My truck is falling apart

If it's torque converter shudder "rumble strip" try changing the fluid, it helps many people.

 

DS looks normal, good, if joints feel solid... Then could be the transmission.

 

Say.....You aren’t by chance drink’n and swerving onto the rumble strip, are ya?

 

Lol. Most people say theirs feels like a rumble strip, my Tundra didn’t feel like that, more of a skipping feeling. New fluid fixed it though.

 

Drive shaft is at the shop. Will have an update in a few hours.

So you guys are saying if its not the diff, not the drive shaft or center bearing then could be the torque converter?? And it "could" be resolved with a trans service?

 

Results are in from the driveline tests. Ujoints are solid and within acceptable tolerance limits, but we are swapping out all the C clips with new ones that are a few thousands of an inch thicker to help remove slight play. Center bearing has a little noise and isnt as smooth as they want it to be. Its not the source of the problem but we are replacing it anyways to eliminate it as a possible contributor. Shaft is straight and no runout but will be rebalanced as well.

Rear diff oil is changed with fresh mobile 1 75w90 gear oil and the gears look great.

Truck will have a dealer transmission flush friday. Truck has almost 120k original miles so its due fpr a flush anyways. Too bad they want $240 +tax for the work

All in all, ill be $455 in repairs and its all just guessing still

I was really hoping the driveshaft would be jacked so i could at least blame it for the problem, but the shop said there is no way it could cause the problem. Kinda needed all this service anyways so its not hurting to have any of it done.

Also ordered lower FK uniballs and poly radiator support body mounts for other unrelated maintenance. Unfortunately wheel bearings are on the list too

If all else fails, next up is trans mount which dealer wants $65 for

 

Diff fluid changed. Driveshaft back on with brand new center bearing and a rebalance.

Vibrations still occur at 35-40mph and ONLY at low rpms. If im at 1700+ it breezes right through that mph range with no issue. If im cruising 1000-1500ish rpms it shakes. Not as strong as before which makes me think that that driveshaft may have been resonating the vibrations and making it feel worse and now its all tighter tolerances so its doesnt shake as much but its still not the root cause.

Unless its my diff gears and they just havent broken yet but are about to, then the only thing left is transmission. Before i purchase a new trans mount i think video of the undercarriage is necessary to help see what exactly is shaking.

I have also researched trans maintenance further and learned that my dealer only does drain/fill not and actuall machine flush. I can do that myself and save $200 but id like to flush it since its original oil at 120k miles. Input on this?

Note that letting off the throttle immediately stops the shaking. I can replicate the problem almost on demand by slowly slowly going through that speed range. Havent had the issue at other speeds that i can tell.

With this new info... anyone who said torque converter still believe this could be it and could a trans drain/fill alleviate the issue if it is that?

 

Video of transmission mount movement using both hand pulling up and down on the driveshaft. Normal or excessive?

https://youtu.be/my2wPb8UFq0

 

Dunno what transmission issue causes barking....

 

Hahaha

 

TC shudder would be under a load, at lower rpm, usually in 4th or 5th gear. It would go away immediately if you take your foot off of the gas.

 

Thats is some of the worst advice I have read all day! Frames can be fixed, if done properly, there should be no issues.

 

If the accident bent the frame there are likely to be many other issues that follow. An accident strong enough to bend a frame... other shit will break.

Read all the frame damage fix threads. These guys end up with serious nightmares.

 

agreed. Shit gets real fucked when frames get bent.


OP you mentioned a poly CB? yet you are a prerunner. You do realize that you do not have a slip joint after the CB like the 4x4's but a slip yoke at the trans that allows extension and collapse of the driveshaft as suspension cycles. Because you dont have a slip joint, the driveshaft has to move back and forth through the CB quite a bit +- 1/2in from resting state. this is why the stock CB is so rubbery.

Got a pic of your CB setup?

 

Didn't take a pic but i can tonight. I know theres no slip yoke and that the slip is at the trans. It's not a solid cb... thr poly mold that wraps the bearing allows for a decent range of motion still. I can't describe it but you'll see when i get the pic. It's actually a Ford ranger bearing and the same bearing setup was on a few group buys here. I appreciate you looking out though!

 

Yeah i run a IEDLS ford ranger poly cb on my truck.... no WAY IN HELL id run that on a prerunner or any ford CB for that matter... they do not allow movement of the shaft through the joint nearly enough. I bet if you took video of suspension cycling fully with a camera pointed at your cb you would see the hole frame crossmember flexing forward n back.

 

So after a Google search of "Tacoma torque converter shudder" i quickly learned that many many many Toyota owners experience this same issue at different mileage and even different model Toyotas. It appears their "world standard" lifetime fluid isn't so lifetime after all. Who would thought it seems the issue is normally remedied with new fluid.

The dealer says they cant hook up tp the machine and "flush" it because its sealed and the WS fluid doesnt need it. They want now $290 to replace all 12 qts, but without flushing. Sounds lole BS to me

Looking for a shop to do an actual flush. If i cant find one ill just drain and fill 2 or 3 times om my own.

 

Sounds like the same bearing. Ill get video of it once i get my hands on a gopro.. first one was 2.5 yrs old with almost 30k on it and it was still just fine. I only replaced to completely rule it out.

Although my truck is fully built i really don't use it for what it's built for. I daily drive it on the freeway to work everyday and go on road trips and do a lot of camping otherwise. Its rarely used off road for anything serious. But I'll still get the video because now you have me curious

 

While it might work fine, id bet that it flexes alot.... that crossmember is not what i would call sturdy especially in a twisting motion like you would get with those forces at play.

 

I'd for sure have the trans flushed. I've done two trucks, both had the tow package with the trans cooler up front.

There are I think two write-ups on how to do this on TW. I did it my own way using a cheap lawn and garden sprayer pump.