Passenger side half shaft broke

I’ve had the most success with stubborn axles with a partner. Either one person prying and the other “slide hammering” with cable/hammer, or both prying at the same time on opposing axle sides, so you’re pushing it out evenly.

 

Update: I swapped the failed axle with the Trakmotive model last week. But... prepare to suspend your disbelief: my other axle broke a couple days ago, in the same completely stupid way. Leaving me even more stranded in even worse terrain than last time... specifically: in a canyon near Death Valley, alone, in the summer heat. This is really frustrating.



This time it also shattered the diff mount. So I had to get out in 2WD only. It was a mess.



Apparently, CVJ got a mix of axle cores for the overseas market. These are slightly shorter. Apparently, I got two of those shorter ones last year. Both have now failed by slipping/binding/overriding the tripod joints, doing god knows what other damage to the rest of the front suspension and drivetrain.

I had purchased a Trakmotive axle for this side as well, and even had it with me at the time. (I was waiting for new hubs to arrive before swapping it on that side -- to save time, lol!) But with the diff now flopping around I couldn't install it, nor power the other axle. So I just bluetoothed the failed axle again, then fought, road-built, and winched my way out in 2WD.

Removing axles​

I'm also not sure if I could have removed the failed axle's inner shaft stub from the differential, there in the field, even if I wanted to. The circlips on the CVJ axles require absurd amounts of force to pop the axles in or out of the differential. I couldn't remove the passenger-side one last week, using my previous go-to method of swinging a sledge hammer against a steel cable lassoed around the back of the tripod housing. The cable snapped, then I made a loop of fresh cable and snapped that too. So I drilled and tapped a hole in the back of the housing, like this:



And pulled it out with a threaded rod and a 2x4... an improvised press, bearing against the frame.



I thought the 2x4 was about to explode, but the axle finally popped out.

I am currently 'fabricating' axle collars that will clamp to OEM-style inner CVs to allow attachment of two threaded rods, so that the axles may be hammered in or out reliably. By using two rods, the force can be perfectly parallel and coaxial with the shaft stub. And it will be more rigid than a cable or a slide-hammer fork. These will also allow pulling of the Trakmotive-style axles, although not as elegantly, as they don't sit in a groove on the axle... they'll just bear against the tapered housing of the inner joint. I'm not worried about installing the Trakmotive axles -- the passenger one I installed last week popped in with light hand force, whereas the prior CVJs had to be beaten in with a sledge hammer and pry bar for like six hours.



Here are my axle installation collars, the shop in China just sent me pictures this morning. I really wish they had been in my toolbox on Monday though! (Only two are needed... I ordered 10 so I could give away or sell a few sets.)

Axle length comparison​

I don't exactly have a coordinate measuring machine, but I used some scrap materials to improvise an axle length measurer setup:



The axle is placed through a 1.75" hole drilled in a 2x4, that is bolted to a pallet. There's a plywood "washer" under the pallet too, so I can snug the axle in place with its nut. I've got strut arm assembly attached to the pallet to hold the axle shaft and tripod housing vertical. I balance a hacksaw blade on the inner dust seal flange, and use that to read the axle length from a tape measure. I use a digital angle gauge to make sure the axle is vertical, and the sawblade is horizontal. I put my phone on a tripod so it can image the reading without parallax. This leaves my hands free, so I can stand on the pallet and compress or extend the shaft... except the Trakmotive axles are so stiff I'm not sure if I'm fully compressing or extending them. I'm also not sure if they will self-disassemble if overextended, like a tripod joint. So I haven't measured their axial travel yet, other than to confirm it's at least as much as an OEM tripod joint. I will test this once I've trashed one of the boots and the joints are less stiff.

Anyway, here is an example of measuring the compressed shaft length:



As you can see, I'm not measuring overall axle length. Mostly just because that would be a lot harder for me do with the same accuracy. But also, I don't care what the overall axle length is. What matters is the length between the part that snugs up on the inner surface of the wheel hub, and the part that locates it in differential. I suspect the latter should be the the circlip groove, or perhaps the shoulder that slides into the seal, but I can't balance a hacksaw blade on those, so I am using the dust seal flange. Which should be a nominal distance from the other reference points. So, here is a diagram of my measurement:



Note that I just stole the axle images from product pics online, this is not my axle. But this is the length I'm measuring.

Here are the measurements:

• Failed CVJ axle: 44.7 cm
• New CVJ axle: 45.5 cm
• Old OEM axle: 45.7 cm
• Trakmotive axle: 46.0(?) cm -- the new axle is pretty stiff, I couldn't get it perfectly level and fully compressed at the same time.

