1999 LX470 drive flange problem?

[dgardner]

Hello,
New to the forumn, this is my first cruiser/lx470 and my first 4wd, but I have done plenty of wrenching to keep my cars on the road in the past. Thank you for any advice in advance.

What happened:
1. I was driving in some light snow yesterday and heard a gravely noise. I thought it was the car next to me or a salt truck. The noise stopped and I forgot about it. Drove kids around this morning and all was good, no weird noises. Then suddenly no power to the wheels and an intense gravely noise.

2. Pushed myself into a parking lot. (likely it was downhill)

3. Front CV joint has excessive in out play on the passenger side and seems to spin freely and be the source of the noise. The drivers side has in/out play from the wheel too, but not as excessive.

4. When I put it in park the vehicle began to roll. Had to use the emergency brake.

4. I found that with the center differential lock engaged it can move under its own power. and seems to go into park normally.

Question: If a drive flange blew out would it cause these symptoms, or would this more likely be a transfer case failure?

 

[dgardner]

Just found my issue described in another post.https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj80-drive-flange-questions.1005735/

Can I drive to a shop with the CDL engaged? If I do it myself are there any decent aftermarket suppliers for parts or should I go through Toyota?

 

[dgardner]

Pics of the passenger side cv

 

[Flipped Bezel]

Pull your dust cover and check to see if your snap ring came off of outer shaft allowing CV to pull inboard of drive flange. You may be able to screw a bolt into the threaded hole and pull the shaft out enough to pop the ring back into the groove on the outer shaft.

 

[dgardner]

Is it possible for a clip to fail and for the cv to back out? The splines don't look bad, but the cv is definetly not seated where it should be. Pics of drivers side and the bad side (passenger)

 

[TheForger]

The C-clip popped off the end of your CV allowing it to slip back inside the hub. Do what @Flipped Bezel mentioned and thread a bolt into the end of the axle and try to pull it out as far as you can and install a new c-clip. Looks like it happened on the drivers side as well based on your pictures

 

[Flipped Bezel]

Yes. Were the snap rings inside the dust covers when you took them off? You can try "closing" them up some with a pair of pliers then push the shaft from inside the wheel as far out as possible. If that doesn't push it out far enough use a small metric bolt in the threaded center hole to pull the shaft far enough to snap the rings back into the grooves.

Just looking at your drive flange it looks like it's splines may be worn pretty flat. If you can get it back together this may hold up long enough to get it off of the side of the road and allow you to get replacement parts ordered. You can drive it with the center diff locked to get it to a safe spot to work on it.

 

[dgardner]

Clips were in the dust caps. Drivers side pulled out and clip reinstalled, the passenger side is stuck, I think it may have twisted on the splines. Any good aftermarket suppliers?

 

[Flipped Bezel]

The drive flange splines look flat based on the picture. You can pull the drive flange off to free it up. Break the 6 nuts holding it on and leave them on but flush with ends of the studs. Some persuasion with a brass bar and hammer to the studs/nuts should loosen the cone washers and allow for drive flange removal.

I personally would only use OEM replacements. A search on this forum on aftermarket CVs will yield plenty of results and pros/cons of each side of this discussion. OEM have proven to be the strongest and longest lasting replacements.

 

[Ayune]

FYI, Toyota part numbers for flange-related parts are:

Drive flange: 43421-60060 - 1 per side, ~$54/ea
Drive Flange Gasket: 43422-60070 - 1 per side, "non-reusable part", ~$2/ea
Cone Washers: 42323-60030 - 6 per side, cheap and helpful to replace, ~$1.25/ea
Flange nuts: 90170-10039 - 6 per side, "non-reusable part", ~$1/ea

I didn't list the snap rings, there's many thicknesses and you may be able to re-use the ones you have. And re-using the grease cap is fine...

 

[dgardner]

Thank you all very much. I think the cv axle on the passenger side will need to be replaced too. Should I do them both at the same time?

 

[Flipped Bezel]

It is recommended and probably wise to change the CV axleshaft at the same time as the drive flange if your finances and time allow it. After you remove the drive flange clean the outer shaft splines well and inspect to see if they are flat like the drive flange splines. That should give you an indication if it can be temporarily reused.

If you need the vehicle right away and the CV splines are still in a fair and serviceable condition, I would source a new drive flange and gasket and a small tube of blue (low or mid strength) threadlock compound. Reassemble using your original cone washers and nuts applying a drop or two of threadlock to studs where nuts seat at when tightened.

This repair could be done pretty quickly by you (no labor charges) and buy some time to allow for a more comprehensive replacement in the future if needed with only a modest parts expenditure at this time.

Be careful to closely inspect both side's snap rings and consider replacing with the proper thickness because if there is to much play there it can cause wear to snap ring/groove on shaft. Not to mention it can allow the snap ring to come off again and this problem to recur leaving you down making repairs on the side of the road.

 

[dgardner]

Probably just do it all now. We are heading from St. Louis to western CO during spring break with a carful of kids. Weather is looking decent later in the week, guessing it will take a few days to get parts anyway.

 

[Flipped Bezel]

Perfect time to look at your brakes and wheel/spindle bearings also while in there. Plan to repack or replace if necessary. I would also be prepared to change the axle seal just inside differential if you have to pull the CV to repair or replace.

Good luck with the LX!

 

[nissanh]

Get the C clamps on both sides and plan to do frontend bearing greased and brakes on a later time. Of your cv's dont leak or make noise, why replace those? Unless you plan an overland trip for weeks, I would just wait until you source oem parts to get the front refreshed. Make sure to onstall OEM oil seals at either end of diff..

 

[dgardner]

Looks like joint set is available, part # 4340360010
Thats good for cruiser or lx correct?

 

[dgardner]

main reason for thinking about replacing is I am assuming the splines are damaged on the passenger side. I don't see how it could be stuck like it is otherwise. I tried using a bolt, washer and large socket to pull it through and it wouldn't budge.

 

[nissanh]

Wiggle the cv from the other side while you spin the bolt. Appearance of the rubber boot on cv looks new.

 

[flintknapper]

main reason for thinking about replacing is I am assuming the splines are damaged on the passenger side. I don't see how it could be stuck like it is otherwise. I tried using a bolt, washer and large socket to pull it through and it wouldn't budge.

Thread a bolt through the nose of a slide hammer and pull it.

 

[Flipped Bezel]

I think that once you remove the drive flange from the hub you should be able to clean and inspect the splined area on shaft where it engages the drive flange and make a more accurate assessment. This could be done in just a few minutes with a ball peen hammer.