Bent rear axle - what would you do?

Hi all, I bought a prior salvage 2015 Tacoma (was hit in rear) last summer and was told it was all repaired. It is not. It ate new Michelin rear tires in about 8,000 miles and handling can be twitchy as heck in some road conditions - scary. My buddy was following me the other weekend and he said I was crabwalking down the interstate.

So, I've taken it to a frame guy and he corrected the frame but the rear axle is still bent. I was hoping to find a take off axle from a truck but if that's not readily available, do you imagine it would be several labor hours to swap over my guts and differential to a new axle housing? What would you do?
https://parts.olathetoyota.com/oem-...9MjAxNSZ0PXByZS1ydW5uZXImZT0yLTdsLWw0LWdhcw==

Thanks for any guidance.

 

Find one in a junk yard that has been hit in the front end and just get the whole axle.

 

If it's bent get a used axle from a wrecking yard. Are you sure the pin that the axle sits in on the leaf spring is not broken and your axle is shifted a bit?

 

Im always skeptical when people say their rear axle is bent. How did you prove that?

Id start simple - make sure the leaf spring centering pins are intact / not broken / located properly in the spring perch. If they are not, the axle will not be perfectly in line with the truck which will cause crab walking. Which is different than a 'bent axle'

 

I agree with SR-71A

The axle is more likely not seated correctly.

 

I've got two trucks I've put back on the road after they were hit in the rear. One rear ended on the left/driver side and the other t-boned at the differential.

So far you've gotten some wise advice about checking the centering pin which makes sure your differential is in the proper position.

A differential and an axle are two different things. It is highly unlikely but not impossible that your differential is bent. Have you raised the truck to see if the wheel is wobbly as it turns? Is the rim straight? Swap a wheel from the front if it wobbles and check again. If it still has an uneven, side to side motion it is likely the axle is bent (not the dif). Axles are cheap and differentials are expensive. I'd expect to put a new bearing on an axle from a salvage yard but wouldn't do it until I'd run the axle and the bearing proved bad. Make sure the springs aren't bent, or the spring mounts.

You are bound to get some negative opinions telling you a salvage vehicle is a bad buy, but I think just the opposite. People believe a lot of negativity if they don't have experience. All three of my vehicles are salvaged and have branded titles and they will go just as far during their time on the road as any other vehicle. I've seen people on this site that will absolutely ruin a brand new truck by replacing original parts with aftermarket mods, and my trucks do their job and keep on, keepin' on.

You'll figure it out and be money ahead...

 

Axle's and axle housings are 2 different things.

 

On a stock truck, the axle is way stronger than its attachments, so you'll want to make sure the leaf springs aren't deformed at the mounts, the shackle hangers aren't bent, the centering pins aren't sheared, etc.

Have you gotten an alignment yet? Post the printout so we can see the rear camber and toe numbers.

Complete axle assembles including differential and axle shafts are about $1000 from salvage yards, if it comes down to it.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions, I appreciate it! One tire shop I use performed a four-wheel alignment, or at least got specs for all four wheels. Only at a later trip, when I was having them mount two new rear tires, did they tell me my rear axle was bent.

This is a reputable shop, I believe - I've been going there for years. I suspect they should know and would've looked at the centering pins. If not, how can I look them over? Pull them out and inspect?

The frame alignment guy suggested a new rear axle when he was done, too.

Alignment specs (after), damage photos and current photos can be found here: https://thecabe.com/forum/media/thumbnail_img_3220-jpg.40679/

 

If your frame is straight and the alignment says you are aligned, then I'd be highly suspicious of a diagnosis of a bent differential housing. A bent housing would be very unusual and probably visually apparent. A kink/flat spot/broken casting in one side.

Have you lifted the back end and run the wheels to look for a wobble?

Again... the differential housing is not the same thing as an axle. There are two axles in the differential housing.

 

First photo in the album had the VIN. Googling it turned up its auction listing. Looks like the rear axle was dislocated in the crash:



and the repairs haven't put the axle back in its correct location. The RH wheelbase is a whole inch longer than the LH wheelbase. Page 516 of the owner's manual shows the factory wheelbase is 127.4 inch, give or take.

 

Just like many places... these guys have no money/expense tied up in what they are telling you. If you do what they say it will probably fix the truck... but you will have put in a thousand dollar differential/axle (plus paid someone to do it?) when all you might have needed was a two dollar centering pin.

To check out the pin you need to disconnect the differential from the leaf spring. Four nuts which hold with the u-bolts to keep the differential attached to the spring. Once they are loose you can jack up the spring while the dif hangs free. All you need is enough space to see if the pin has been sheared off. If you don't know what a pin looks like you can go to a local NAPA store and ask them to show you one. Check out Youtube, maybe.

With the discrepancy in wheelbase it really looks like your centering pin is sheared off. TWO DOLLARS...

You might want to check the other side, too.

 

swap innards or find a good complete rear end salvage yard

yotas get crunched everyday

t boned

headons

got to be a rear axle around that aint tbent

 

Thanks, all! I am excited to have this checked out and I feel a confidence this is the issue. I was thinking this issue would be my chance to sell and get into a ‘18+ third gen but now is not a good time anyway with these inflated prices.

The old (new) tires wore only on the insides and cupping until the outsides, this hints at the theory of the axle being cocked to one side. There are also times where it feels like the axle “swings”. This could potentially be if there is no centering pin and the U joints aren’t tight enough to fully hold the axle? And the missing additional point allows for movement/play?

I will take it into the shop this week and explicitly tell them to focus on my U joints and centering pins. I will report back. Thank you again for your help, everyone.

 

U BOLTS... U bolts

NOT u joints.

Two different things...

 

U bolts hold leaf springs to axles u joints allow your driveshaft to spin. Make sure you get your lingo right or the shop will be looking at the wrong thing.

 

Another thing to double check is if the frame has a diamond in it. You and someone else can verify fairly quick. Just pick a set of holes on bottom of rails and cross measure them . A diamond will cause the truck to dog track even if the center pin is good. You can also pull a measurement from one of the rectangle side holes to front spring bolt and then to the face of axle housing too for quick verification.

 

It might be helpful for you to read through this PDF or something similar. This is from Icon and tells you how to install their RXT leaf pack. Obviously you aren't going to do that, but you can at least look at the pictures and get a better idea of what we are talking about, and how a leaf pack works.

https://images.iconfigurators.app/pdf/I51101_REVB_7100.pdf

 

So is there an update?

 

Finally got an appointment for tomorrow. Fingers crossed it’s just the locating pin and a U bolt adjustment needed. We’ll see.