Drive shaft binding because of lift?

Hey All,

I'm new to the forum. Just bought a '04 TRD Off Road w/ 24k miles on it. Crazy low I know. I'm concerned because when I take off there seems to be what feels like binding in the drive shaft. A buddy of mine drove it and came to this conclusion so we might be way off base.

An way it has a Skyjacker 2.5in Suspension Lift and we thought that might be the cause? Has anyone heard/encountered this before?

Thanks!

 

Does it vibrate when accelerating? Never heard of a driveshaft binding on our trucks.. I have over 9" of lift and no problems with my DS

 

Thanks for the replies.

@supra tt- yes it vibrates when taking off from a stop, then it smooths out.

@mjp2- I'm not sure about drive shaft carrier bearings. I just got it on Tuesday so I'll look it that.

@whippersnapper02- As far as I know my rear locker is unlocked, the button is "out" and light is off. I tried pushing the button and driving it, the light for my rear locker was flashing but the shudder was the same. Put it in 4 high and the same thing.

Any other ideas? Thanks guys!

 

Try greasing up the zerks. Could just be dry. It should have a carrier bearing. Mine '99 did.

 

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a noob, what's the official name for the "zerks"?

 

I think that is the official name
They are the nipples you attach the grease gun to when you lube parts.

 

where are these fittings under my 2nd gen regular cab? i want to keep everything lubed up lol

 

Ah, I think I've always called them grease gun fittings, lol. So the zerks have been lubed.

A buddy of mine called in a favor and got a shop to look at it today. They removed the DS and noticed it binding at the constant velocity joint, and that the rear portion needed to be replaced. So, they said that they could get me one for around $350 parts and labor.

Also, something I noticed that they confirmed was that the hanger bracket had been replaced at some point. Dunno.

But it's all lubed up now so I'll drive it around this weekend and see if that helps. If not I may take them up on the new one. Unless there's an aftermarket upgrade out there?

 

Here's pic of the new hanger bracket:

 

That is a pic of your carrier bearing. You need a drop in it to get better angles on your drive shaft at ride height if you are lifted.

 

Thanks DevL, sorry for the delay in response. So is this drop in my carrier barrier something I could do with longer bolts and spacers, or would I need to buy a new one with the drop built in.

Also, I'm running a 2.5 in lift, is there a length of drop you could recommend or point me in the direction of that answer?

Lastly, could the incorrect angles, caused by the lack of drop, be causing the "shudder" I'm feeling on take off?

 

So I took the truck in to my local 4x4 shop. They looked it over to make sure the lift was installed correctly and check out my shudder.

They found a couple things to tighten on the lift but other than that its all good.

As for the shudder they threw in some spacers to drop my carrier bearing down about 1/2 an inch. This helped to reduce the length of time the DS shuddered but made it more intense.

Dunno, I'll keep digging..