Double cardan joint wobble

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80t0ylc

80t0ylc

Hill & Gully Rider
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10 Year 15 Year
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Any opinions to how long a loose double cardan joint on the front drive shaft will last? It's pretty sloppy. I can hear/feel it vibrating in 4wd at 5 mph. I'd say there's a good 1/4" - 3/8" movement if you grab it and try wiggling it. It's an '81 with '85 engine,tranny & xfer case. Also no lift in the front. With the hubs engaged and in 2wd there's no vibration at all. Just trying to decide if it'll last through another outing or to not trust it at all. Thanks in advance for your inputs! :cheers:
 
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BJ_bumperboy said:
hardcore wheelin' .. it'll tear part on the first obsticle !!
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"Hardcore wheelin'"? The truck's not ready for that yet, even healthy. 32" tires and no lockers. :rolleyes:

It's my intent to stay in 2WD unless I need the traction assistance of the front axle. The hubs will be free so I can utilize low range where necessary, without straining the front drive shaft. Yeah, it'll get fixed. When I get the money and parts. Just gonna nurse it for awhile.:hillbilly:
 
What would be the best method to fix this problem.

1. Fix it by replacing the U-joints or is this even possible?
2. Replace drive shaft assy. If this method, would a U Pull It or auto salvage be a waste of time? I tried to price it on Toyota DIY and it was like $700+ or some unGodly amount!
 
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IMHO DC joints are a pain to repair. If it were mine, would acquire a standard shaft, with the proper flange pattern and have it shortened to fit. The only reason that you need the DC is for vibration free high speed driving, like for highway snow driving, if this isn't a priority, a standard shaft is more reliable and easier to live with.
 
Tools R Us said:
IMHO DC joints are a pain to repair. If it were mine, would acquire a standard shaft, with the proper flange pattern and have it shortened to fit. The only reason that you need the DC is for vibration free high speed driving, like for highway snow driving, if this isn't a priority, a standard shaft is more reliable and easier to live with.
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Makes sense! I like the idea. What would be a good target vehicle to pull a standard shaft from, or does it matter?
 
I crawled under the truck today and was looking at the front drive shaft and was struck with an idea. It looks like if I just eliminated the center section on the double cardan joint, and installed a new u-joint in it's place, it would effectively do what Tools is suggesting. The outside u-joints look to be the same size, so if the slip joint allows enough extension, it should be a done deal. It looks to be about 4" - 6" needed. Does this sound feasible? I don't know if a slip joint normally allows this much extension or not.
 
I just got done rebuilding every joint (including the CV centering ball) on the front shaft of my '79 Hilux ('85 drivetrain). The parts cost $129.79 USD to my door (www.rockauto.com) and took less than 4 hours to install (decided to bead-blast & paint while I was there).

My advice to you would be to replace it with one from a junk yard or just remove the front shaft from your truck until you can afford to fix it correctly. Jury-rigging your shaft is just asking for an epic failure to happen; which it eventually will... and usually at the worst possible moment.
 
WillyO said:
I just got done rebuilding every joint (including the CV centering ball) on the front shaft of my '79 Hilux ('85 drivetrain). The parts cost $129.79 USD to my door (www.rockauto.com) and took less than 4 hours to install (decided to bead-blast & paint while I was there).

My advice to you would be to replace it with one from a junk yard or just remove the front shaft from your truck until you can afford to fix it correctly. Jury-rigging your shaft is just asking for an epic failure to happen; which it eventually will... and usually at the worst possible moment.
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Thanks for the advice, Willy. I'll probably get parts to fix and then as a backup, get a front DS built with out the DC joint for durability off road. It would be nice to leave hubs engaged in the winter around here for traction on the hills. Pkups aren't known for good weight distribution with out adding some ballast and even then - still do better in 4WD.
 
When the PO owned this rig, the the front DS came apart and damaged the hard fuel and brake lines in that area. I'm sure that I can repair the fuel lines by cutting out the bad section and using rubber fuel line & clamps. But is there any way to do a similar repair on brake lines. I know there's a lot more pressure involved in brake lines, but couldn't you use flexible lines like are used from axle to frame? Is there a way of installing fittings on a hard brake line that you don't need expen$e special tools?
 
Well, if it were me ... the boneyard is your friend. Try to find another shaft in good shape and have it lengthened/shortened as needed. One good option, if you can find it, is extra cab Tacomas. They used a DC joint in the rear. But, you will either need to drill the flange at the transfer case, or get a triple drilled flange from Marlin.
 
pappy said:
Well, if it were me ... the boneyard is your friend. Try to find another shaft in good shape and have it lengthened/shortened as needed. One good option, if you can find it, is extra cab Tacomas. They used a DC joint in the rear. But, you will either need to drill the flange at the transfer case, or get a triple drilled flange from Marlin.
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I'm looking at another DS right now off a Toyota, don't know what. Small town, ours is, here in the middle of nowhere, so boneyards are small, if any, and very limited. A guy that works at the local tire shop (Les Schwab) has like a dozen Toyotas and a fair amount of parts. He's given it to me to evaluate if I can use it. It's a front drive shaft with a DC in much better shape than mine. Trouble is that it's too long. It's the bigger size from this post:

WillyO said:
Toyota used two different u-joints on the front double cardan driveshafts between '79-'95. On the slip-yoke end (and both ends of a single-piece rear shaft) the joint used is Precision #513. On the CV end the two joints used are Precision #387.

Toyota also used two different size CV ball kits. Precision #614 fits the CV w/3.070" H yoke u-joint center and .513" ball stud, and Precision #613 fits the CV w/2.813" H yoke u-joint center and .467" ball stud. According to RD's interchange, Precision Kit #613 fits '79-'84 Toyotas while Precision Kit #614 fits the '85-'95 shafts. But I'd measure them first before ordering... just to be sure.
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in Woody's cv driveshaft rebuild thread. Mine's the smaller size. The measurement on my truck from flange to flange is 20 13/16". This other drive shaft even fully retracted is too long. He wants $100 for it and I'm considering buying it and shortening it. It's at my house and I need to do some measuring on it because I'm still considering eliminating the DC. I don't think I need one for my use. The flanges look the same so I think I'm halfway there.
 
Well, among other things, I managed to pull my front DS today. Set next to the other DS that I'm evaluating there's a fair difference. Going to be interesting, here's the comparison. Mine is the top (smaller) DS.
IMG_0290.jpg


I'm thinking about replacing all the u-joints and DC kit in mine and having a shop mod the other one with DC removed for off road.
 
Sounds like a plan to me.
I know the damage you're talking about too, I've lived through a similar situation with that kind of damage, and it sucks when the sh!t starts running downhill from it.

To all: driveshaft maintenance is a must! You lose one end, and the collateral damage is huge!
 
FYI, the slips will interchange. You can use your short slip on the other shaft.
 
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