Driveshaft play

[COS80]

I've got that loctite on order.

Is there a more precise inspection for these splines to determine whether one or the other is bad? I dont want to throw money away on parts I dont need, and the splines both look fine to me.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Edited to remove redundant text

This is the offending side. All looks good to me. Agree?

View attachment 3719739View attachment 3719740View attachment 3719741View attachment 3719742


Also, the noise is gone with this removed... so it doesn't look bad to me, but it must be.

Flange looks sharp. No severe wear.

Shaft splines look a little worn, but not terrible. They'd run a long longer before failure

The width and shape of the unworn end part is different to the splines where they engage in the flange.
See red lines below

The shoulder on the splines inside the flange look noticeably narrower.
Photo perspective makes it hard to see how much, but putting some lines on a photo shows it in more than one place.

If there's no other suspect responsible for the noise, and you find it unbearable, changing birfs and flanges would help. 1mm of wear here will translate to several degrees rotation before the slop is taken up

 

[mudgudgeon]

This seems odd. Should there be this much play? I haven't loosened the axle nut yet.

It's normal. The flange locates that end of the axle shaft

 

[COS80]

I'll try to measure that difference tonight and see how much is photo perspective.

 

[COS80]

It's normal. The flange locates that end of the axle shaft

Thanks.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I'll try to measure that difference tonight and see how much is photo perspective.

Slide the flange back on, rotate on the shaft to see how much it moves.
Now, slide the flange 3/8" out from the hub so the unworn splines are engaged with the flange. Does this reduce the loose sloppy rotation?

You won't be able to bolt it in place like this, but you may feel/ see a difference.

FWIW, when my current cruiser was new to me, i swapped out worn birfs and flanges. The splines on the birfs were just rounded little bumps. No shoulder left on them at all.

 

[Kernal]

Already said above, hard to tell but seems like more wear near the outer end of the stub shaft splines and inner end of the drive flange splines??
Better photos might help.

FWIW, thinking about the set-up (axle shaft, CV joint, spindle, drive flange) there are three points of support for the axle shaft-CV joint combo: where the axle shaft end goes into the differential, where the CV joint stub shaft goes into the drive flange on the other end, and lastly where the CV joint rides on/in the spindle bushing ie: near the flex point between the CV joint (star) and axle shaft

 

[COS80]

@mudgudgeon that's a sharp eye... I measured the shaft splines, and they are 0.50mm narrower on the inner part of the shaft.

I'm going to do that no front shaft test to see if there's still a clunk with the front out of the equation, or if that's the whole issue, and either way, as far as the FL noise is concerned, I think I am going to drive it a while longer like this, and then do a full knuckle rebuild on both sides. I'm definitely not ready for it yet - I've got a lot of reading to do.

Thanks for all the help so far, folks!

 

[COS80]

In an incredible turn of events, my wife is trying to talk me into doing the knuckle rebuilds right now.

Who am I to argue? What should I upgrade, and what parts should be factory Toyota?

 

[Malleus]

Toyota outer shafts are >$1000, if you buy them in the US. Dave Stedman may be able to get them for you, if they're still available in Japan, at a much reduced price. Onur Azeri @OGBeno would have a better idea of non-Toyota replacements than anyone. Be aware if you elect to "upgrade" to "stronger" shafts, you're trading strength for toughness; those things tend to break like they came off a Land Rover. And they aren't designed for daily pavement driving.
//insert numerous testimonials from people who claim to run them all the time on pavement, with no problems at all//

 

[COS80]

Be aware if you elect to "upgrade" to "stronger" shafts, you're trading strength for toughness; those things tend to break like they came off a Land Rover. And they aren't designed for daily pavement driving.

Doesn't sound like much of an upgrade. These comments refer to Longfield and RCV, or what? I have no interest in trailering this vehicle; it will always be driven to the trail.

I'm thinking about maybe just doing a full axle rebuild, in preparation for more suspension upgrades and bigger tires.

 

[Malleus]

Yes, Longfield, et alia. When you say "full axle rebuild" you mean everything except the housing, or just the outer driveline? Unless you have specific needs, Toyota's design has proven reliable for decades. That means using their parts.

Japan is 13 hours ahead of us, and I'd bet Dave is in the office; even on Saturday. Drop him a line.

I'd wait for Onur's opinion on aftermarket. Or just call him and get a quote.

 

[COS80]

Yes, Longfield, et alia. When you say "full axle rebuild" you mean everything except the housing, or just the outer driveline? Unless you have specific needs, Toyota's design has proven reliable for decades. That means using their parts.

Japan is 13 hours ahead of us, and I'd bet Dave is in the office; even on Saturday. Drop him a line.

I'd wait for Onur's opinion on aftermarket. Or just call him and get a quote.

Well, I guess I don't mean "full", because I'm certainly not ready to regear (unless something's broken in there, too, then I guess it's just full monty time). I think it's really just birfields/knuckles at this time.

 

[COS80]

I slid the drive flange back on and wiggled the diff flange, and was able to observe that the axle is definitely clunking around inside the flange. I ran it on jackstands w/o the front driveshaft, with the CDL locked - no clunk. Strange that this axle spline issue came on so suddenly, but I'm confident that's the problem. Awaiting a quote from Dave Stedman to see where I go from here.

 

[COS80]

I just got everything back together and test driven, and lo and behold, the clunking is gone! I painted both driveshafts and, more importantly, the front axle splines with the Loctite LB 8012 @Kernal recommended and it worked beautifully. A trusted mechanic friend ensured me this was nowhere near an emergency, even with the noise, based on the condition of the splines and flanges, so I think I'm going to postpone the front axle work for a bit, as a result.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[COS80]

Toyota outer shafts are >$1000, if you buy them in the US. Dave Stedman may be able to get them for you, if they're still available in Japan, at a much reduced price. Onur Azeri @OGBeno would have a better idea of non-Toyota replacements than anyone. Be aware if you elect to "upgrade" to "stronger" shafts, you're trading strength for toughness; those things tend to break like they came off a Land Rover. And they aren't designed for daily pavement driving.
//insert numerous testimonials from people who claim to run them all the time on pavement, with no problems at all//

Thanks a million for the Dave Stedman tip. That guy is some kind of wizard! He got me a tie rod from Japan in half the time AND price that the dealership six miles away could have done.

 

[Malleus]

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