In the past month or two I have noticed a click/clunk noise when I get off the throttle. It sounds like it is coming from the rear end and or transfer case. At first I thought it was due to the fact that I lost all the grease in the rear slip yoke from a broken zerk. But after replacing that and lubing back up, still the same. So crawled under the rig again to check the u-joints etc and I can duplicate what I 'think' is the noise I am hearing inside the cab by rotating the play in the drive shaft to where it causes the gears in the rear end to hook up. Checked the rear end fluid and that is full and clean. Just wondered how much play is considered normal (I haven't measured but would guess mine has maybe 1/2" of rotational play). So if I am under the truck and rotate the play back n forth, I get the annoying clunk that I am hearing from the rear end. Is there a way to get the play out and make it tight? I'm totally shooting in the dark here so please inform/educate me. I DON'T want to take it to the stealer for fear they will tell me my gears need replacing or something to that effect.

thanks in advance!

You shouldn't have ANY play. 1/2" is a major problem.

The play is either in your rear end or your transfer case. Remove the rear drive shaft. Now grab the input of the rear end and see if there is rotation. Do the same with the transfer case.

uh oh <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

What would cause this play? I've never removed the drive shaft. Do I just unbolt the u-joint bolts? Any ideas on what the problem would be and how to fix it??

Now I'm worried about it.

Yup....4 flange bolts hold the shaft to the diff, and same with the transfer case end, although you could probably just remove it from the diff and twist the whole shaft and see if the rotation is coming from the t-case. You'll need 2 14mm open end wrenches.

What would cause this play?
Any ideas on what the problem would be and how to fix it??

Could be worn bearings, improper backlash on the gears, etc

Just to make sure, you don't have an aftermarket locker in the rear end, like an ARB, do you? That will give you quite a bit of slop.

I have just the stock diff lock from the factory.

If any others have ideas, please chime in or I am pretty much stuck with letting the $tealer take a look at it. I'd hate to bust a tooth on the ring or pinion with having that much play in it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Well, since you say it that way, I should chime in. Sorry for the long post. I just completed the entire unpleasant process of replacing my 3rd member because I broke 2 teeth off of the rear pinion gear. That also damaged several teeth on the ring and did some damage to the carrier as well. I purchased an entire pre-assembled 3rd member from Marlin Crawler with the same gear ratio (4.88) that I had before. It's nice that Marlin uses the stronger pinion spacer and a flange with 3 different sets of holes in it, but that's just frosting on the cake. I was happy to buy it from a shop that should know what they are doing in setting up the gears. Then I could also do the complete uninstall/install of the 3rd member in my garage so I know it's done right.

My rear ring and pinion broke while I was on the road doing several unusually fast accelerations, which apparently heated up the gears to the point of weakening them. I rarely drive with full throttle, but I was enjoying driving since I had improved the Split Second tuning on the A/F ratio at full throttle and I put the URD 2.2" S/C pulley back on to make it roughly equivalent to sea level performance despite that I'm at mile high altitude. I was amazed that I could actually squeal the 33" tires in the 1-2 shift despite an auto tranny. It shifts fairly hard due to the IPT valve body mod, which is what I think was a major contributor to the gear failure due to the added spike in torque throughout the drivetrain at full throttle. I had about 80K miles on the gears and some of the bearings in the 3rd member but 150K miles on the spider gears and at least one of the bearings since that one e-locker bearing doesn't come in the master install kit with the Yukon gears that I had installed back in 2002. In hindsight the gears seemed to be setup with a pretty deep contact, (although I'm no expert) but the bearings were worn enough that there was a fair amount of play in everything and it all felt really loose. So I think bearing wear was another contributor for me, unless it was setup a long time ago with way too much backlash.

So about the play in your driveshaft, a 1/2" does seem like a lot. I'm pretty sure I only had 1/4" or less before mine broke - most of that play likely in the spider gears and other contact areas before it rotates the axle shafts, not between the ring and pinion. Both the transfer case/transmission and the rear diff have to allow that much play in order for you to rotate the connected drive shaft 1/2". After what happened to me, I'd think the rear diff is more likely a concern. But I really don't know how much rotational play you should expect at each end of the driveshaft.

When you drain the rear diff fluid, are there much shavings on the magnet? A little bit is normal. Since you feel a clunk, I'd think you do have a problem that needs to be looked at.

One similar "clunk" that I dealt with years ago was fixed by simply tightening the bolts that hold the stock bolts in each end of the rear lower control arms. Make sure those are tight, although that doesn't sound like it's your problem.

My wife previously had a Ford Ranger with a loud clunk in the drivetrain every time she started out from a stop. It had about 75K miles on it. There was a lot of play in the driveshaft - probably 1/2". I opened up the diff cover and saw the spider gears moving around a LOT. I don't know if that info can even be compared to yours since they are very different designs. Unfortunately, you can't just look inside Toyota 3rd member. You might need someone experienced in what feels right to know if it's worthwhile to dig deeper for a problem.

Thanks for the ideas guys. Mine is less of a cluck and more of a click/tick sound. Mine is a 5-Speed. I have only noticed it when I let off the throttle pretty quick while still in gear. I will check any bolts down in that area and then actually measure the amount of rotational play. Guess I am at the mercy of the Stealer being honest with me and hopefully competent. I have to do the timing belt here this summer anyhow so I guess I will ask them about it then.

If anyone else has thoughts/ideas, please add to the thread. I trust your guys opinions and knowledge a lot more than a random mechanic at the dealer.

I'm going to measure my "rotational play" tonight. I have noticed that there is some, but it was nothing that concerned me. I'll post up my measurement when I have it.

Does your tranny whine a lot?

~Dave