a severe vibration from 40-50 mph. The vibration would stop once the gas pedal was released.

Took it to my Toyota dealership, had a young mechanic take a ride with me. He diagnosed it as a bad drive shaft and a bad wheel bearing. $2,000. Told them I want to think about it. Left with my wallet intact.

I then took my truck to a local garage, didn't tell them of the Dealership diagnosis. Told the guy at the counter about the squeak and vibration. He diagnosed it as U joints. They checked it, said I had 3 bad U joints. They fixed them and solved the problem. Cost of the repairs was $425.

I do take my truck to hunting camp and get it in the mud and sand. Was disappointed to have this type of problem already. Thanks for this forum and the opportunity to share this story.

 

Wow. Big difference!

 

yup sounds about right. Toyota will not replace just the u joints on the driveshaft... you can not buy just the u joints from toyota so the whole shaft has to be "replaced"

u joints are 15-30 bucks a piece and you need 3 of them... so parts can be had for 50 to 100 bucks.

 

Second opinions on your car may be more important than with your doctor!

I took a 2005 Camry SE in to Toyota dealer for a recall on a item under the hood. Dropped it off, drove 10 minutes across town with someone else and got a phone call. Odd that they'd call me after 10 minutes right? Service adviser tells me my car has an issue. Thing had less than 50k on the odo and ran beautifully. First owner. So they tell me the water pump is gushing, the belts are frayed and about to snap, and it needs a fuel injection service. At first I'm shocked and ask how much. They say $1,000.

I realize I had changed my own air filter not a week prior to this. The belts seemed fine back then. And that vehicle NEVER dropped fluid of ANY kind.

So I tell them to only make the recall repair. I pick it up, take it to a private shop and leave it there the next morning. They checked it bumper to bumper FOR FREE and told me they could not find a single issue with that vehicle. Guy said he'd drive it to the east coast on vacation right then and there he felt so confident in my car. Saved me $1,000 in repairs that weren't needed at all.

 

Gotta love the dealers prices!

 

Twenty thousand dollars! Crap..

 

I agree with Doording .
With 88k on the truck , it would be interesting to know how often the joints were lubed .
As a general rule , i do mine at every oil change

 

As do I!

 

Guilty as charged. They were not lubed by me not sure if they were by the dealer at one time. Can anyone point me to a sticky on lube procedure? Thank you. Love this forum!

 

look under my user name posts i have started 5 speed transmission . i am on my phone or i would post up the link for you

 

Go to local auto parts store, or Harbor freight, buy one of these.... Grease the shaft every oil change, takes maybe 2 or 3 minutes...obviously this will only apply to shafts with zerk fittings, the newer trucks have no zerks, hmm, wonder why (Toyota wants failure, makes money for them)

285,000 miles on mine, still all the original universals, but second center support bearing, lubed every 5,000 to 8,000 miles with oil change..works for me....

 

Thanks folks its appreciated!

 

Thanks for that info

 

Do u have zerk fittings on your LCA's? Or whats the easiest way to grease them? Having a popping problem in mine when i back up then hit the brakes. I'm thinking it could be the LCA's, but checked it out and everythings tight.

 

Did u replace or modify your originals?

 

Thanks, I had considered replacing the cams with moog. As a former installer of them I am aware that they give higher degree range. Which I desperately need. However I did not know that these now come with zerk fittings. Will definitely replace these ASAP. Thanks a million!!!

 

I have a 2006 2wd double cab V6 and I was having sever vibration in between 20-30 mph and even worse from 40-55 mph. I knew it had to be something in the drivetrain since the vibration only came when the pedal was engaged. The first and probably cheapest thing I did was replace all three of the u-joints , parts were only $70 and labor was $165 and now my truck runs smoother than ever. I have recently noticed a squeaking noise coming from the rear and sure enough the leaf spring on the right rear had the rubber insert missing and Toyota has a recall for my model for the leaf springs but somehow don't have a "remedy" for it? How is that even possible...

 

Well you can always do it yourself. Just jack the truck up and pry apart the springs and stick a piece of innertube folded in half between the leaf packs.$10 fix and about 45 mins and it's done. FYI I think your dealer is wrong there have been plenty of guys on here take theirs to the dealer for the remedy, but it doesn't last. Some even heard it start again just a few miles down the road