Let's play a game called "Diagnosis". It'll be fun... because it's not your truck.

Hell yeah I'll let you take a look! I'll even let you drive it so you can try out that new seat massager I'm trying to get rid of. Gimme a time and a place (after 6pm) I'll be glad to drive out your way.

 

I'll line that up tonight with a string on the zerks and check those mounts too.

Maaaann, I liked that spacer. It was my favorite. Now I'm going to have to take it to the shop so they can take it out... 2 months after they put it in. Maybe I can pretend my wife made me do it .

 

We're about to go get dinner, and that'll take a while. If you're OK with making a trip out Bardstown Rd, about 6 miles south of Gene Snyder Freeway, and meet me at the first parking lot on the right side of the road in the Parklands of Floyds Fork, there's plenty of good road there to take it for a test run. I'll PM my cell # in a minute. If that's too far, we can always do this another time. I usually have more time, but my wife is not feeling well, and I'm playing nurse tonight.

 

OK....We met up and I got to drive the truck...Long story short, there is nothing seriously wrong. Just a short list of minor tweaks will bring it in focus. It flat drives too nice to be a bad problem. Alignment is spot on by the way it tracks and drives. Tires are well balanced and have great road manners.

From my limited knowledge, the carrier bearing appears a bit worn. Maybe a 1/4" play up and down, with drive shaft sitting slightly off center in the bearing. My money is on this as the high speed vibration culprit.

Due to where we were able to test drive, no speeds over 45 and that was just for a few seconds.....but there wasn't any notable vibration at those speeds. CV joints seemed to be in good shape, no scuffing or wear on the boots....Angles aren't as severe as mine, which aren't causing any issues...

The suspension is stiff but not harsh. Sitting next to my truck and it's 3" of lift, this one seems to be 3" or more in the front and maybe more than my 2" rear lift. It might be beneficial to remove the front spacer, maybe not. If the spacer goes away, to keep the truck level, there are two overloads on the rear leaf packs. Maybe one of them could go bye bye. That would lower the rear around 1/2"

Squeaks sound like my formerly squeaky LCA bushings. Fixed mine with lube. I suspect the same would cure these.

Needs a pan gasket.

But....I've drove trucks that had a LOT more serious problems....This one isn't bad at all...just a couple annoyances. And, as I said, it drives better than 98% of the lifted Tacoma's I've ever driven.

 

I don't think it is your oil pan leaking, the oil is streaming down from the front. I'm betting timing cover by the power steering pump, since that's common. Or the front crank seal if it's not the timing cover.

Look for oil at the highest / furthest forward spot wet with oil, and you should be pretty close to the source of the leak. To verify, you can clean it off with some brake clean and see where it gets wet with oil after a short drive.

 

You could be right. I saw oil around the pan rail on the block, but did NOT pursue the source..... More focused on driveline and suspension.

 

Yeah, in the photo it is wet up on the "upper oil pan" in front of the tin oil pan, so I'm pretty sure what is showing up around the tin pan is all from above / in front.

 

I had to have my front timing cover gasket replaced, along with a bunch other little gaskets/seals that Toyota Knoxville said needed to be done at the same time @ about 130,000. Leaking oil down the front of the engine, and blowing along the back, looking like it was a pan gasket. They did replace that as well when they pulled the timing cover off, and did all the other oil seals as well. Luckily it was still under the extended warranty from them, since the bill would have been over $1000, parts and labor. I got away for about $125, and no more leaks!

 

For those worried about my oil pan...

 

I'd love to. But I don't have the tools or the time to just take it out and see if that fixes everything. I'd have to take it to a shop and pay them ($100, easy). Plus I'd be out of my DD for a day and have to get it aligned afterwards even if it does fix the issue ($60). And if it doesn't? Then another $100 to put it back in.

The u-joints probably need to be replaced anyway so I'm going to do those. Since I can do that in my driveway with a rented u-joint puller. The carrier bearing is cheap as well and comes off at the same time so it'll get replaced too. I'll line everything up nice and straight and drive it for a bit. Hopefully that solves it. When those hub/bearing assemblies get in, they'll go on with a rented 200ft/lbs torque wrench in the driveway. (thanks @BamaToy1997)
I don't know what's going on with the oil leak, I'll try the gasket first since I can do that myself.

If, after all that, I'm still getting the vibes the spacer is definitely the next thing to go. I suspect it's probably the issue too, but I can't afford the time or money to pull it right now.

Thanks for the meetup @Bluegrass Taco, I'm glad it's not anything major.

 

Alrighty boyos and girlygoos. Update time.

After many hours (like 4) and many curse words (like 4^4) I've replaced the carrier bearing, the u-joint right beside it (because I fucked up the perfectly good one already in there), got rid of the 1/2" CB drop, tightened up the cab bolts, and adjusted the driveline angle. Of those things, the only thing I believe did much was replacing the CB. Now the "gritty" acceleration is gone and the vibes at 55-65mph are definitely less dramatic. So thanks @Bluegrass Taco for that pointer. I assume the "grittiness" as I keep calling it was just a mild vibration caused by the worn out CB.

Next Steps:
1. Replace the hub assemblies
2. Test
3. Put the 1/4" CB drop back in
4. Test
5. Take it to the shop and get a quote to remove the spacer and maybe a leaf
6. If PRICE = 'ACCEPTABLE' then 'PAY', else Step7
7. Call it quits because the vibration really isn't that bad and the rest of the time it's smooth as glass so you should just praise Lord Lifticus that he's let you get away with what you have.

Here are the before and after on the driveline rejiggering:





PRO TIPS:
1. Always be sure and chock your wheels before removing a linkage in your driveline because having the transmission in Park doesn't really help if it's not connected to your rear wheels.
2. If you're trying to get that pesky U-joint back into place and it's just a little bit off... try shifting into Neutral. DO NOT UNDER VERY MANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEMPT TO MOVE/ROCK THE TRUCK WHILE YOU'RE UNDER IT IN ORDER TO SPIN THE REAR PORTION OF THE DRIVESHAFT INTO THE CORRECT POSITION. You'll be tired, greasy, and pissed at yourself later on when you realize the other end spins too.

 

Update #2

1. Added the 1/4" CB drop again.
2. Removed the sway bar relocation kit.

Vibes are all but gone, I may even be imagining them now they're so minimal. Clunk is reduced drastically. Squeaks even seem much quieter, hopefully they go away on their own.

While I had the skid plate off I made sure and follow the oil trail to see if I could find my leak. After what I saw I think I'm just going to bring it into a shop and have them do my troubleshooting. I'm all about the DIY when it's in my wheelhouse but engines I mostly leave to the experts.

 

If you get ambitious and try ONE MORE TIME to find the leak, I'd get in there with a couple cans of Gunk (or similar brand) of degreaser, and clean it up as good as you can. Blast it with a pressure washer (or car wash) once the degreaser has loosened everything. Then drive it enough to dry off everything and look for NEW oil/signs of leak. As it is, you have so much going on, it's hard to tell where it's coming from.

Or....

Let the pro's have at it. (like you already mentioned)

Glad to hear the vibration issue and the clunking issue seem to be in the rear view mirror.

 

Still considering removing the spacer. I don't really need the extra height and it does seem like it's playing merry hell with my CV angles. I guess it depends on how much the shop decides to charge for the privilege. Man, all the parts I've bought and taken off I'm going to have to do one of those "cleaning out the garage" sales I look at all the time on the Buy/Sell section.