Rear axle shaft twist

[cruiseroutfit]

I’d rather not unless it’s necessary.
Maybe @cruiseroutfit can chime in on this.

Happy to.

Not normal, any spline twist we can measure/see with a straight edge, gets replaced. It's a pain with the 200 rears as that requires you to fully disasseble to retreive your backing plate, etc but we've built a kit with all the parts. Part# RAK200SF, has the bearings, housings, retainers, clips, o-rings, etc to do an axle shaft R&R

 

[Fisher23]

I would take out the other axel and check it as well.

 

[TeCKis300]

Swap axles side to side and twist it back. Kidding of course.

 

[UPR LC]

Swap axles side to side and twist it back. Kidding of course.

My exact tongue-and-cheek thought as well, haha.

I would replace if it was me. Elastic versus plastic deformation, look up a stress-strain curve and you will see why you should replace that axle shaft.

Also, the reason the shaft starts to twist just past the engagement of the diff, is because the shaft is fully supported with spline mesh in your diff, and outside the diff the axle is able to twist. It is good to see Toyota properly('ish) manufacturers their axle shafts, notice the shaft diameter is not larger than the minor diameter of the splined portion of the shaft, that equates to less stress risers at that interface and a stronger shaft. The design is not perfect but better than a lot of aftermarket shafts with cut splines.