HELP 1st gen driveline clunk

hey fellas, I've finally gotten close to making my 1st gen (2001, auto tranny) as mint as financially possible and have been confronted with one final hurdle to leap. At around 10-25 mph when accelerating after slight, sudden braking, my car makes a clunk sound (similar to the clunk the air conditioning makes)- it also happens occasionally when decelerating. this started happening around 6 months of me owning the car and hasn't gotten much that much worse since then. Part of me wants to chalk this up to the harmless quirks of an old truck and part of me wants to just f*cking fix it lol. I've taken it to several mechanics( two of which were transmission shops ) and all of them have said its mechanically immaculate. Does anyone else have this issue, and if so, should I fix it or leave it?

BTW ive already greased all the u joint zerks, replaced the carrier bearing, greased the diff spline/ slip yoke and had the tranny checked.

 

*** btw i dont know if this is related, but when it drives in reverse, the tranny clicks twice as it initially rolls backwards.

 

suspension

 

u chnage the ball joints?

 

uhhh no i didn't and im pretty sure theyre the original 2001 ones too. I had them checked out as well though and was told they were in good condition so idk.

 

i would change them ASAP

 

would they make that sort of clunk noise? its not a repetitive clunk noise and it doesnt happen while turning

 

bump

 

How is the rear driveshaft angle going into the differential?

If your rear leaf springs are original and sagging it could be axle wrap.

 

Check the inner/outer tie rod for play. Mine made the clunk cause if a worn out inner tie rod.

 

more of a squeak, but I would replace those lower ball joints asap. The clunk wont ripped your wheel out but a ball joint failure will. They are over 20 years old and a known weak part on these trucks.

 

not saying replacing the ball joints isn't always a good safe option, but your symptoms sound exactly like the driveline issue I recently fixed. my driveshaft is different than yours, no carrier bearing, but my issue was the double cardon joint. I believe extended cabs have one of these joints, too. I'm sure yours wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as mine got, but it kinda sounds like what I was experiencing 6 months ago. Here was mine when I finally found the problem, I ended up replacing it at a wrecker's. Pretty easy to get under there and check it out.

 

awesome dude thanks for this, this seems pretty plausible imma go check it out rn

 

This is "VERY" sound advice and should be #1 on your list if these have never been changed. Google 1st gen Tacoma lower ball joint failure, or try searching here on TW. It's a disaster waiting to happen and will cause serious damage to you truck. Don't be cheap and replace them with Genuine Toyota parts, you'll be glad you did.