Of course, this doesn't particularly matter, other than as an indicator of center axle shaft length. What I really care about is the axle's maximal extended length -- you know, before the tripod bearings ride out of the housing and thrash my drivetrain and suspension. For the OEM/CVJ axles, though, the compressed lengths above should indicate relative differences in the center shaft length, right?

If that's the case, then my failed CVJ axle is 1.0cm shorter than my old spare OEM axle, suggesting that its center shaft is 1.0 cm too short.

However, I also noticed a slight difference between the tripod housings:



Left is "old oem" and right is "failed CVJ".

The "old oem" housing is actually 5.0mm taller, as measured this way:



I'm not 100% certain that my "old oem" CV is actually OEM... maybe it's a particularly beefy aftermarket, or maybe the OEM style has changed over the years, or mabye CVJ used non-US-market tripod housings for my failed axle. But what I do know is that, with this difference in housing length, the maximal extended length of the "old oem" axle is a full 1.5 cm longer than that of the "failed CVJ" axle, before the tripod would fail.

Unfortunately I've shipped my "old oem" axle back to CVJ for the core return, I wish I had checked more measurements.


Trakmotive extended travel axles: What I've learned

• They are cheap, I can get them for $165/ea shipped with tax from Rock Auto. Red-boot CVJs cost me $394 with shipping after core return. I can buy OEMs for $329 delivered.
• Rock Auto is not an authorized distributor for Trakmotive: "RockAuto is a third-party vendor we do not know what warranty, return policy, or pricing they are offering." I didn't bother asking Rock Auto if they have any warranty on these, but I wouldn't hold my breath at this price point.
• They cost $350-400/ea from brick and mortar stores, but those are more likely to be warranted when the boots tear. The explicit warranty denies coverage for torn boots though.
• Trakmotive doesn't sell or offer part numbers for replacement boots. When the boot tears, the solution is to replace the axle. Stupid.
• Trakmotive won't tell me what the permissible extension length is for the sliding spline joint in the center axle. So I I just bought another to immediately take apart, destructively if necessary. I'm fucking sick of finding out the hard way if my axles are on the verge of falling apart.

 

Oh, and yes, I pressed the failed axle from the star and confirmed that there was no inner grove for the circlip. So it was simply too short -- not pressed in too far.

 

Mine kept doing that.

In 2013, I removed the shock, cycled the suspension and found that I needed a longer axle on the passenger side. I think I needed it to be about 5/8" longer.

I forget how much the past owner of Sway away charged me but never had a problem since.

Before he sold the company I got a quote of $600 for a set of custom axles for a friend in 2022.

 

Wow, that's crazy it broke the diff mount (I think I do see part of it broken in your pic of the separated shaft).

Your "old oem" tripod cup looks like the oem on mine (has the more squared-off edge at the back of the cup where the flange is vs the more-rounded back edge on your failed axle cup).

Those CV clamp collar things are a great idea.
Not sure if you said... Has CVJ owned up to this at all?

 

Just read through this thread just to learn and be prepared if I ever end up in a similar situation, would it be reasonable to take an old junk axle and cut off the shaft and just keep the outboard cup section as a trail "spare" to get out in 2WD? Sounds like if one came apart or broke in any way its easy enough to pull apart the inboard joint so that just the cup and splined shaft remains in the diff, holding in fluid, and then I could just unbolt the axle nut and pop out the broken axle and pop in the outboard "spare" stub to hold the bearing together?

Sure a full axle trail spare would be ideal but takes up a lot more space and sounds like fighting the axle out of the diff would be brutal on the trail. I don't do much wheeling at all right now so more just hypothetical. Would def be interested in those clamp collars for Cv removal though since I'm sure I'll have to do it one of these days...

 

Sounds like you have it properly thought out fine. All you need to do is to decide.

I will be carrying a trail spare as I find it more comforting to get back in the game than have to limp out, ending the trip and possibly others enjoyment too, as they see to my safe return. Just a piece of philosophy, you are responsible to those you wheel with, as they are to you. That said some of the best memories are of trips that went bad, rather than trips that went as planned.

Myself I would remove the shaft, cage and balls as well from the outer cup, if I were to take that approach.

 

Someone else on the forum posted pics of them doing just that. If you have a front locker you can even use 3 wheel drive that way.

 

Rebooting a 3rd gen shaft and comparing it to a CVJ i just pulled out of my 08,the shaft on the CVJ is 3/4” shorter.
The CVJ is torn apart because i was curious, and was gonna reboot.
I had just rebooted 3rd gen axle and measure length with cage off.
The cages also look different.
Its for sure shorter.
Im lucky i didnt have the same problem as OP

 

Yes, this is what I am doing. A bluetooth axle!


lol...

