Rear strut weld crack

Had I known I would've totally yoinked the nice-shape OEM ones on the truck at the yard the other day.

 

Awesome thank you guys! I’ll definitely get some.

hydro bumps interest me a lot, but from reading an existing thread on it, it sounds like it probably wouldnt be worth it for me. Unless the fab work was cheap. Ill let you guys know what I end up doing and how much it costs to fix that weld.

as far as buying the truck, I’m planning on pulling the trigger unless the shop I bring it to finds something super bad.

 

Dollars to doughnuts this was the reason. I’ve torn off a couple shock mounts in the past. If you don’t allow the correct length of shock for whatever application you have, the shock is what become the limiting strap and or the bump stop. Sometimes a REAL stiff shock valving can do the same damage as well. I don’t think i’ve ever seen it happen on a street driven truck/jeep though. I’ve only see on rigs that get beat pretty hard offroad, so i’d be inclined to think that this potential truck has been someone’s mountain pounder at some point.

 

Hydro bump stops and longer travel suspension?!…just how fast are you planning on towing and hauling your firewood? As much as love my tundra as a work truck, i think the whole front suspension lends poorly to really challenging trails. Even once you spend the big buck$ on mid or long travel suspension, it still doesn’t allow for full travel of 35” without a LOT more custom cutting and welding of sheetmetal. I would never want a lifted truck as a work truck. Sure they look sweet, but it’s a pain in the butt to load stuff in a higher bed. I haul and tow LOTS of firewood in my 04 AC. I installed some taller 265/75-16 tires on it (no lift) and it makes it that much more difficult to lift 150~200lbs rounds of wood over the bed sides. Maybe next time i need tires, i’ll probably step down a size to the stock 245/70-16?

I’m not into using my rigs as a prerunners, so i don’t want long travel IFS. If you were after more suspension height and a LOT of durability, i personally would do a solid axle swap in a heartbeat. It would probably cost about the same as a long travel IFS lift kit.

 

Yeah, I love to dream, realistically this truck is just gonna be a when I break it I upgrade it if I have the cash kinda truck and then eventually get a dedicated off-road vehicle. It has 285’s I believe.

I did buy the truck! Got seller down to 5k. Love it!

First problem tho, when I let off the gas at freeway speed (75+) there’s a loud vibrating and buzzing. Worse at higher speeds, feels like it’s coming from the drivetrain.
I didn’t test drive it on the freeway as there is no freeway close to where it was but I got it up to 70 on a highway so I naively figured it would be good.

 

Sounds likem drive shaftem
Check ujoints
You probably gotta bad Apple in the bunch.

 

That's a fair price, welcome to the fam.

It's either driveline or brakes, but most likely driveline. If you just feather the brakes, lightest little ease-into them, does the vibration stop?

As you'll see in the 'so you want a 1st gen' megathread, and search for the word ZERK, one of the big things people fail to do is grease the driveline. I assume it's 4WD, there are a number of zerks to grease, and a special process for the slip yoke.

My guess? The PO failed to do this maintenance piece that should be done every 5k-10k miles, though it could be the carrier bearing, it's probably dry and/or worn and/or failed u-joint(s).

Best case? the u-joints are dry and are long overdue for grease, the vibration is them shimmying around in the joint.

Worst case? They got so dry one or more u-joints has failed, and the vibration has claimed the carrier bearing, possibly the pinion bearing, output shaft or other shit to fail. But you'd be feeling more than just a light vibration if it was that fargone.

My advice?

• Grease all zerks on the driveline with appropriate NLGI 2 grease ASAP, the proper way where you clean the zerk off, pump until old dirty grease squishes out which can be a bitch due to weird angles sometimes, and heed the recommended fill process for the slip yoke specifically (instructions linked in that megathread), wipe off whatever comes out
• While in there, grab the shaft on either side of every u-joint for the rear driveshafts, and lift up/down/left/right/B/A/Start in opposing directions to check for play - there should be virtually no play in any joint
• Get on the highway and test again, is it gone?
• Either way, also inspect the carrier bearing ("center support bearing" that connects the two rear shafts) to ensure the rubbers aren't torn to fuck, since it's the first thing that'll fail when a u-joint is causing vibration. If rubbers are torn it should be replaced. PLAY IS NORMAL in this joint, to the tune of 1/4" - 1/2" in any direction, torn rubbers, loose bearing housing, exposed joint is not normal, ensure all four bolts are present and tight.
• IF YOU REPLACE THE CARRIER BEARING, note the two rear driveshafts are clocked a specific way; always mark. And actually, the FSM you can download in the megathread explains how to verify the clocking, although I know @Mr.bee and/or @455h0le_dachshund have posted a screencap on this one. I think it was bee. One of our Texas friends.

