YEP..I have axle wrap!!

Let me start off by saying hello tacomaworld. I have been reading thread after thread on this site for the last week and wow have i learned alot about my newly purchased 08 DC TRD off-road. My truck has 80,000 miles and I was concerned about the thud whenever I was braking at red lights and then after accellerating. After research on the problem i found that many of you have this same problem.
MY QUESTION IS, what fix do you guys recomend for me to do? I have read of a couple like changing leafs, adding a traction bar, or u-bolts to the leafs. I am also going to check the torque on the U-bolts to see if they are tight to around 70lbs. I like the idea of the u bolts because it is cheap. I currently cant afford to spend a ton of money on a new rearend. Tacoma experts let me know what you think.

ps. it is bone stock

 

It sounds like you've done your research and discovered an option that fits your budget. Job well done! I think that would work well and solve your issue. I'm in a similary boat and may need to do the same thing.

 

That's how I eliminated most of my axle wrap clunk. I put clamps exactly one inch in front of the U-bolt.
It's a cheap fix but it works.

 

I installed these --> http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQToyotaQQTacomaQQHellwigQQHelper_SpringQQ20052011QQH63981.html

 

How well did the helper do with the axle wrap? Did it effect your ride at all. Also, what is your new weight capacity?

 

I like the clamps you put in front of the U-bolts. I am definitly going to try this out sometime next week until i can afford a more expensive solution. Shoot it might do the trick.
Thanks for the input guys.

 

haven't installed my airlift airbags yet, I'm wondering if anyone that has installed them noticed the annoying pop disappear? Might be an alternative to a nice upgrade and an annoying axle-wrap solution!

 

I had axel wrap that was very annoying during both stopping and taking off 90% of the time. I considered the helper spring but didnt want it to stiffen up the ride so I gave the clamp a try first. I added the clamp 2" in front of the axel and now the wrap feeling is all but eliminated. About 10% of the time I feel a very minimal wrap when stopping and that is about it.

Since adding the clamp, I added a 1" block in the back to level out the back of the truck once the rear TSB springs started to settle more due to my tonneau cover. The axel wrap did not return. I have been very satisfied with the ride and feel during taking off and stopping.

 

Damn now I gotta try this

 

That is awesome. I can't wait to try out the clamps and see what results i get. I will try to get the parts Thurs or Fri and clamp her down. Ill post an update when i get some miles on the project.

 

What did your axle wrap sound like when braking? I have this noise that has gotten worse when stopping. The bigger the tires, the worse it gets and the more miles I put on doesn't help.

It use to only happen when I would brake really hard but now does it under almost normal braking. In my case it sounds like the U joint binding and making a knocking sound as I slow down. It only makes this noise it if I gas it in reverse or under braking. When I brake over bumpy roads it gets really bad, like the rear end wants to fall off.

Both the braking and hard reversing torque the leafs in the same direction (I think). I also hear it going fast over speed bumps sometimes as a single loud knock, which leads me to believe maybe it's loose U bolt/'s. I might have 2 things going on at the same time.

 

sub

 

What is aal and TSB pack? Excuse my noobness lol.

 

AAL = Add A Leaf
TSB = 4 leaf pack Toyota came out with as an upgrade that helps the bottoming out problem the standard 3 leaf packs have. Toyota dealers will install them no charge if you complain properly and are still in the 3/36k warranty. The TSBs are only a temporary fix for the axle wrap problem. Once the TSB springs break in the axle wrap comes back.

 

The dealership does it you say. Well im well past the original 3/36. It is a 08' with 82,000 I did however get a new 3/36 when i purchased the truck a month ago. Was it like a recall or something? So do you now have 5 leafs?

 

I like that. Double nutting shows you know some things.

 

Yeah, after stomping on it from 1st to 2nd, I can feel the clunk. Weird how this is probably the baddest truck on the planet other than a Unimog and a deuce and a half, but they just can't get it perfect.

 

It was only for trucks within the factory warranty. I have an 08 that I bought with 42000 miles and I brought it to there attention with a extended warranty that I purchased from the same dealership and they told me no. Your better off going after market. look inyo some Bilstein 5100 adjustable shocks and an aal. That will help out tremendously.

 

The helper springs did stiffen the back end up, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. In fact, cornering seems a lot tighter with them on and there's no load in bed. Hellwig advertises a weight capacity of up to 2500 lbs I think, but they caveate that with "never exceed manufacturer suggested capacity". I haven't hauled anything above ~1100 lbs in the bed, but I can say that there's absolutely no excessive sagging in the back end with that kind of weight. The springs keep the back end level with, or higher, than the front when carrying heavier loads >800 lbs.

 

You may have seen my spring clamp fix but turns out to be only a band-aid solution. It did help point me to the real fix but I'm kicking myself because I missed the actual problem when it was right under my nose and it's so easy and makes so miuch sense. Forget the clamp thing (sorry if you took my advice and bought clamps). The real fix is free and requires no parts.

I saw thread http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/222674-ubolts-under-torqued.html , put two and two together and realized this has been the problem all along. I removed the spring clamps and torqued my axle u-bolts down to 70 lb/ft. This has completely fixed the axle wrap, firmed up the rear suspension back to where it was when it was new and also fixed the 60 mph drone problem I was having.

All this time I thought my leaf springs had wore out but all that happened was the u-bolts gradually loosened over time. I think the u-bolts should be checked and retorqued on a regular basis like say every 30k miles. This should be in the Tacoma maintenance manual.

Kudos to TW user 4WD for posting that milestone thread.