Tacoma driveshaft

So my dad has a 2008 Tacoma 4x4 with 130k. He is saying from a standstill and getting on the gas pedal he is feeling a clunking coming from the bottom/rear that sounds like the transmission is hitting 1st gear real hard.

Took it to the midland Toyota dealer and the mech is saying that the rear propeller driveshaft is the issue and he has seen this in a few Tacomas. Also that tranny does not have any issues.

Anyone have the same issue. Feel free to burn me with questions. I’ve ne

 

Confused.

If he is at a standstill he is already in 1st gear. Do you mean hitting second gear real hard?

 

Well he is saying that it seems like the truck seems to go to neutral then hits hard on take off.

 

My dads had it for bout 5 years now and hadn’t noticed. Not sure if he just now got wind of it. Maybe it’s been there the whole time.

 

Check out tacomaworld.com

May have some threads on that topic.

 

Loose u-bolts on the rear axle is a very good possibility. It’s common on 2nd gen Tacomas. The FSM says 37 ft-lbs is the torque spec for a 14mm u-bolt, which is way too low, and many (myself included) think that it’s a typo and that 73 ft-lbs is probably the intended number. I torqued mine on my ‘06 Tacoma to 80 ft-lbs and never had an issue. Many guys reported loosening the nuts by hand, no tools required.

His ‘08 may well have rear leaf spring recalls and driveshaft recalls also - best to check before paying...

 

Thanks yea he said he went and had his springs changed due to the recall bout 2 years ago. The dealer got back to him and said rear propeller driveshaft Would cause the clunking sound so they are going to replace it.

Side note, they also found a some oil on the trans seal and are going to drain, replace the seal and refill the tranny but said this would not have caused the noise he is hearing.