TRD Off-Road Loose Diff/Trans?

I've got a 2012 TRD Off-Road that seems to have a bit of play when braking or taking off. The only way I can think to explain it is that it feels like there is a gap between some of the gears.

Was wondering if this has happened to someone already before I replace brakes or u-joints. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Yes, I think it's my LCA bushings. I've replaced bearings and ball joints which addressed most of the play but I still feel some looseness in the front suspension. Have replaced u-joints and carrier bearing also, but I never suspected those were the cause.

 

Thanks Chuy, my only concern is that my truck is a 2012 with 45k on the dash. Should those things be an issue at this point?

 

It kind of sounds like U-Joints to me, is there any clunking sound when you hit the gas and back off? I am new to the Tacoma, but, as an old jeep guy, I don't think your bushings should be bad at 45000 miles. I would take a grease gun to every zerk fitting you can find on the drive shaft and see if that helps.

 

It depends you the type of miles the truck has seen. If mostly highway then something might be amiss. If you off-road, there is no guarantee how long components could last. Also, if you hit a pothole hard or ran over the sidewalk, this could cause premature/accelerated wear.

 

Chuy is right, if you off-road, you'd be amazed at how fast you can wear out bearings, bushings, and U-joints. I remember when Jeep switched over to the wrangler TJ we where all driving those off-road in muddy PA. I am pretty sure I was making similar repairs on my TJ at 60,000 miles that I was making on my CJ.

 

I bought it used two months ago so any previous driving conditions are unknown to me. I'm changing the oil this weekend and guess I will be shaking the drive shaft too.

 

Let me say first, I'm not the guy to answer on the trucks features. I went with the Off Road over the sport on coolness factor. Do I think the sport is sharp? Absolutely

 

Got under the car and shook some shit. Wanted to check there brakes but somehow the road side lug wrench is not the correct side. Thankfully I didn't need it. I digress... How much wiggle room does the carriage bearing have?

 

A year later, still same thing. Anyone have this issue?

 

I had the same issue. It ended up being the transmission mount where it bolts to the brace. The thin plate is really easy to strip the threads out of. I ended up just buying a little bit longer bolts and some washers and nuts - problem solved. I played the bushing chase game too before figuring that out...