Seized Front Propeller Shaft

Hi folks,

I use this site often, but this is my first post.

I ran into a roadblock today trying to replace the transfer case output shaft oil seal (front), using (though the job depicted in that link is on a newer 4Runner, I checked with the 1996 Tacoma FSW and the Haines manual, and the components are basically the same).

My problem: the sleeve of my front propeller shaft seems to be totally seized. See pic below.

My questions:

1. Should I just heat-up where the prop slips into itself? The goal in this would be to "wake up" the prop and get it to collapse so I can get at the 30 mm bolt in the companion flange. Or:

2. Should I just replace the prop altogether? My thinking on this second point is that maybe the oil seal failure is related to the seized prop: Is it applying too much pressure on the transfer case when I hit bumps?)

Pic: This is where my prop has seized:


THANKS!!

 

So you're saying the sliding yoke , she no slide no more & is froze on the splines ? If so, I guess you could put a torch to it (cautiously of course) Probably has dried grease & dirt filled splines inside, just get it hot enough to re-emulsify the grease (melting enough to liquify) & HAVE A FIRE EXSTIGUISHER CLOSE BY !! Seriously on that just in case & yeah if it hasn't been able to slide as it should iut could very well take out the seal(s)

 

I'd take a BFH to the slip splines and flange first. Not enough to dent it, just forceful tapping. You may get lucky and break free any rust.

 

thanks folks. ya, definitely would want to be careful with a torch down there, as the sliding yoke is positioned fairly close to the gas line/filter. i took the hammer to it, too, tapping lightly to moderate for about 30 minutes, but nothing.

ive never pulled one of these off, so am not sure how easy the yoke should slide. obviously easier than this

 

The front shaft doesn't really slip all that far out nor does it need to since it only moves when the drivetrain/frame flexes. You can try a few pumps of grease into the zerk and whacking the yoke on the axle end with a BFH, that may free it up. Unless its vibrateing or wont go on i honestly would not even worry about it, i would definitely not take a torch to it though.

Do you have the front shaft disconnected from the diff and or the tacse??

 

This /\
I'll take an internet guess and suggest that the OP is having difficulty separating the flanges and is assuming the slip joint isn't slipping.
The flanges "stick" together all the time and sometimes need a little persuasion.

 

If it's not coming off the flanges just keep working around the yoke hitting it with a bfh. It should pop off. Also keep in mind the inside of the shaft yoke is raised and fits into the center of the tcase/axle flange.

 

Don't put a torch to it , beat the fuck out of it with a hammer......



Neither is a good choice, obliviously it's drier than fuck, & dried grease & dirt has gotten ahold of it filled the splines & now its froze, little movement or not the fact that it IS a sliding yoke means at some point its gotta slide right ? If the shaft is truly froze & now rigid think of force its putting on bearings & ovaling out the outter seals as well..

Maybe soak the piss out of it with blaster let it sit awhile...

 

This /\. Sometimes a knife blade tapped in between the flanges will help them separate.
I can't count the times my drive shafts have been removed and I still have to let the flanges know who is boss every time.

 

i have it disconnected from the flange at the transfer case. it needed abt 30 mins of tapping with a flat screw driver to pop off. problem is now getting enough clearance to get the flange over the four bolts holding it to the companion.

was contemplating popping off the four bolts on the front of the drive shaft where it meets the front diff. from what it looks like, those bolts will come out completely, potentially allowing the drive shaft to fall off the front.

but i want to avoid screwing with the front if i can, and this still wouldnt solve my seized issue and what pressure it might be putting on my seals.

so ive been soaking the yoke in penetrating oil for the past couple hrs and am gonna go at it again this evening.

 

Ahh got it. Whack the yoke with a big ass hammer you wont do anything to it. Keep in mind that drive shaft only slips a few inchs. You can also loosen up the front bolts, attach the shaft to the tcase, and then bolt down the fronts, that should get it to stretch and fit.

 

If I'm following this correctly. You have the t-case flanges separated so the slip joint must have "slid" at least to some degree. As Mr Slander mentioned there is not much travel in the joint with normal operation. Now you are exceeding it into an area where there is crud, rust, dried grease or all of the above causing some binding.
Unbolt the front and get that thing up on the bench. Note/mark the orientation of each end of the shaft and pull the slip joint apart. It should come apart easier than compressing. Clean the splines inside and out and smear some grease on em then proceed to the seal job.
Don't get carried away with pounding real hard on the shaft towards the front diff or you could compromise pinion bearing preload.

 

Dont forget to mark the shaft and flanges to assure you put it back in same position.

 

will give this a go if i dont get any movement on it tonight.

 

update: was able to pull the driveshaft off no problem once i unbolted it from the front. the bad news is its still seized, after blasting it with sea foam deep creep for hours. the good news is i was able to swap out the t-case output seals, as outlined in .

im letting the drive/propeller shaft sit overnight with the sea foam, and taking it to the shop tomorrow to see if we can get it moving.

thanks everyone!