2003 Tundra Drive Train Issues

I’ve got an ‘03 Tundra 2WD SR5. I’ve had some vibrations between 35-60 MPH. Few months ago I had to get towed because I blew a spark plug and when I backed it off the trailer I missed the chain attached to the drive shaft. This put a bit of a dent in the shaft but it’s didn’t look too bad. It’s had a slight vibration ever since especially around 45 MPH. Fast forward to this week and the problems snowballed. I replaced the leaf springs and the vibrating got worse. Got the tires balanced and rotated. Still vibrating. And as the week went on the vibrating got worse. Highway speeds were scary it was shaking so bad. So I took it to a shop just to see if it was safe to get home and they said it was good but my rear bearings were starting to go and my inner tie rods were giving a some play. When I got home I jacked it up to check for any vibration in the drive shaft because I know my carrier bearing was bad. The vibrating wasn’t terrible but you could see it. Well after I got the new bearing on the vibration is really bad from 20-35 MPH but after that it smooths out. On the jacks the wobble is really bad. Now I don’t know what to do because I don’t want to keep throwing money at it. I’ll try to upload some pics and vids

 

You're wondering what the problem is? I had to read this a couple of times because I thought you might be joking. Before you throw any more $ at this, you need to take it to a shop that specializes in drivelines.

 

If it started after you dented it I’m gonna assume it’s the dent. I second taking it ONLY to the specialist driveline shop, they do it cheaper and better.

 

What does “blew a spark plug” mean? It’s not a Triton 5.4. And why was the driveshaft chained down?? I have so many questions….

 

It was an actually a split coil boot and a stripped spark plug that had to be retapped. I didn’t put the chain there so I don’t know it didn’t make sense to me either

 

One misfiring cylinder made it undriveable?

 

The driveeshaft spins absurdly fast and any aberration (dent/bend/weight change/etc) will throw it out of balance. That includes dents, globs of stuff like tar or cement stuck to it, it’s just like your wheels in that way, and it’s even weighted similarly from the factory to balance the shaft similar to how your wheels are balanced on a machine.

What that damage has done is twofold. One, the dent has changed the rotational mass of the shaft to be out of balance causing vibration throughout the driveline, from the transmission to your rear end. Two, due to your negligence in going to a driveshaft shop to rebalance or replace the driveshaft, the added vibration applied to every other joint and bearing has possibly fucked up other shit, because vibrations will destroy bearings and bushings fast as hell. U-joints. Carrier bearing. Double cardan. Pinion bearing. Output shaft bearing. Etc.

You need to take the truck, specifically, to a driveshaft/driveline specialty shop. Have them assess. You’ll pay less there for correct work than at a generalist shop that’ll throw parts at it, and this is one of two times where you DO NOT want to use a generalist shop to assess and repair.

 

I'd say start with the driveshaft issue first.

Sounds like that may have caused the other problems with bearings. It separates into two pieces, so you might be able to replace the damaged portion and work from there.

 

FYI, you can’t fix a dented drivline. A driveline shop would have to replace the bent tube and weld your existing end yokes back on the new tube. It won’t be a cheap fix. You would probably be better off procuring a good used driveline.

My old 1995 dodge cummins used to get a decent vibration from the driveline at any speed over 58mph. So i simply didn’t drive the truck over 55mph for a couple years (until i came up with a solution). The bonus driving at 55mph was that i could get 25mpg on the highway.