Tacoma moneypit or easy fix?

Hi there,
Recently purchased an ‘07 Tacoma with 70k original miles. Flushed/filled all fluids. Everything looked fine except diff oil. Was 1/2 quart low, had a metallic hue, and magnet had a moderate amount of metal goop on it. Guy who owned it previously did some towing with it. Anyways, I’ve been noticing a whirring/droning noise from the rear at low speeds(maybe it’s there at higher speeds too but I don’t hear it), the truck feels like it doesn’t want to grab when I am turning up a hill( Maybe also while making other maneuvers, but I don’t notice it any other time ), I get a delayed thud/clunk after coming to a complete stop (the thud/clunk becomes more noticeable as the stop is performed from higher speeds ). Braking also feels a little lazy. Petal isn’t mushy or anything. It just feels lazy. Like I have a little bit of give in the pedal before it’ll even do anything noteworthy. Pads and shoes/hardware is good. Fluid is good. System has no air in it. Rotors are perfect.

thoughts?

 

Forgot to mention. Could not locate any leaks in the diff. Everything was dry.

 

Worst case: Buy a used 3rd member, a few hundred bucks from a yard. I bought a complete axle for like 600 last year. Or a shop will regear with new gears for maybe 1k.

Brakes on these trucks suck, so long as it stops safely, sounds normal to me.

Good luck.

Oh and the thud is the splines in the drive shaft. It's normal, but you can disassemble axle and regrease the splines if you want. Mark the orientation before disassembly.

The post below is right too, check the axle seals by pulling the drums. Oil in there is bad.

Edit 2: this is a 3rd member, it connects the driveshaft to the axle housing and contains the diff gears. You have to pull the axles out to remove it so you'll want to replace the axle seals as part of the job.

 

Some metal debris is Normal if the fluid has never been changed.
Low fluid could also mean a leaking axle seal, which can lead to premature rear wheel bearing failure.
Which can also sound like what you describe.
Or, it very well could be the Differential.

Is you Differential Limited Slip?
If so, did you use the correct Additive?

In my opinion, the truck is worth spend money on, so long as the frame and other “big parts” are in good shape.

 

what do you mean by 3rd member? Not familiar with the lingo

 

Put a rear end in it

Drive it

 

yes the differential is limited slip. Has the “LSD oil only” sticker on it and all that jazz. I did F up a tiny bit and put amsoil 80W90 GL5 in it instead of the spec 75W90 GL5. Don’t really think that would cause any issues though unless I was in severe cold climates. I will have to check the axle seals as soon as I figure out what those are and where they are. I only mean that as half a joke, haha. Still learning. I’m coming into this truck from a pos 98 Taurus

 

I like your no nonsense approach. I’ll counter with this

give me the money for my rear end and I’ll do it

 

You didn't set any money aside for unexpected stuff with the new (used) vehicle? No pre-sale inspection?

Tsk.. tsk

 

I would check the universal joints just because the clunk noise would concern me a little bit. Possibly the carrier bearing look at that too.
More than likely the only thing it needs is for you to get used to it

I mean because you said it was new that's all.

 

Nah I did. Just felt like shitposting a little and seeing where it landed

 

You’ll know they are leaking when Diff Fluid leaks from your rear brake drums.
Crawl under and take a look at the bottom of the rear drum. Seeks there is evidence of a leak.
Or, pull the drums off and have a look at the shoes. They will usually be covered in fluid.

 

I'll add to this and say that differential being low on oil wouldn't be enough to be a concern of it grenade itself. More of concern where it went or could even been little low from factory.
Get some limited slip additive in there ASAP.

 

So the thunk you’re hearing might be axle wrap. My Gen 1 had it and the only fix was a new leaf pack for the rear suspension. I apologize but I can’t help much with the rear diff problems. Best of luck to you.

 

Update to anyone who may be looking at this in the future trying to figure out the same problem… truck is currently in the hands of a trustworthy shop I found in the area that does differential service. They concur that the issue is differential related and will be pulling the cover and examining things underneath more in depth on Tuesday. Will update once informed

 

I did do this a few weeks ago and there were no leaks to be seen. No idea where the fluid went. The shop I took the truck to will be trying to figure that out

 

To take a look, they will have to pull the 3rd member. Which requires unbolting the axles. Hopefully they cut you a break on Diag time if you use them to repair the diff.

keep us updated. Good luck

 

oh my lord.. yes I completely forgot about that. I’ve never dealt with a differential that doesn’t have a split cover for access. This is exactly why my stupid a** is letting a professional deal with this

 

Then drive it till it breaks, then put a new rear end in it. If a simple fix doesn't correct the problem just keep driving it. At this point it is just an annoyance, not a real problem. Chances are good it'll keep working for a long time before you have to do anything. Enough time to budget for it.

 

I am with Marshall. Do a fluid change and then drive the Taco until something gets very loud or breaks. I bought a very used 2009 with various noises and it has been running fine for years.

The brakes on these older Tacos are mushy compared to a modern car. Take it easy and enjoy the ride.