But I couldn't cut the tripod/birfield housings off in my little lathe. They actually machined really easily until I got to the case hardening. Tried my best saw blade too, ruined it without making much progress. Someday I'll find a real lathe to finish parting them. For now I'm carrying them as-is -- still easier to pack than a full spare axle. In fact, they got me out of trouble again on my most recent axle failure.

Yeah, I absolutely needed 3WD to get up a steep scree field when this happened the first time. Nowhere to winch from up there, but luckily I am locked front and rear, so was able to fight my way up the switchbacks.

The second time, it also busted my diff mounts, so I couldn't use the front drive train at all. Even though I had a spare axle on hand. I had to use the bluetooth axle stub again to hold the hub together. Good thing I had it... and was able to winch out of the canyon. Although I got hopelessly lost and then stuck in the sand once I got to the alluvial fan -- wound up airing down to near-flat and eventually slicing a sidewall. What a day! Made it home though.

---

The current update is that my axle removal collars were shipped, but I got a $400 customs bill that I didn't notice until today. Fuck! I already spent $200 having them made, but I don't think I can swing another $400. I am trying to sell them on TW to cover the cost. $100/pair shipped.

I'm not saying this is the best deal on earth, but I think this is going to be the only reliable way to remove axles on the trail, without pulling the skid plate and working under the truck. Not sure I trust my farm jack enough to do that.

If people are willing to buy a few of them to help me cover the cost, I'll pay the bill and confirm that they work. If nobody wants them, though... looks like I've wasted $200 and need to machine my own axle collar set.

The concept:


What would be included for $100:



Note that you would have to buy the threaded rods yourself.

The parts held up in customs:

 

Have you tried annealing your Bluetooth axles? Should undo the heat treatment and since you aren't actually using them to drive the wheel anymore I would think doing so wouldn't be an issue.

 

I tried briefly but I ran out of mapp gas. Some idiot used it all up burning out control arm bushings last month. But maybe I could just set them on the propane fire pit for an hour next time I'm camping.

 

This thread goes hard.

What's up with CVJ-Reman shipping non-standard "replacement" parts. No bueno.

Where are some good places to buy actual, legit, true-blue TOYOTA oem CV assemblies? If I ever break something on a trail I don't want to find out then that my CVJ or other 3rd party CV isn't up to the task.

 

Since you asked...



Altogether, buying Toyota parts can be profoundly confusing. I wish they let RockAuto sell their parts! It sometimes takes me hours of cross-searching for a big job, to figure out what the part numbers are, what comes with assemblies (do I need X and Y, or do they come with assembly Z?) Lots of cross-referencing on TacomaWorld and auto wrecker listings. The part numbers are too long to juggle in your memory, there are no pictures, the diagrams are largely useless, and the catalog randomly changes over time -- they change the part numbers, for the same part. They don't update the tables uniformly, so there are many parts that are universal to all 2nd gens, but the catalog will only list the modern-production part for certain years. I usually enter a 2011 model when I'm shopping, but you have to know what changed between the model years. And ultimately, you have to be confident that you've found the right part, even if the catalog says it doesn't fit your vehicle. TacomaWorld is really useful -- google each candidate part number followed by "site:tacomaworld.com" Then, make sure you aren't in the 1st gen section. You will wind up needing an excel spreadsheet.



Looking for the best deal, unless you have a friend at a dealership... go to the official toyota parts site and find your part. This site shows MSRP, but doesn't sell parts. Enter your zip code there, it will offer a selection of the (3) nearest dealerships that participate in their online catalog. Not all dealerships participate, and it varies day-to-day. (Oh, and some dealerships have their own online sales systems that use different interfaces... those change from time to time too, and they have different catalogs and compatibility tables.) I'm going to focus on the main Toyota parts catalog sites, as you can generally find a deal there, and it's a bit less confusing.

Each of those three dealership links should be opened in separate tabs. You have to do this from the page for the part you want to buy. It will open the same part on that dealership's sales site, where you can see the price they are charging. Discounts vary by dealership and by item.

Seek three things... although we will only discuss two of them online.

1. What is the discount? Conveniently, it shows the price and the percent right there. If it doesn't say X% off, then there is no discount.
2. Do they have free shipping? It will say up top. Most of them have free shipping over like $100. If you aren't spending at least $100 then go break something else on your truck.

Target >30% discount, and free shipping. If you are ordering multiple expensive things, you might save money by splitting the orders between dealerships. They might have axles for 32% off but only 25% on wheel hubs for example. Better start a new tab in that spreadsheet.



