2008 Tundra TRD SR5 Suspension/Drivetrain Overhaul

Howdy y'all,

Long time listener, first time poster (and making an account). After a number mx projects on ole girl over the years, I figured it was time for me to make an account and start contributing to the brain trust that I have only taken from.

Here's the story: while out hunting the icy backroads of SW Montana for the last week of elk season, I managed to pop my driver side upper ball joint. After getting the truck to a recoverable position, we found that the base of the strut was bent, the outer CV boot was torn, brake line stretched to its limits, ABS wire sheared, etc. We can't tell if the tie rods were bent at all. I'm only the second owner of this ole girl, and she's got about 250k on her, so I was really on borrowed time with some of my suspension/drivetrain components in general, and the hurting that I put on this truck hunting and fishing. I don't plan on getting a new vehicle in the next few years, so here we go.

Although I wanted to delay this project until real winter hits out here, my hand has been forced. I plan to replace almost all of the suspension components and a number of the drivetrain components, partly because a few were damaged in the failure, but mostly because I'll be in there, have to get an alignment anyway, and they're all original. Here's a list of the overhaul:

• Front coilovers
• Rear struts
• CV Axles
• Both UCA's
• Both LCA's
• Tie Rods (Inner and Outer)
• Sway bar links
• Hubs/bearings

Y'all would be proud of me: I've used the forum search function a lot. Here's what I've picked up for sourcing parts so far:

1. I am going OEM on the UCA's/LCA's. The shop I trust uses O'Reilly's Import Direct brand, but OEM from Ourisman Toyota isn't all that much more expensive. (Part numbers 48068-09100, 48069-09090, 48610-0C011)
2. The coilovers on the front have an old-school 2" leveling kit (that I believe the previous owner put in after getting rear airbags put in), so instead of swapping them out for OEM, and since I don't have a press to compress the springs, I went with KYB Strut and Spring assemblies that match the TRD trim line. They have about a 2" level integrated into them, as far as I understand. I found it difficult to find front struts that came as an assembly that fit the TRD package (looking for that again because I don't have a press to compress the springs). (Part numbers SR4473 and SR4472)
3. The CV axles have given me a bit of a headache. My trusted shop has recommended the Import Direct extended travel axles (Part TO8250ET from O'Reilly's), which retail for about $315. This butts up against everything I've read from individuals online, saying to ONLY go OEM for CV's. However, Toyota makes this hard, since they're discontinued (as everyone reading this is already finishing my sentences). I've tried to find remanufactured axles from dealers, but no dice so far (using part number 43430-0C040-84). I also looked at CVJ axles, but have read a few people online saying their quality has declined in recent years. So I went down the rabbit hole of trying to find CV's from dealers. Ourisman doesn't have them in stock, but I found Olathe only has one for about $445 each. I want to go with OEM, but I can't find a second axle currently. Potentially thinking about going Import Direct brand only because this is also my daily driver, and I can't have it out of commission for too long.

That mostly covers the big stuff for now. The question I have for the group so far:

• If I am replacing the front struts that have a 2" leveling kit on them, I am assuming that I will either need OEM CV axles (since they functioned for over 250k miles with the leveling kit), or extended travel CV axles (given that normal aftermarket axles advertise not to be used with lifted vehicles)?

 

Got the truck back into my garage today, so starting the work now. The ball joint failure happened with the truck in 4HI, and the 4HI lights and VSC lights started flashing. Towed it to the shop with a disconnected drive shaft since it wouldn't shift to 2WD. Any ideas what is causing it to not want to shift? It has a torn ABS wire, but wouldn't imagine that would be the issue.

EDIT: I found a spreadsheet of flashing/steady warning lights on another forum. Looks like my combo refers to a cut front wheel speed sensor. When I dig in I'll confirm, and post the spreadsheet I used.

 

I don’t know if this any help, but if it’s similar to a 4Runner, the 4WD actuator could be stuck in between and not know which way to move. I watched one of the vids the guy was explaining that you have to override it with power for it to go all the way to 4WD or all the way to 2WD and he did it with 12v battery and some wires.

 

It turned out to in fact be because the driver's side ABS wire had sheared off when the ball joint failed. All is well now. I'm working on a write-up for the forum so that anyone else who has to replace any of these components will be able to learn.

 

Subscibed...

I would definitely lean toward OE on the axles, but availability is what it is. With that being said, have you looked into new or reman units from Detriot Axle?? If I recall they are under $150/ea and carry a 10-year warranty... I believe they also do 2 or 3 day free shipping!!!

https://www.detroitaxle.com/parts/2008-toyota-tundra/cv-axles/?drive_type_name=4WD

Sorry, I have no experience w/the product, but I'd trust the brand more than something from Oreilly personally



Edit: Looks like they have a pair of them for $204 shipped w/lifetime warranty...

https://www.detroitaxle.com/part/20...t-cv-axles-pair/899_axx2/?drive_type_name=4WD