My truck has a slow thump, thump, thump detectable at low speeds.
This is present on a straight drive, not turning. It may be present when turning but I cannot hear it as well because of the tire noise when turning.

If it does indeed happen to be the u-joints--is it something I should attempt as a medium level garage mechanic or is it better left to the shop?

My truck has 104,000 miles on it at the present. No offroading just highway.

Thanks for the help. I searched this site but did not see any specific instructions for replacing the u-joints but I do have FSM for my truck.

Would Gettel be the place to order the part if I am not in a hurry?

Hoping for a quiet ride again.

Brad

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

It's pretty easy given a vise, vise grips and a 5# sledge for removal and a carpentry hammer and socket for installation and some patience for both the R and I. That said it's also easy to mess up the ears on the slip yoke and/or pinion yoke by using a press or by overdriving one cap into the ears trying to pound the opposite cap out. As a mid-level shade tree who found those two caveats out the hard and expensive way, I'd still do it again but only with the vise and hammer method.

Mark the driveshaft so you reinstall it in the right alignment. Kroil the caps generously and leave for a cup of coffee or such. When you return clamp the yoke tightly in a vise, cap you want to remove facing up and flush enough so you won't be hammering right on the yoke but not so deep in the vise that it's noticeably below the top of the clamp. Then whale the bejeepers out of the vise with the 5#er, right next door to the cap and keep hammering the holy hell out of it til the cap starts to walk out. Once there's enough cap to grab with some vise grips set them on the exposed cap and keep pounding on the bench vise and pulling up on the cap. You could also reverse things up when the cap starts to walk out and clamp it in the vise and tap the yoke off. Repeat for the other three.

To install the trick is to tap it in with the smaller hammer and a closely sized socket evenly. Evenly. Smear some grease on the roller bearings to hold them in line, line up the cap over the yoke ear, socket on top of the cap and tap tap tap each side of the socket to seat it in as straight as possible.

Repeat for each. It's a p.i.t.a., but it's not real hard. If you want to shop it and have an alternate ride, though, you can save some money by just bringing them the offending yokes and portion of driveshaft.

A related question:

Around very high turns, like the turn onto my street where I have to traverse a small hill I get a thump in my drivers side rear..I cannot pinpoint it exactly as this sit he only time it happens..

U joints?

When you are all done with the install take a hammer and smack the yoke and the shaft a good shot. This will spring loose any binding of the ujoint that you may have. Rotate the unit before and after - you should feel a difference.

FWIW I had a similar problem a couple years ago on my 'T and it turned-out to be a bad rear wheel bearing.

--Kevin

Sounds like a lot of work--and since I do not know exactly what the problem is--either a u-joint or two or the rear wheel bearing, I might just have a reliable shop near where I live take a look at it.

Probably will avoid the stealership on this repair since it is not really Toyota specific.

Thank you for all the help.

I might still do it if I can get a good grip on what the FSM says about the whole ordeal. I appreciate the tips learned the hard way. It's not the knowledge, it is the wisdom.

Brad <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

If you suspect the U-joints, you should be able to crawl under yer truck and try twisting the drive shaft by hand back and forth. If there is any significant play you can find out with that quick check.

Fer a more in depth check, you could just pull the drive shaft out and check each U-joint fer play. If there is a bad one, it will become very apparent as the one that sticks or wobbles. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Snapper
I've just had a lot of experience with this lately. I've replaced ALL the joints in my rear driveshaft. I need to post an update to my situation in my "growling rear end" post and will try to do that tonight.

The joints in the yokes are easy to check by removing them from the flange of the tranfer case or diff. I applied as much force as I could to the joints with everything hooked up and I couldn't tell I had a problem. As soon as I disconnected the yoke and rotated the joints in my hand, I could feel binding in the rear one. I would recommend doing this check first.

Changing joints is not difficult but a press makes installation a whole lot easier. I was a little intimidated by the process so I got a friend who's done numerous u-joint jobs and has a press to help me out. I would attempt it alone now but I would have an extra joint on hand just in case. Adam's writeup gives good directions. The two yoke joints were actually pretty easy. The u-joints in the double cardan joint are a bit tougher <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" /> but we got those done too, after a fashion.

If you do this job, don't forget to lube the new joints up once you reinstall the driveshaft but don't overdo the grease on the driveshaft itself. A half dozen pumps into this zerk is probably too many.

Thanks Kevin,

It did turn out to be the rear wheel bearing and the seal was leaking getting on to the brakes.

Now it is fixed and my T-100 is awaiting a new oxygen sensor. Then she will be in tip-top shape.

Thanks to the board for helping me solve this problem.

P.S. The repair shop wants to charge me extra for draining the brake fluid. Is that supposed to be included in the charge for the bearing repair or probably not. $300 for the bearing repair and another $100 to drain and refill the brake lines.

Brad

WTF? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

They do need to bleed the rear brakes after the swap, but that should be figured into the bearing swap labor charge. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Even if they flush the whole brake system (which is good preventive maintenance every couple of years, but not necessary for the bearing swap), it shouldn't cost anywhere near $100!