Driveline Vibration

Hey guys. I brought my 09 Tacoma to the dealership because I was having a vibration and a loud squeak on acceleration. We did a road test and within about 20 feet the foreman said it was a bad u-joint. Luckily this was covered under the extended or enhanced warranty so, no charge to me. When I got my truck back I noticed that almost immediately the squeak was gone but the vibration was still there, especially at around 50 mph. I brought it back in and they said it had nothing to do with the newly replaced u joints and they would charge me $110 just to look at it and see what it was. On the list of possible repairs is leaf springs which this same dealership replaced for me less than two years ago under another warranty. What do you guys think? Anyone had this kind of vibration? What was the culprit? Thanks!

 

Has the truck been lifted ? if not, check your carrier bearing for wear or torn rubber located in the middle of the driveshaft

 

No lift. Maybe a weight was thrown off? Another mechanic said maybe toyota didn't mark the driveshaft correctly when reinstalling it after replacing the u joints.

 

Take it to a driveline shop,and have them check the balance.But you need to check the carrier bearing first to see if it needs replacing.

 

Did they replace ALL the u-joints or just 1 ?

 

They replaced all 3. I got under there and checked for play in the driveshaft near the carrier bearing. There is a little bit of vertical play. I don't know how much is normal. The carrier bearing does look worn down and I am thinking that is the culprit. Toyota didn't seem to think so but they were working strictly off of their service bulletin. They thought maybe it was the rear motor mount. Visually, the carrier bearing is in worse shape than the motor mount. Maybe I need both.

 

Happened to me after the frame recall, they did u joints and there was still a vibration. Told me it was the lift and that they were no longer responsible. I refused to believe this and brought the truck to a drive shaft shop. The mechanic said that Toyota installed the u joints wrong and that the shaft was never marked when dissembled. I got back in touch with Toyota and let them know what happened and gave them the shops contact info. I asked for a reimbursement for the work done by the shop. A week later I received a check in the mail from Toyota. Not that this is definitely but it is something to look at.

 

Good to know. I do think that the culprit is the carrier bearing because of the play but I'm taking it to the drive shaft shop next week. If they determine the shaft wasn't rotated correctly I will submit the invoice to Toyota like you did.

 

Has anyone's vibration just get a little better on its own? Either my body is numb or it is better.

 

I had some bad driveshaft vibrations. It was due to some really dry u joints. I replaced them all with Spicer greasable ones, and a new carrier bearing. Super smooth now.
But now I noticed a pinion bearing noise, which may have been caused by the vibrations.

 

Recently ran into this with a techs truck a couple of weeks ago. Did the TSB and replaced all 3 unjoints as well as a new carrier bearing. Didn’t completely fix it so he ended up throwing a new driveshaft in it, paying out of pocket.


I’d get it checked at a driveline specialist. I ended up going with a custom 1 piece driveshaft for my own truck, but I’m also lifted.

Also make sure they put in the correct u joints in it, there are 2 different part numbers in the TSB, which could be overlooked when billed out.

 

FYI, read the recall, it instructs the dealership that if u-joints don't fix the problem, replace driveshaft. I posted the TIS notice a while back.

 

I think my carrier bearing is starting to have problems at 86,000. My truck is bone stock. I guess I need to start hunting a replacement bearing.

 

No. I replaced the carrier bearing with a new OEM one and it did nothing even the though the bearing was toast.

 

Where can I find the recall language?

 

X2 please

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-dealer-need-help.574851/page-2#post-19061984

 

Thanks. I went back to the dealer and they are replacing the driveshaft next week. Hopefully, this will finally fix it. It's good to have that info for sure!

 

Awesome man! Let us know if it fixes it.

 

So I finally got my truck back from the dealer. It took almost a month for them to get the driveshaft. Brand new driveshaft and it seems to have fixed the vibration issues, as it should. Best of luck to anyone still dealing with this annoying issue.