 

This is what i used, and it worked. Verify, then mark your shafts.

 

Sweet thank you guys, this forum is amazing.

Yes I do believe it stops pretty much right after I hit the brakes. Ill get on the greasing tonight. Ill let you know what I find down there.

Also the steering seems to have waited til I got home to start squeekin real loud. Two mechanics (both buddies) are saying it sounds like ball joints. They are tight but maybe the bearing is dry or broken or something.

 

If metal on metal screech, lower ball joints likely, you should test before driving. Easiest way? Jack up one side ‘til tire is 2” off the ground. Wedge a prybar under the tire and lift up and down an inch. Look for play in the ball joint. If you see any DO NOT DRIVE. Replace the LBJ with new OEM joint and bolts. Don’t fuck around this is serious shit.

If vibration stops when you lightly apply brakes at speed, there’s a solid chance you have a caliper sticking. @KNABORES didn’t you say this is how your truck caliper presented one or both times?

 

I honestly didn’t know my caliper was sticking. But twice my drivers front caliper lower caliper piston locked up. Brakes would develop a shudder and a slight jerk to the steering wheel when applying the brakes.

 

I made sure to have the mechanic check the ball joints bc I know how big of an issue it is. They are aftermarket ones I’m pretty sure as they seem to use a different bolt pattern. that’s what he said. So could just be shitty ones.

Okay I’ll do some more testing, grease the zerks, check u joints etc drive it some more to see if I can nail it down. I’ll take it to a shop Monday. Thanks guys so helpful!

 

Caliper sticking seems reasonable, but why would it only be when off the gas? Just a genuine question I don’t know much about trucks wanna learn more.

 

It wouldn’t necessarily. Your issue is classic drivetrain IMHO, but I swore I saw someone on here mention getting a shimmy with stuck caliper piston that stopped with brakes. Maybe it was a wheel bearing, and I’m having a senior moment. I’m convinced it’s driveline based on the symptoms you provided and my own personal experience.

That said, do you notice any sounds associated with driving at highway speeds? Any droning, any pulsing WahWahWahWahWah type noises? Just to cover the bases.

And did the mechanic do a push-pull test on the wheels to check for joint, bearing, and steering issues? This is something you can easily do at home if you have a floor jack. Can provide details if needed.

 

Yes he jacked up the both sides, did the push pull, checked everything for tightness. My left CV is a little loose. Not problematically from what they're saying though. I don't remember any weird noises, it sounded great, and was smooth til I let off the gas. I'm afraid to go check again until I've made sure my ball joints are good.

My steering does feel a little weird. I assumed it was the bigger tires but maybe it could be those ball joints too. they felt tight to me and the pre purchase mechanic though. Anthing else to check on the steering? the squeak does sound metal on metal

 

So we've pinpointed the sound, its coming from the right side only, and only when I turn the wheel to the right. It sounds like its coming from the ball joint and/or maybe the joint where the tie rod comes in (sorry Idk exactly what everything is called). The boot on the ball joint doesn't seem to be sealed well at all, the other side one is better but not perfect. Is that a sign I should replace it? Ill add pictures of both.

My right CV is loose and the boot is ripped, the left side is much tighter, but the boot doesn't seemed sealed on correctly. There is also a tear on the left side steering rack boot i think it is.

 

That’s not a CV joint.

 

Those pictures are all of the ball joints yes

my main concern is the ball joint so I only attached those pictures.

 

Well, I see one of the LBJ has a zerk on it, so deffo not OEM.

bolts look like standard grade 8 hardware, so dunno if that's how it was on the 1st year models.

 

That is definitely not how the first year models were. There’s a mix of Grade 8 hardware store bolts and factory black flange bolts. And as @shifty` pointed out, the zero is a giveaway for non-oem ball joint. As a recently reformed non-oem ball joint survivor, I can assure you that you’ll want to address those LBJs sooner than later.

 

Okay yeah I just threw some grease in there. The squeaky ball joint's zerk is missing could be part of the problem. I'm gonna take it to a shop tomorrow morning we'll see what they say.

Something I noticed while greasing, the rubber around the carrier bearing has a crack in it. It has between 1/4 and 1/2 inch play which you said was normal, when I push on the driveshaft it moves. so idk I'll add a picture. Culprit for the vibration? Everything else has no play seems solid.

 

You've got aftermarket joints and unknown use bolts, a non toyota mechanic may tell you they're fine and just grease them but they'd be wrong. You need to get new OEM ball joints and bolts ASAP.
Left joint 4334039356
Right joint 4333039466
Bolts (need 8 of these) 9008010066 (single use bolts only)
Or if you want the really good bolts that can be reused get these bolts from ARP 663-1004

Not sure if you'll do any of this yourself or if you'll be sending to your mechanic to do but lower ball joints aren't a super hard job, no press work or anything like that.

