Help please

So took a drive down the coast and started hearing some serious clunking going on. Pulled over got it towed to the house. I originally thought that it was the propeller shaft. I disconnected the propeller shaft from the rear end to take that out of the equation. Is the axle broken or wheel bearing or my air locker messed up? Anyone experience this? Want to fix it myself.https://share.icloud.com/photos/06bFPwsXMcJl573n8Rubb6KhA

 

This is a 2015 tundra with 5.29 gears and an arb air locker

 

Sounds like the pin for a planet gears backing out. Does it do it on either axle or just the one in the video?

really hard to tell the location of the sound though. From the video, it sounds like it could be something hitting the brake backing plate.

 

It’s definitely a tooth on something. I can spin it smoothly then it catches and has resistance. Once I find that spot I can go back and forth on it like the video shows.

 

Here is the passenger side. This side is not smooth and makes this noise the entire time. This side feels like the wheel bearing cause it’s not rotating smoothly.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/05d38Ue7pl0wuenPpnPBQ9zlg

 

Passenger side sounds like the locker gear.

again, hard to pinpoint from the video. I’d recommend removing the pinion and getting visual on the damage. You can inspect the ring and pinion, anyway to and know if it’s internal to the locker assembly.

this is a situation where having a differential cover is nice

 

Both tires off. Both rotors off. Shaft attached and in neutral. I spin the drivers side and the shaft no longer rotates.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d9_K7fR_5UFPBCchUQTyQqEA

 

Definitely on the cover. Sucks that I have to drop it to look at it.

 

I’d hate to say it but the differential sounds pretty fooked


How does it sound when you rotate the driveshaft?

 

If I move the axle fast back and forth I get this movement. Then when I just rotate normally either way the shaft doesn’t move.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/069ZEXUEDdQ28UqIugHSLHDPA

 

No noise if I move the shaft like it does when I move the axles.

 

https://share.icloud.com/photos/001-VZuN2C02gqsArTsDRB9RA

 

I chipped a tooth on a ring gear once, and the sound was a lot like your first video.

 

You would have to rotate both axles together to get the drive shaft to rotate … like coasting down the road.

when spin just one axle, the planet gears rotate without driving the carrier…. When you rotate one side/axle, the opposite side rotates the opposite direction (assuming the locker is unlocked)

if the opposite side isn’t rotating, there is a disconnect/failure with the planet gears …. Those are what connect the sun gears on each side of the axles to the ring gear carrier

 

So weird. I put everything back on and now the drive shaft spins again. Without the rotors or tires on it doesn’t move when I rotate the axle. You can still hear the noise only on the drivers side.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0919zmmyK8XC_q21NeO4Dkd8A

 

The planet gears are working cause the other side rotates like you said.

 

Have you looked at a sample of your diff fluid yet?

 

The truck drives as well. Goes forward and backward with ease. Doesn’t feel like I lost any power or anything that feels like it’s slipping. Just makes that sound.

 

Not yet. I’m out of time today cause I have to go to my in-laws. I’ll drain it tomorrow to look at it.

 

No need to drain it - just pull the fill plug and stick a finger in there. See if you've got any overly abundant metal shavings...

 

Ok. I’ll do that tomorrow. I just replaced the fluid not too long ago either. I do all my fluids on everything regularly and I do wheel it. But nothing too crazy. I have the front and rear lockers cause I used to go with just my wife so always wanted to be over prepared.

 

I’d have to see a diagram of the locker setup, but it sounds like a broken ring gear, or some part of the carrier assembly, driving the truck it would be a rhythmic noise tied to wheel speed.

The fact that the passenger side noise is different suggests it’s related to the locker, but I can’t say definitively.

Does it make the sound while driving straight? Does it change when turning tight, vs gradual?

 

Was it still able to drive with ease? Nothing vibrates or feels off while driving. Just makes that noise and it sounds really bad. Started off just a couple of times here and there. Now it’s constant

 

Makes the sound while driving straight the entire time. My wife says she heard it more while turning to the left. But it’s pretty consistent driving straight and I’m not entirely sure if what she said is true. We didn’t drive it far after we heard it. Didn’t want anything to fully break.

 

I drove it all the way back to my work to do an axle swap, but yes the sound was definitely audible.

 

Ya we stopped and pulled off highway 1 immediately and got it towed to my house. I have 5.29 nitro gears in it that were REM polished too. Supposedly to help the gears.

 

I would avoid driving it until properly diagnosed.

 

Have you been launching that thing hard or ?

 

It’s not a daily driver. I have my gx460 and is350 so it’s just sitting on my driveway.

 

Well… it’s been jumped once on accident in Death Valley. I was on a trail and was cooking for a good 10 minutes. Then out of nowhere a small wash popped up and was going too fast to slow down and it sent the truck in a violent way. The front hit then jumped in the air and once the rear tires got to the wash it slammed the front end hard and rear was in the air and slammed hard as well. That was like 30k miles ago. It’s been in two different accidents. Both not our fault. Rear ended enough at a red light to bend the frame. Got it straightened then years later it was hit from the left front and the c4 bumper destroyed a charger. Again at a red light.