Aaand.... what's that, only ONE of the THREE had a discount, and it was ONLY 15%? Go back to the first tab and enter a different zip code. Try a far-away city. Maybe a different state, somewhere with nice weather. It will show you a dozen options, but clicking those won't bring up the part. You can either paste it manually in each dealer's site, or click back to the part, and click the three options now listed under your new zip code. Okay now you've found a couple good dealerships. You start adding parts. Better get some oil filters right? BAM! YOU WAITED TOO LONG. YOUR CART IS EMPTY. AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING BACK TOMORROW, NOW THAT DEALERSHIP IS CHARGING FULL MSRP OR DOESN"T EVEN HAVE AN ONLINE STORE ANY MORE. I TRIED TO WARN YOU. THE PART NUMBER IS DIFFERENT NOW TOO. YOUR WHOLE SPREADSHEET WILL BE USELESS AND A WHOLE ENTIRE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP JUST DISAPPEARED AND I TRIED TO WARN YOU. HURRY UP AND BUY THE PART ALREADY!!!!



XONGRATULATIoNS NOW YOU Are SAVINg BIG MoNEY On TOYOTA PARTS. AND DON"T EVEN TALK ABOUT THE THIRD WAY YOU SAVED MONEY, THE COMPUTERS ARE LISTENING. SERIOUSLY SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE THEY FIND OUT, JUST GO FIX YOUR TRUCK ALREADY!@!!1!

 

Oops, forgot to mention: The part number for CV shafts is 43430-04070.

The reboot kit is

$55 04428-04010 Toyota Genuine Parts - Boot Kit, Inboard/Ou (04428-04010)

04428-04010. You can buy the band clamps individually, but the large inboard one (42345-04050) costs as much as the whole kit, so just buy the kit and throw the leftover parts into the ocean.

The oil seals for the differential are

$13 90311-47027 Toyota Genuine Parts - Seal, Type T Oil (90311-47027)

90311-47027 (Drivers side) and 90311-47026 (passenger). National/Timken respective part numbers are 710596 and 710595. You have to drive them to the correct depth; flush for driver's side and 4.8-5.8mm deep on the passenger side. Note the error in the FSM -- it say 0.58mm. You can use the old seal or a piece of pipe to drive the seals, and check with a depth gauge. Or, use a specialty tool like a civilized person.

The little metal flange dust cover on the inboard side of the CV shaft is 41336-04010, and the rubber lip seal that faces the hub is 90304-A0001. New axles come with these, but if you are rebooting, you'll want these on hand because these tend to get damaged. I haven't found aftermarket options that fit here.

The dust seal that seats in the spindle, facing the CV, is 90316-A0001. (Aftermarket 710573). The O-ring between the hub and the spindle is 90301-A0005. You do not need the outer hub seal (90312-96001) unless you are pressing your own bearings. It is internal to the hub assembly.

 

Awesome. I've been Toyota-part red-pilled. Suffering is necessary to understand the truth.



https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y...F9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/udhR8Hh1YVM6Q/giphy.gif

 

If I buy one or even a pair of genuine Toyota CV assemblies and leave them sitting on a shelf for say, 20 years, maybe even 30 years, will they still be ready to use (assuming proper storage, not too hot/cold/damp) at such a late date? Or will the seals & boots have dried out and cracked from age alone?

 

That is an interesting question. I would expect them to work fine out of the box, but the boots might tear sooner due to rubber aging.

There are plenty of 20+ year old camrys driving around on factory cv axles. But I don't expect a lot of those axles to last another 20+ years.

I guess I'm saying I don't know. What I do know is that there are far, far better investments for the 20-year time frame. Put the money in the stock market for example.

If you are looking for a trail spare I would recommend using an old axle rather than buying a new one. It will get beat up in the truck bed, even in the box. You can make temporary fixes to the boots with self stick flex tape, and you only need it to get you home.

 

@mk5 Please elaborate on your "self-stick flex tape". What sticks to a greasy mess?

 

Haha, nothing. I'm talking about the kind of tape that sticks to itself. 'Rescue Tape' is one brand. Its not even adhesive. Just like a long strip of rubber that you can wrap around hoses, pipes, etc.

And I'm not talking about making long-term repairs to a boot that's split in two, I'm talking about patching a little hole from skewering a boot on overgrown roads. Wipe it clean and wrap it with tape to get home. I'm not even sure how much it helps, but it makes you feel feel like a clever problem-solver, so there's that. I keep a roll in my toolbox so I am a big time problem solver. That's what I keep telling myself at least.