Ujoints? Need some advice

2004, v6 5vzfe, trd, dc, prerunner. 170k. Here's the dilemma. Im noticing that when i shift into gear i hear a slight metalic clang noise. Kinda like what youd hear in the older American trucks. Nothing super loud, no shuddering either. Also, ive noticed the truck has a bit of a wobble almost like an un balanced tire. It seems to happen right when i get on the freeway. And only when the vehicle isn't truly warmed up. Seems to happen around 65-70mph. Goes away after about 5 or so miles. A coworker suggested the clang noise could be ujoints, and i recall reading another post somewhere on tw where dude had similar symptoms. Question is, does this sound like ujoints? How hard are they to replace IF i were to do it myself? I will admit at the risk of flogging that i have severely neglected the drive shaft. Please dont make it hurt!!! As always, any and all "GOOD" advice is appreciated... Thanks in advance!

 

Your symptoms could definitely be caused by a worn u joint. Sometimes when they start to go you won't be able to tell when the driveshaft is still on the truck. The best way to check them is to remove the whole driveshaft from the truck and work each u joint through it's entire range of motion to check for bad bearings. Any roughness, sticking, slop, etc, will indicate a bad joint. They're not terribly hard to do, if you have a big bench vice you can do one in an hour or so if it's your first time. It's best to replace them in pairs, as the stress will be transferred from the bad one to the good one if you let it go for too long.

I pulled this one out of my rear driveshaft after getting back from Moab last month.

 

Hey thanks for the response. I plan to just do all of them. What about the double cardon joint? I hear its a bitch. Also, i have access to a grease gun at work and plan to lube the bitch up. What kind of lube is recommended?

 

Hopefully you won't have to touch the DC, it is a bitch. I believe @Dirty Pool has a writeup on pulling it apart and where to get the parts for it. As I recall, Toyota recommends a molybdenum disulfide grease (moly lube) for certain parts of the driveshaft and lithium based grease for other parts. Personally I use red n tacky or whatever's in the grease gun, and as long as you lube them often enough (every other oil change or so), it won't really matter because the grease won't have time to break down.

Make sure you are pushing enough grease in each joint that it oozes out of all four bearing caps. For the slip joint, you'll be able to see the male end of the shaft start to push out slightly, then you're done. If grease pops out of the seal around the slip joint, there's too much in there and you'll compromise the wiper seal.

 

I feel a slight vibration around 55. Did a new carrier bearing and carrier bearing drop bracket. New transmission mount...nothing. DS seems solid but thats while its installed. Ill take it off and see. If its solid the only thing I can think of is a Pinion bearing or something in the rear end. If thats the case, looks like 4:56s will be getting put in.

 

Welcome to the search for the holy grail. I've tried every combination of CB drop bracket, axle shims, balancing driveshaft, balancing and rotating tires - getting the rear driveshaft angles correct is just very difficult. If your u joints are all in good shape, my guess is that your vibration is due to misalignment of the driveshaft angles.

 

Looks like its 70mph+ on all roads. Haha

 

ok I am glad a this thread is relatively fresh... Are the front and rear u joints the same part 0437160070? I definitely have a clang sound. tried greasing everything to no avail. I hear mine when decelerating and then accelerating, like in corners. I also hear mine SOMETIMES between reverse and driver and vice versa.

 

Daaaayuummm dude that things been in the fail zone for a long time.....

 

Yep, all the u joints are the same, except of course for the double cardan joint. I don't know the part number, I go with the Napa heavy duty greasable u joint with the right dimensions.

Yeah no kidding, I started to notice it about the time I was driving through Salt Lake City on my way to Seattle and the whole truck was buzzing.

 

First, avoid Chinesium! I think that Dana-Spicer U-joints are still US or Canadian-made. I vaguely recall that Densos (?) are still made in Japan.

I'm not a fan of greaseable u-joints, especially if you wheel the truck...they're a bit weaker (they have to be drilled for grease passages), and it's a point for water to get in.

Also, if you have one, check the center bearing!

 

With all due respect non greasable or permalube type joints (or other parts for that matter) are of a "planned obsolescense" nature meaning they have a shelf life, for example , my 2000 TRD had the original U joints that were fine & going strong after 220k, but I'm more anal than most about greasing driveline, now would the non serviceable joints do as well ?? Perhaps, but I'm betting they wouldn't, besides seeing how I lubed often it's better to push out the old grease with new grease as a maintenance regimen .....

 

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I plan to stay away from chinese. Drives me nuts seeing all the Chinese shit on American shelves. I haven't noticed any symptoms lately. But because i Will do one, may as well do all of em. Cant hurt right? Again thanks for all the replies..

 

A greaseable u joint is weaker than a non-greaseable joint. A good sealed joint (I said a GOOD one, not a Chinese knockoff) will last the life of the vehicle.

 

I dunno if I would go that far, some of us kep our trucks for 500k miles but I will agree the oem replacement no grease u-joints should give you 100k no problem and very likely go 200k plus

 

I saw a truck with over 350K on nongreaseable U-joints. (They were replaced when the trans came out.)

 

I rebuilt one of my universals last weekend. One of the bearings in this particular joint obviously had never gotten any grease since new....dry, rusty, pulverized needles. If, after rebuilding the bad one, you can see that all the other bearings are indeed accepting grease, I'd leave well enough alone. That's what I did anyway.

The other three bearings in this particular joint were quite happy after 193K miles. I couldn't diagnose the problem as a failed u-joint until I jacked the rear end up and jiggled the drive shaft with the tranny in neutral. It was obvious then.

I was getting a vibration that was gradually getting worse that occurred on acceleration/deceleration that smoothed out at around 70 mph.