 

If there's a zerk missing, I'm assuming that joint is dry, has had a shitload of contaminants introduced, and should be replaced ASAP. And clearly it's not OEM, so it should be replaced. It's almost 100% your issue. DO NOT drive around on it, you're asking for pain/collateral damage.

It's not ideal that the carrier boot is ripped. But that's not egregious enough that I'd be screaming to replace it. Any driveline shop will be able to inspect the joints (I mean, technically so can you) and know pretty quickly if you've got a bad U-joint. May be worthwhile to replace them proactively.

Don't take the truck to major chain stores like Goodyear, NTB, Midas, Meineke when you've got driveline issues. There's too much for them to screw up. A reputable shop that specifically deals with drivelines/driveshafts is who you should go to. You'll likely pay less.

That's a general rule of thumb I'd give you after decades of wrenching, always use a specialty shop if the thing you need fixed is in the drive line, or with heat/air conditioning.

Generally speaking, I tell friends and family to avoid chain stores and aim for a small mom and pop shop that specializes in your brand, they're everywhere. If you spend more, it's typically because they're skilled enough to know the gamut of what needs replacement, but you'll end up paying way less than chains for the work, most of the time.

 

You are the man! Thank you. Yeah I’ve always preferred small businesses.
Is the carrier boot something easy to do at home?
Looks like When I get home I will purchase myself some new ball joints.

 

There is no boot replacement for the carrier bearing, that I'm aware of. You'd just replace the carrier bearing. Spicer, I believe, is OEM.

I believe all you can do in this case is replace the bearing assembly. Only two things I'd warn you about with replacement (other than download and check the FSM for process), mark your driveshaft positions before removal, and don't install the bearing backwards.

But seriously, check the u-joints first. I think you'll find one has some play.

 

I mean I tried my best to check them for play. Once I get the ball joints replaced I’ll take it back out on the freeway and see what it feels like. I’ve scheduled to take it to the local specialist and have em look at it which might be overkill but might find some useful stuff. A usual diagnostic price is like what $50 ish?

back to the original topic I talked to a welder who does a lot of auto stuff and he said $80-100 In labor but he can’t do it til early September so Ill try for some other places.

 

September is right around the corner.

Two bigger shops near me will do diagnostics for free if you hit them up during non-peak hours. I would expect the same. I’d be shocked if it was more than $75 for a diagnostic.

But the symptoms are telling, as long as you’re not feeling it in the steering wheel. Typically vibrations caused by wheel balance will be felt at the steering wheel, beginning to kick in at or around 60-65, sometimes clears up around 75-80 if minor, and tapping the brakes doesn’t make it go away unless doing so drops you below 65mph again. Driveline problems I’ve found will be felt anywhere but the steering wheel, typically in the floor or seat, and can kick in at 30-40 or 70-80, depending on what the issue is or the vehicle, but there’s no sound associated. Tapping the brakes or letting off the gas can cause them to drift or reduce, depending what the source is. If there’s sound like a droning or WubWubWubWub associated with the vibration, it’s normally a wheel bearing and the sound or vibration will typically stay after braking. A lot of times bad u-joints can have a small squeak as you tap the gas, if dry.

This is just my experience. If wheel balance is suspected as the issue, sometimes you can rotate the tires front to rear on the same side. If it gets better or worse, you need to look at tire balance. If it stays the same, it’s probably in the driveline, or at the wheel bearings. But before you go out doing crazy testing, get those LBJ replaced. Ticking timebomb.

 

I have new truck fever so 10 days is an eternity haha.

I didn’t really feel much at all in the steering wheel it was mostly floor and seat. It did almost seem to start up front by the hubs but then moved its way back to the transmission/ driveline area. There was a little droning for sure. I’m having an alignment shop look at it tomorrow so if it isn’t driveline hopefully they can sort it out.

 

Long term update: Got the strut welded back on by a friend, and its holding up good. Haven't got bump stops on it yet, but will get those ASAP because when loaded with a cord of wood, there is a lot of bottoming out. Strut was blown too but I'm not replacing that yet.

Vibration: Carrier bearing was not carrying, had it replaced and now the vibration is gone. $180 bucks for the local driveline shop after I removed it myself. They said all U-joints were in good condition.

 

I think 99% of the population don’t realize just how much volume a cord of wood actually is. A guy would be hard pressed to fit a full cord in a full sized long bed (as in 8’ bed) pickup. It would literally be impossible to fit that in a tundra…well unless you built something like 6’ tall bed sides! I haul a LOT of firewood in my 04 AC, and the frame is squashing the bumpstops when the bed is only half full of wet rounds. Better hold off on getting more wood until you get those bumps installed! Tightly stacked 4x4x8 is a cord.