Driveshaft failed...Please Help!

Well that's where I'm hoping to get, so you are totally right. I won't neglect again. I'm typically pretty good about this stuff, just been in a rut personally lately.

 

Thank you. Yeah I've been doing the oil regularly, and was about to drain and fill the trans, bought everything for it.
I'm not sure how to do the diffs, but was about to research it all. And you mean spark plugs right? Because yeah I gotta look into that too.

 

Thank you, I'm checking out that place right now!

 

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Thank you so much for the photo! I actually think I saw you posting in some other threads when I was researching all of this the other day haha. That is great news and totally makes sense.

Right now, it's looking like I maaaaay not have to drive it anywhere. Got it towed to a place I was iffy about, that I used like 7 years ago, but I just talked to the guy on the phone and I feel like he knows what he is doing.
I was thinking I would take it home and maybe drive it to another place or until I found a driveshaft, but I may just find the parts and have this mechanic put them on, because I don't think I have to go somewhere this week. But yeah we are still discussing it.
Thanks y'all!

 

Awesome, very helpful. This makes perfect sense. I will absolutely be conscious of all of these things, thank you. Very good points and tips.

 

Alright, it anyone is interested, I called Scotty's in Austin, and a super helpful guy answered the phone. Walked me through everything.
They don't stock new/used driveshafts, they either build or repair mostly. But he said occasionally they will have used ones laying around. None for my truck.
He said I could get the mechanic to remove it and I could bring it to him and he could look it over, BUT he said based on my detailed description, he may be able to rebuild the front part of the rear driveshaft, but he pretty much said the amount of work he would have rebuild and machine, it would be just as much as buying a new one. So....that's like 99.9% sure what I'm looking for now.
But yeah, they were great.

 

I agree with Alealexi, Id check to see if that shaft is good. It should be as long as its not bent. Id look at a junkyard for a shaft if it’s damaged. Save you some money

 

If you have the money (Roughly $800 I think), I would def look at the Tom woods 1 piece drive shaft. Way better than the 2 piece IMO

 

Thanks! Contacted some local junkyards, they didn't have squat so far.
I'm talking to the mechanic and a driveline shop about preserving this drive shaft, but they driveline shop said adding new u-joints, yokes, a new center bearing, and then balancing it would be about the same as an inexpensive new one. He quoted me $500+. Mostly because he'd be doing all the work I assume. If I could do it, I would...I'm just not well equipped.

 

Cool! Thanks for the rec! I'm definitely looking into it.

 

That doesn’t sound like a bad deal! Hopefully he gets you back on the road!

 

The amount of time you’ve spent asking for help and writing essays looking to feel important, you could have fixed the problem 10x.

 

I appreciate the feedback. Sorry I write so much. Hope you have a good day!

 

be careful, the front end is NOT usually limited slip. meaning, the inside wheel is under much stress (trying to spin the same amount as the outside) on a surface that has good traction.

parts can come apart in this situation...

 

I would expect some vibration in the truck before it explodes like that. Years ago I pulled out of a gas station and didn't even get up to 30 mph and I felt an unusual clunk, then vibration, something I never felt before. I pulled over to the side of the road, looked under the car at the rear differential and I could see the u-joint wasn't sitting in the right position so I nursed it home. When I got it apart nearly all the needle rollers were gone and the joint was dry. It was a used car I acquired a couple months earlier.

 

If you would have ordered an assembly yesterday, it would most likely been in your hands by weds. All you need is a 14mm and 17mm sockets and wrenches( swivel sockets and impact is faster yet), bit of lock tight wouldn't hurt either. Shouldn't take you any longer than 15-20 mins to install it. As mentioned before you have spent more time typing than it would to swap it out.

 

Thank you so much for the warning. Yeah I'm weighing my options, I may not need to drive it. But this is helpful, makes sense.

 

I mean, you're not wrong. There was a bit of vibrations for a little while, but honestly nothing new since I bought it. So maybe the problem was already happening when I purchased the truck. Yeah I absolutely should have looked far earlier.
The only big vibrations showed up the day before it came apart for me. I was literally driving to AutoZone to get some sockets and wrenches.

 

Thank you for detailing the sockets it would take, no one has pointed that out yet, I appreciate it. I do have have an impact driver.
It was the weekend, I was trying to stay local, no place was open. I've called some today and I should have one soon.
Good news that is should be quick and easy. I may still have this mechanic do it since he already has the truck right now and there is still the problem of the transfer case.

It's simple and I'll be ok, you are right. Sorry for typing so much about my Tacoma, I simply thought people enjoyed discussing Tacomas on here. I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

Grease guns are cheap and you should have at least inspected your drive shaft when the noise first started. If the drive shaft had dug into the pavement the damage would have been much, much worse. You're a very lucky dude in this regard. Good luck getting it fixed and let this be a lesson on keeping up with basic maintenance.