drive shaft u-joints

mechanic says bad u-joints on drive shaft. they said that they could replace them, but might still have a vibration. should replace drive shaft incase out of balance. another mechanic said just replace u-joints ,toyota has had problems with the spyder gears on them . need insight on this

 

I’ve always just replaced the u-joints and carrier bearing.

Not sure what to think of the spider gear comment.

 

If you can get under the truck and push on the driveline near the carrier bearing and if you get much more than 1/4" of play it is time to replace the carrier bearing. I would find a driveline shop in your area and have them replace all three u-joints and the carrier bearing with Spicer brand parts and then check balance. You may need to remove shaft and bring into the shop. They may not do removals and installs.

 

I'd go one step at a time. Replace the u-joints if they are bad. If your vibration persists, investigate more before throwing too much money at it.

 

went back to dealer to make sure what he said ---- can replace all three u-joints for $1011.15 ( parts and labor ), but there might be a vibration still after replacing. Or I could replace driveshaft with three new u-joints for $1500.00 ( parts and labor ). Both are OEM parts not including Tax . I had him look up drive shat part again to make sure it was right, showed it to me $1045.00 and rest would be labor to make it $1500.00 . why wouldn't everybody just do the driveshaft instead of just doing u-joints. this is the dealer where i bought the truck back in 2005.

 

That’s an awful lot to change 3 ujoints. With a hydraulic press, there’s maybe an hours worth of labor. 2 at the most if you have to use the vice and hammer method. Take it to a driveline shop or independent mechanic.

Edit: my local FleetPride truck shop is a driveline shop and they are nationwide.

 

Try reaching out to your Toyota dealer for the U-joint TSB first. Hopefully get it done free.

 

It cost me about $370.00 total for all three u-joints, carrier bearing to be replaced with factory Spicer parts and for the balance to checked and a slight adjustment at a driveline shop hear in SoCal. I did have to bring them the driveshaft. They did not remove or reinstall but that takes about 5 minutes for each.

 

already showed him the u-joint TSB paperwork I had but he said that was only in affect to 2019. i bought my truck in 2005 it now has 255200 miles on it. no rust new frame in 2015 ( frame warranty ). motor is still strong does not burn oil. just put new upper cats on. now this is happening. In last year 5000 .00 . between bakes , tires , cats . so i have to do this with u-joints. I am not much of a mechanic so was asking opinions. but most places I called said OEM parts are around 247 plus labor for each U-joint. every place i checked said roughly 1000$.. 1500 to do the whole drive shaft. thanks ! for all the comments

 

I understand.
I actually missed that TSB and did the U-joint replacement myself before I found the letter sitting on my work bench.
For me it was a half day job dropping the drive shaft and replacing the U-joints. I had all the tools but me being up in years and slightly OCD made it longer than normal.
Sounds like a scare tactic to get the extra $500 from your wallet unless your drive shaft is rusted out.

 

Driveline shop will do it for a lot less $

 

Rockauto carries the Spicer u-joints for alot less. A good garage will save you big bucks.
I did my own for around $150 and that included a Amazon u-joint press which made the job so much easier.

 

Your "dealer" is trying to screw you into spending more money than you should.
EITHER Take it to a reputable shop and have them replace the universal joints and possibly a carrier bearing. OR Do it yourself.

In plain English your dealer is full of shit. In all of my many years working on vehicles, I have never had a reason to "rebalance" a drive shaft unless it was physically damaged and in that case a replacement was in order.

 

I did the same and it cost $275. I'm sure the cost differential is the cost of the shop's real estate and local labor. 3 U joints, carrier bearing, carrier bearing mount, balance and painted flat black. All Spicer parts.

the solution is to pull the driveline and take it to a local driveline shop.

The reason why the dealer is stating that there may still be a vibe after replacing, is because if the driveline isn't spin balanced there may very well be a vibe after U joint replacement. I have a friend who was a Toyota dealer mechanic for a decade. He said they eventually sent all driveline work out because of this very reason.

 

Home 2005 Toyota Tacoma Propeller Shaft 04371-04031
Universal Joints - Toyota (04371-04031)
Use the VIN Tool to Guarantee Fitment!


Part can be found as reference #15 in illustration

• MSRP:$85.22
• Discount:$26.60 (31.2% off)
• Sale Price:$58.62

The dealer is screwing you on U Joint prices!!!!

 

I'll echo what everyone else said. Those prices are C-R-A-Z-Y. I could change your U joints cheaper if you bought the parts from RockAuto and then flew me out from Chicago round trip and paid for my rental, hotel, and food. That isn't a good thing.

I did this same job to my truck last year. I even went the extra mile to re-balance the shaft at my local driveline shop (they are pretty world-class too). It was off by 0.030 which is nothing and it wasn't really necessary but to me it was an interesting experiment and good peace of mind. As others have said if yours isn't all beat up from off-roading it is 99.9% unnecessary (and I have the actual receipts to say that). Had I not done the re-balance it would have taken me about a day to do the rebuild and that is taking my sweet time and not being in a hurry.

I understand not everyone is a mechanic or wants to do their own work. And depending where you live it's not easy to have multiple mechanics/garages available in your area. But seriously try to make a friend who knows how to turn some wrenches and save some money. Bribe them with beer and food, still more cost effective. Or send me some plane tickets I could go for some SoCal tacos and UFO watching right now lol.