Rear End "Clank" (1 Viewer)

[r083rt]

Hey gents,

Over the past month or so I've begun noticing an audible "clank" from the rear end. I've got a couple ideas of what it might be but I thought I'd open it up here for discussion.

The vehicle is a 2000 Xtra Cab 2.7L 5spd with manual hubs up front (the clank happens while these are disengaged). A couple years ago I put on a 2.5" OME lift (this may be relevant).

The noise occurs just as I'm taking off from a standstill and has happened both while the clutch is still engaging or shortly after it is fully engaged. I've also heard it once or twice just after shifting into 2nd. Beyond that I can't tell if it is happening in 3rd, 4th, or 5th gears.

It's a metallic sounding clank with a higher pitch than a "clunk" nor can it be felt resonating through the vehicle.

Again, I've got a couple things I want to check but wanted to see what other ideas are out there.

 

[N22]

Like a Ca-clunk noise?
My first guess would be the driveshaft/ujoint/carrier bearing.
Any jutter/shimmy when accelerating or on trailing throttle?

 

[r083rt]

Like a Ca-clunk noise?
My first guess would be the driveshaft/ujoint/carrier bearing.
Any jutter/shimmy when accelerating or on trailing throttle?

That crossed my mind (and I haven't ruled it out yet) but I don't have any shuttering while accelerating. The "clank" is not so much a low clunk but a higher pitched metallic noise.

 

[r083rt]

I swung by Cruiser Outfitters (who had sold me me my lift that I installed) and they were confident it wasn't coming from the suspension and referred me to a shop close by that they do business with frequently to see if they could determine the source of the sound.

The shop seemed to indicate that it was in fact a U-joint.

So, I'm going to start shooting it up with grease (zerk by zerk) to see if i can't pinpoint the source of the clank

 

[r083rt]

Found this video online (it's not mine) which noise matches what is happening on my truck:

 

[r083rt]

Well, I shot every zerk with grease and the noise still persists.

The carrier bearing has a fair amount of play in it and is clearly on its way out.

I'll change that first then see if that resolves it.

 

[N22]

Carrier Bearing may also need to be shimmed.
If its driveline it may have to do with the driveshaft angle after the lift was installed.
I have zero practical experience with lifts, so can't give advice on the effects of that.

Sounds a bit like a noise I had/have on my Tacoma shortly after replacing my carrier bearing, can't make it do it constant enough to troubleshoot it. I'm interested to see what you find changes it.

 

[Mudder]

Pull the rear driveline and see if the clunk is still there?

 

[r083rt]

Here's a picture of the carrier bearing. As you can see it's off center. I'm thinking of shimming it in addition to replacing it.

But since greasing the driveshaft didn't yield any results I think the next step would be to drop the rear driveline and see if the clank is still there.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

Just looking at the pic it seems that the shaft is off center to the low side in the bearing. This is consistent with the lift on the truck. I'm not the expert but yeah it seems it that you want that to be centered with the truck on the ground.

Still sounds like a classic u-joint clunk tho.

 

[r083rt]

Over the weekend I dropped the rear drive shaft and took it for a spin. In the short time I drove I didn't hear the "clank" so I set about replacing the U-joints as well as the carrier bearing. Also consulted with Cruiser Outfitters who told me that for my year Tacoma and lift application that ARB did not recommend shimming the carrier bearing so I left the shim kit off.

Got the truck buttoned up and the sound has disappeared and there are no odd vibrations after reinstalling the driveshaft. So pretty happy about that.

A couple things to note:

I still need to torque the driveline bolts on the double cardan joint, this is a very tough angle to torque the bolts in addition to a normal socket not fitting in there (you can kind of see it in the photo above). Going to pick up a 14mm swivel socket today.

One of the caps on the U-joint slid in pretty easily into the yoke on the transfer case side of the shaft. There didn't seem to be any play but I'm still a little concerned that the cap may be free to rotate in the yoke. I'm going to mark it with some paint and see if it moves.

 

[r083rt]

One of the caps on the U-joint slid in pretty easily into the yoke on the transfer case side of the shaft. There didn't seem to be any play but I'm still a little concerned that the cap may be free to rotate in the yoke. I'm going to mark it with some paint and see if it moves.

Well, 1 year later it looks as though the caps in the yoke have moved a little bit but I wonder if it's enough to worry about.

What do you all think?

 

[r083rt]

I went ahead and replaced the flange yoke. It was festering in the back of my mind so it was worth it to me even just for the peace of mind. Lubed up the other U-Joints and the CV joint as well.

Good to go.