"Clunking" sound in 1995-2004 Tacoma/4Runner/T-100

Many Toyota truck owners on this forum have mentioned the annoying "Clunking" sound that these trucks are known for. I had that clunking sound, mainly when coasting to a stop or at idle in my 1998 4Runner (same chassis as a 1998 Tacoma/Pre-Runner). It didn't do it when I first bought it from a Used Toyota dealer 8 years ago, but it started after driving it for one year, about 10,000 miles. I let it persist for years after someone on a forum said it was nothing to worry about. I asked my buddy who had a 2000 Tacoma/Pre-Runner and he said it's normal. When my passengers noted it I always told them it was just how it was. After driving it like that for 7 years, I finally got annoyed by it and it seemed to be getting louder and harsher sounding.

I went to a garage with a lift (Auto Skills - MWR on the base) and put some grease into the drive shaft slip yoke and U-Joint as described in the Tacoma/4Runner/T-100 Haynes book. That solved the problem. After a year it starting coming back, so I had the driveshaft lubed again. This time I had Firestone do it and it only cost me $12.00, took all of 15 minutes. No more clunk. So if you do it once year as your Toyota Scheduled Maintenance suggests, you may find it solves the age-old problem. Note: Do NOT go to a stealership. Toyota quoted me 1.5 labor hours for $155 to lube the chassis. Maybe with some smoke breaks and a nap it would take that long. I did it myself in less than an hour, counting aligning the lift, bay cleanup, et.al Firestone did it in 15 minutes and I watched as they did it correctly. They even put the grease on the steering knuckle contact points and lubed my Moog stabilizer end links (which had grease fittings) as I requested. It's worth the $15 give or take a couple bucks. I hope this solves the problem for some of you like it did for me. I attached a cheat sheet for quick reference.

REF: Tacoma (1995 thru 2004) Haynes Repair Manual, pg. 1-21
REF: 1998 4Runner Owners Manual, pg. 288
REF: Toyota Scheduled Maintenance, pg. 33

 

https://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/p1...ultra_premium_synthetic_spline_and_slip_.html

 

I've never tried it, but I believe your results. When I moved down the street I had a U-Haul trailer and used L2 for the whole 4 blocks of in-town travel. If I ever do tow anything on the highway, I'll remember to turn off the OD off in Drive (I hope!)

 

Really now? I've been hearing it as well, and was thinking it was maybe my upper ball joints or lower. Or maybe even loose sway bar end-links.

I'll be doing the drive shaft greasing soon then (it's been about 20,000 miles since I did it), and coming back with an update