Thud when coming to a stop

i have a consistently inconsistent problem... a few times a day (random times of day with weather 50+ degrees) my truck will feel and make a noise like a bowling ball is rolling from my tailgate to the head of the bed and THUD and jostle like a pallet shifted and hit the front.... theres nothing loose in my truck bed.

any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Sure it's not a dead body?

 

pretty sure... i got rid of it a while back ... jkjk but in all seriousness its anoying

 

i have had the same thing happen, it seems to be when the stop is more abrupt mostly.

 

The slip yoke in the driveshaft can make a similar sounding clunk as the truck comes to a rest. Annoying, but not an undocumented issue. You should be fine, though if it really bothers you you can find a way to lube that connection up.

 

Down shifting issues ... Mine had same problem...Brought back to dealer, complained and got T-SB-0077-16.
Nowadays, only happen one or two times a week

 

Trunk (box) monkey. He's gonna be pissed at feeding time. Use PPE on your head and groin.

 

Mine did it a lot for about the first 2K miles and since then its been much better.

 

+2 for the slip yoke...!! No Joke...!! Typical lack of grease by Toyota..... If it really bothere you, remove the drive shaft and grease it... better yet..... While it's off install a zerk fitting....!!!!No more freakin' issues ....!!

 

Yep, my 2017 has experienced this. Not often but enough for me to shout WTF? Great advice on the yolk slippage. Going to have this lubed before my warranty expires.

 

The bowling ball feel might be a slightly pressurized slip joint. Overgreasing could make it worse. Needs a relief hole...maybe.
When you decelerate, the pinion dives down, the driveshaft lengthens at slipjoint and springs load up. When the springs unload, the pinion rises and driveshaft shortens. In your case the, latter is happening adruptly.

There's a couple other less evasive things you can try before attacking the slip joint; they address the loading and unloading of the spring. Put 300-400 lbs over the rear axle and/or reinforcing the main leaf with additional clamps between the main hanger and axle.

At least then you'll know if it's the springs or the slip joint is the real problem.

Any mods? Lift block, perhaps?

 

@splitbolt
I haven't been able to find it, but is there a write up on exactly where to drill that relief hole and where to add a zerk for future greasing? I have a 2017 TRD Sport 2WD (no zerks). No lift, etc, but I also have a vibration when decelerating that the dealer can't figure out. I may have to do it myself or go to an independent shop that does drive shafts.... but would be nice to have a confirmed location for those things from someone that's done it.

Thx!

 

Vibe on decel; no thud? Again, that sounds like the pinion diving due to the weak springs.
Besides, drilling a hole and installing a zerk probably has to go do a driveshaft shop for balancing anyway.
I recommend reinforcing the leafs like I described previously; see how that works first.

 

Sounds like classic axle wrap. 2nd Gen issue carrying over to our 3rd Gens. I have it too, just do a search on here.

 

@splitbolt. Will do - I’ll try spring clamps first.

 

I just bought 2011 TRD Sport a couple months ago. From reading threads it appears that I am getting that axle wrap "thud." It only happens once in a while. Most of the time I get smooth stops and starts when driving. The truck is still under warranty at the dealer. I took it in and they said everything was working fine and there did not appear to be any issues. Would changing the leaf springs eliminate this problem? I wonder if the dealer would replace them under the warranty.

 

I'd take you way back here...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/goodbye-axle-wrap-mod.108316/

But the dealer fixing it, probably not.

 

Thanks for that link. I briefly read up on it. I may give it a shot.

Yeah, I feel the same way about the dealer, but it's worth a shot.

 

This is a common problem. Usually happens between 6-12 mph when coming to a stop. The guy that developed the Shift Sense Pro mapped this phenomenon when looking at shift patterns and I believe he said it happens when the truck down shifts from 3rd to 1st and either skips 2nd or stops briefly in 2nd when it shouldn't on its way to first which causes the sudden jerk/clunk.

 

I took my truck back to the dealer recently for the same issue. They told me there was a new ECU update that would fix it. It did...for a while. It has recently come back, but not with the intensity or frequency as before. Mine only seems to do it when the engine temp is 1/3 and 1/2.

I'd take it back to the dealer.