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Just changed U Joints..Now i get squeeky noise and feels like transmission slipping

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by bruce1271, Nov 28, 2009.

  1. Nov 28, 2009 at 11:59 AM
    #1
    bruce1271

    bruce1271 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Well, I thought the joint change would fix all of my issues since i did have a bad joint. I went for a drive and the first minute seemed good. Then came the squeaking under load(acceleration and braking). Then I tried putting my foot on the brake and started off slowly letting the truck move but under braking, I fel a few gives either in the transmission or ujoints. It came and went. I then got under the truck and felt the u joints for heat. Not much, excpet the shaft close to the tranny was warm and the tranny was hot to touch. Is this normal? Should it be that hot that I feel it in the drive shaft?
    how in the world am i squeeking with new u joints? I am annoyed.
     
  2. Nov 28, 2009 at 12:29 PM
    #2
    mixaro

    mixaro Well-Known Member

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    well your tranny should be a little warm, but as for the u joints i had the same problem, i climbed under and everthing seemed tight, but my gf's father whos a mechanic, said that with the newer trucks you can't really feel if a u joint is bad unless it's really gone. so my guess is that you have another bad one. also did you grease it after you put it all back together?
     
  3. Nov 28, 2009 at 12:44 PM
    #3
    Asgard

    Asgard Well-Known Member

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    ^^ In a previous thread the OP said he changed all 3 u-joints.
     
  4. Nov 28, 2009 at 7:02 PM
    #4
    bruce1271

    bruce1271 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yes, sorry for the confusion. I changed all 3 joints. Some were very stiff after the change. Hard to move by hand. I talked with a friend mechanic and he said I most likely pounded the caps on too tight and I need to pound out each center to push the caps out in either direction then recenter it. I guess we are talking about fractions of a mm. I got the lifetime warranty ones from AutoZone, they do not have zerk fittings and came pre-greased. A few were very tight to get on. I had to hammer some caps down hard with a socket. I guess i will remove it tomorrow and try what he says unless any of you think they may work themselves out.
    I am going to get the tranny fluid changed at the dealer on Monday. No sense waiting any longer and with some spilling out, might as well.

    Thanks
     
  5. Nov 28, 2009 at 7:05 PM
    #5
    Asgard

    Asgard Well-Known Member

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    FWIW They took mine to a machine shop and had it "pressed in".
     
  6. Nov 28, 2009 at 9:23 PM
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    Viet2100

    Viet2100 Well-Known Member

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    You definitely don't want them in too tight... When I press my caps in, I tapped them in and checked after each tap to see if there is enough room just to put in the new "c" clips.
     
  7. Nov 28, 2009 at 11:04 PM
    #7
    RWS_350MAG

    RWS_350MAG Well-Known Member

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    You may have knocked out some of the needle bearings in the caps when you were hammering the caps in.
     
  8. Nov 28, 2009 at 11:19 PM
    #8
    Yoytoda

    Yoytoda The Little Truck That Could

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    x2 put them in just enough to get the new clip in.
     
  9. Nov 29, 2009 at 6:36 AM
    #9
    bruce1271

    bruce1271 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I put them in evenly on both sides and stopped on both sides right before there was enough room to put the clips in. Then I tapped on in and put the clip in. Then turned it over and tapped the other side pretty hard to get that clip in. That last tap or tow is when they became tight to rotate to the hand. I had to use about 75% of my strength to rotate those by hand. I thought they were too tight, but thought that maybe the grease would squeeze out after they heat up and then they would loosen up a bit.

    Ok, here is a another question. AutoZone gave me 3 U joints all of the same model type and number(ie all the same size). I look on Napa auto parts and they have 3 different model numbers. One for front/mid/rear end. Are there three different sizes for this drive shaft? Or are all 3 the same size?

    Thanks for your help.
     
  10. Nov 29, 2009 at 6:42 AM
    #10
    Asgard

    Asgard Well-Known Member

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  11. Nov 29, 2009 at 7:13 AM
    #11
    mixaro

    mixaro Well-Known Member

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    no they should all be the same, atleast they are on mine, and yeah you should be able to move the u joint with a little effort but not much. i mean you will be able to notice that it is tighter then before with the old ones. another thing it may just be me but always get things with grease fitting if you can.
     
  12. Nov 29, 2009 at 7:44 AM
    #12
    bruce1271

    bruce1271 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Well, I just went for a longer drive..20min or so. The sqeeks stopped a few minutes into it and didnt come back. What do you all think? Think I should just keep an eye on it and let it go? Or take it back off and try to center the joints better? I am not going off road anytime soon.

    All 3 are the same...thanks for the replies. I thought about getting the one with the fittings, but they were considered the "cheaper" versions. The lifetime warranty ones were 15/each. Half of what I expected.

    Thanks
    Bruce
     

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