Shudder When Accerlerating/Braking

Hey all-

I'm having what appears to be a somewhat common problem with my 2008 DC 4x4. It came up out of nowhere. It has a fairly pronounced shudder when accelerating, specifically between about 10-20mph. It is less pronounced when I accelerate slower and it goes away completely above 20-25mph.

It also shudders around the same mph band while decelerating.

It feels like a drivetrain issue and not a wheel bearing. I had the wheel bearing issue a few months ago and replaced one of them which fixed that problem. This feels like a U-joint or driveshaft issue to me.

What's the best way to check if its the U-joints? I checked the front portion of the drive shaft last night in a parking lot when I first noticed it, but didn't feel any noticeable play in the joints. I didn't check the portion near the rear diff, but that's next when I get the chance tonight.

Any ideas or advice?

 

u joint or center support bearing...u joints can be a bugger to diagnose, listen for an audible clunk or click when rocking the driveshaft by hand back and forth...

center support bearing, truck in neutral, push shaft up and down, if the shaft moves more than 1/4" in the rubber bushing, might be time to replace....

other things to check, front output shaft, front axle shafts...

 

I'm admittedly pretty weak in my Toyota tech with this "new" Tacoma. I knew my '86 like the back of my hand, but I haven't gotten into this one quite as much yet.

The drive shaft looked to have two segments - one fore and one aft of what I believe was the center support bearing (that had a hanger and a rubber shroud or bushing). That center support was moving a LOT, but I didn't realize it needed to be more snug than that. My guess is that it was moving about 1/2" or more when I messed with it last night. The U-joints on that segment of the shaft seemed to be solid from what I could tell. Again, I have yet to get under the rear segment and investigate the U-joint near the rear diff.

 

Before coming to any conclusions , do as much research as you can . There are hundreds of great posts on here dealing with different vibrations . The answers are already here , you just have to find them .

Here is a good place to start your research http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...tion-when-accelerating-stop-anyone-fixed.html

And here http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/254438-driveline-vibration-tsb-out.html

And here http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...ntire-drive-shaft-u-joints-5-zerks-total.html

The proper and only way to inspect universal joints is by removing the driveshaft .
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The 15-25MPH vibe is well documented on here. Toyota released a TSB to address it, but, you're out of your warranty so you'd likely be on the hook for the repairs. It involves a couple new parts, including new leaf springs. It does pretty much solve the issue. The guy above me posted some good links so Id check there first.

 

New leaf springs? That's odd. How much does it cost to replace all the parts? I may be able to do some of it myself.

This is sounding more and more like a pretty sucky problem to have...

 

No idea on cost, I had mine done under warranty. Here's the TSB you can read yourself and see if you think you're up to the challenge...

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...iveline-vibration-tsb-out-44.html#post8447171

 

I filed a complaint with the corporate office regarding the vibration issue on my truck. I have an 09 DCSB. I was contacted by the dealer a few days later. I'm at 59,000 miles. Last week they replaced the entire driveshaft & carrier bearing, front driveshaft and I have new general spring leaf packs. Still have vibes. This Thursday they are going to replace the engine mounts , stearing dampener and trans mount as the TSB instructs them to do. I doubt it is going to help.
I really think the issue is in the transfer case or the rear end.

 

It is in the driveline.A bunch of us have been tinkering with drive line angles and carrier bearing spacers.Cheaper if your out of warrantee or lifted.

 

One more question: Lets say it isn't a bearing going out, and its just more of an "inherent characteristic" of the suspension/drivetrain - does this problem cause any damage or other problems, or is it just an annoyance?

The vibration on mine seems to kinda fluctuate depending on the day. Its not vibrating much today, but a week ago it was terrible.

 

Get under that bad boy and grease the shit out of those u joints. Probably smooth it out a bunch just by doing this. That is if you havent already. And as stated already, go to the local hardware store and pick the items you need to drop the carrier bearing just a bit. Check out the threads that have been linked above and dont worry too much. Vibes are annoying but generally not a big deal on these things.

Is this truck lifted at all?

 

Its not lifted. Its a stock 4x4 TRD OR with about 110k miles on it. I bought it a little over a year ago and only put 11k miles on it so far. My only complaints with it to this point have been the squeaky console around the shift knob (AT), and this vibration issue. I've also noticed that the rear suspension seems extreme - it rides fairly stiff (as one would expect), but seems to bottom out pretty easily on bigger bumps.

I know very little about suspension, especially on this truck. So I'd like to start with the easiest things (like greasing the u-joints) and go from there.

 

I have the same issue. The vibration is most noticeable on deceleration starting at 22mph down to about 15 mph.

Toyota recently replaced the rear motor mount, driveshaft, ujoints, and center support bearing. The vibration is much better, but is still there. I also went and had a road force balance done on the tires and had an alignment. Now it seems to be a 50/50 change on whether the vibration starts or not.

All my research suggests the center support bearing angle...

 

If the Springs seem stiff and strong enough (i.e. do not deflect excessively under weight) and you are still bottoming out I'd change the shocks. The shocks can also affect the position/wrap and other characteristics of the rear and drive train. If the Shock are suspect or old I'd replace these first......

 

UPDATE:

I've recently noticed a squeaking/chirping sound when accelerating from 0-10 mph, then the shudder/vibration from 15-25 mph. The sound is coming from the rear, and with the windows open, its very easy to hear.

What could that be???

 

U joints!!

 

When was the last time you greases your u joints on the drive shaft?

 

I've never done it since I bought it a year ago. I'm slowly going through the truck bit by bit to bring it up to my maintenance schedule. I've also gotta dig through my garage to find my grease gun.

Will the U-Joints make that high-pitched chirping sound, and if so, doesn't that mean they just need to be replaced altogether?

 

Its the u-joints bro! GREASE EM!!

After greasing if you are sill having issues, pull the drive shaft and feel if any are tight by twisting and moving them by hand.

 

Definitely not the U-Joints, bro. I'll have to try something else. I shook and twisted the drive shaft (front and back segments) and there didn't seem to be any movement at the U-Joints. However, the drive shaft moves a LOT inside that middle bracket (see photo). Its probably moving about 1/8" - 1/4" when I push on it. Is that normal?