Rear axle replacement (rumble strip, shudder while braking)

Hello all. Brought my truck into the dealer today for the following, would like to post about it if anyone runs into anything similar (which I know there are many threads but I thought helpful to group my particular issues together). This is the second time I brought my truck in, first time everything was "normal" but now I feel somewhat vindicated.

2017 SR5 with 6600 miles.

-Notchy, loose feeling brake pedal ... confirmed this feeling with other SR5 on lot
-Rumble strip vibration between 30-10, particularly 20-16mph
-Shuddering when hard braking from highway speeds
-Rear howling at all speeds when lightly accelerating
-Brake squeal (intermittent) when coming to full stop

The tech adjusted my rear drums which made my pedal feel A LOT better, almost like new. Notchiness is still there but I don't feel as annoyed by it after I sat in two other SR5 on lot with same feel. The tech also discovered that my axle flange diameter is slightly out of spec which may be causing the vibration and noise. I didn't know there was a TSB for this in particular. Parts come in on Tuesday for new axle parts/drums, hopefully this works.

 

FYI, it is T-SB-0023-18. I can't find much on TW about it. Has anyone had experience with it?

 

Parts came in and truck is being dropped off tomorrow. Hoping this takes care of rumble strip feeling in the 20-16 mph range, but I'm doubtful!

 

http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=204867
For those curious

 

Thanks for posting

 

Please post the results after!

 

I have this. I've been meaning to go in an get it taken care of. I wanted to make sure the techs were up to speed on the fix before going in.

 

Wow, finally someone with the same issue. What kind of issues were you having that prompted you to bring it in? To be honest, I'm getting a little anxiety about it as I haven't recieved any specifics in writing as far as how out of spec my axle is, and with my luck something will get worse. But I'm meeting with the service advisor before handing my keys over to get all the info. I did spend a few hours with the tech on Saturday when they were looking at my truck. He said he hopes it'll take care of low speed rumble, howl from the rear (unlikely), and some brake vibration but of course he isn't sure if it will absolutely work. Worth a shot as it fits the bill of the TSB, though. He was explaining to me what was involved, but because I had been there for five hours all I was really hearing was they verified my concerns and did find something out of whack. He seemed very competent.

Also, how major of a repair is this?

 

I believe it's also referred to as warped axle, that'll probably get you a little more info if you search for that. The only thing I have is the rumble at lower speed braking. I first noticed it with about 100 miles on the truck. It got a little worse up to about 500 miles, it's basically the same now as it was at 500, I'm sitting at 1200. I'll probably take it in soon.

 

Is your rumble directly related to braking, or deceleration? Mines the latter. I was getting intermittent vibration at

 

I misunderstood. Mine is only happening when braking.

 

Gotcha. Well, either way, I'll let you know the results.

 

Dropped off. Fingers crossed. I got a 2018 sport as a loaner, so much nicer than the SR5. This has a little deceleration rumble as well. No rear howl which is just so f'ing nice .

 

Hey did you get it back? I have a 2018 2wd sport that rumbles while slowing down. Took it to my dealer. Tech drove a couple of other trucks on the lot and he surmised that it was some type of harmonic vibration with the engine, tires, and setup of the cab. What I find interesting though is when I put it in neutral and brake it's still there. If I put it in neutral and kill the engine and slow down, it goes away. To me not sure the tires are involved with it because of this. If I cruise at 22-23 it vibrates at that speed constantly.

 

Hey man. Not yet, it's all done but I'm picking it up tomorrow. They said everything came out great. Frankly, I'm not convinced anything will be different. Reason being the 2018 I am driving as a loaner feels exactly the same as my truck, maybe worse. Wondering if I've been hypersensitive and it's actually not an issue. But, nevertheless, it's possible that the axle issue was indeed causing weird vibes and noises. Will find out tomorrow. My "sweet spot" is 16-20 and it drives me up a wall. Give them this TSB number, see if anything is found on yours .Worth a shot.

 

Thanks bud. Yea I had them check today. My truck was built in May so it didn't apply. I'm like you, I may be being hypersensitive but it just doesn't seem right. The tech drove an SR and also a Limited and they both did it to some degree as well. I may feel it more in my sport because of the stiffer suspension they come with. To me it could translate to premature wear of some kind. But again, every Tacoma I've owned has vibrated to some extent. This is my third. I had a Tundra that would do it at 45 mph. It could just be a refinement issue? Since it's documented though, you'd think if anything were to fail because of it they'd be on the hook. Check in tomorrow!

 

Will absolutely check in. I've personally never owned a truck. Jeep XJ was a toaster on wheels. Had a 2015 Grand Cherokee that was smooth as butter. This just makes driving uncomfortable, especially because I'm in traffic a lot during my commute. I'm starting to think I should have just let it be, but because of how vague the TSB is in regards to noise and vibration, who the hell knows what it may take care of. If nothing, I got a new axle out of it.

 

Yep I hear ya. So the loaner you have, can you describe the vibs you're getting in it? Mine does it mainly when slowing down in the 20-25 mph range.

 

Same thing, 18-25 mph only on deceleration. Feels like a subtle rumble strip, but it's almost like you can't really feel it inside the actual truck...if that makes sense? Like when you go over an actual rumble sttip, you can feel it all over the place including in your body. I can not tell if it's coming from the front or rear.

 

Yep exactly as mine. Feel it some in the steering wheel?