Driveshaft and U joints

I have a 2006 4x4 v6 Tacoma. Is it common to have to replace the driveshaft after a U joint replacement? I was told that by a local shop, and I wanted to know if that’s true.

 

Absolutely not.

They dickered your yokes and want you to shell for it.

The bearings maybe but not the whole shaft.

 

Thanks Key-Rey. I haven’t taken it in yet, but when getting an estimate, the mechanic said almost all Tacomas need a new driveshaft if the U joint is replaced. That set off my radar big time.

 

Yeah I don't think I'd trust that shop.

I replaced my center support bearing myself at home and one CV bearing the shaft was fine 250k miles.

A new drive shaft comes pre installed with the bearings, sounds to me like he wants to charge you for all the parts and labor of a full shaft rebuild when it will only take him 20 minutes to slap in a new shaft instead of the couple hours it should be for just a support replacement.

 

I would've asked your mechanic why exactly he thinks the driveshaft needs replacing...more just for entertainment purposes to see what kind of BS spews out of his crooked mouth.

 

Benefit of the doubt to the shop; maybe he sees a lot of abused & hammered to sh** DS come in?
I just did all the u-joints and center carrier bearing on my 06 and there's no reason to replace the drive shaft.

 

Agree, but if he's telling OP "...almost all Tacomas..." then that's an immediate red flag blanket statement right there (just like OP's radar being set off).

 

Yup. Bend over if you go there
Thank you sir may I have another

 

I stand by my statement and also agree with yours @burrito782 . To be both gracious to the shop making the statement understanding that I may not have all the data to come to a conclusion while also raising an internal alarm bell to 'proceed with extra questions and caution'. Follow up might be: Sir, I don't understand your position, can you help me understand why you believe most Tacoma drive shafts need replacement?

 

If your driveshaft has no visible damage...it WILL just only need rebalancing weights after the new U-Joints are installed.

 

Welcome to TW. There's a world of information on here. I agree with others on this one. Shop around for a more honest mechanic. New driveshafts aint cheap.

 

Thank you everyone for your answers. That seemed like a very strange front load. I will try another shop. I certainly came to the right place for an answer, and thank you for such a nice welcome.

 

Most people dont know that serviceable universal joints with grease zerks need to be flushed with fresh grease at every oil change .
Now if you have a truck with polypropylene universal joints that are completely sealed , they obviously cant be flushed with fresh grease as they are considered lifetime universal joints designed to last 50,000 miles .
If you remove polypropylene universal joints , put greaseable universal joints back

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-replacing-driveshaft-center-bearing.515726/

 

I've never rebalanced a driveshaft after changing u-joints. Maybe one of those "by the book" things but it has never had any ill effect on my operations.

 

Same here and I cannot count the number of universal joints and drive shafts I have worked on. I've also seen that little weight that is tacked on the driveshaft fall off with no ill effects...

But hey if anyone wants to throw money away send me some!

 

The U joints and carrier bearing are really not a difficult job..

I replaced u joints and the carrier bearing without having the DS re-balanced. I had a LOT of vibes disappear afterwards.

Just make sure that everything is labeled so that it goes back together the way it came apart.

 

I pushed through a similar load of BS this past Spring.

Shop wanted $125/hour with an open end complete time. This was for 5 U-joints and Carrier Bearing. Plus, the shop would not set a schedule date. This was a local small town shop. They also tried to convince me the U-joints were not replaceable on an '06.

I bought the Spicer parts (U-joints with cap grease zerk), went to FIL's shop (farm maintenance shop), did the work myself. Took 6 hours.
Probably can be done in less time, but I had FIL's help.

Tips:
1. Mark the mating flanges for alignment.
2. Use a blob of grease on the U-joint needle rollers to hold in place.
3. Use a press, don't hammer.
4. 1 shaft at a time, 1 U-joint at a time.
5. Get a replacement nut for the spline. Needed during carrier bearing replacement. Cost is less than $2
6. Torque wrench
7. Breaker bar.
8. New supply of "Blue" words. All will be used getting the flange bolts loose.
9. Toss all the used parts. Do not reuse any part, even the snap rings.

One more tip......
Before you install the DS, pump grease into each U-joint.

 

I'd say if you're going to do it yourself, get the free loaner ball joint / U-joint tool from your local oreilly's / autozone / whatever.
Makes doing them easy, slow and controlled. Chris fix has a decent video if you've never ever done u-joints that explains both press and hammer methods.

 

Urge not to use a hammer to install the new U-joint.

Reason: The hammer impact can dislodge a needle roller. The roller lands between the spider and the cap. This will prevent the full assembly of the cap onto the spider. Use of "extra force" to complete the cap install results in a broken cap and a ruined U-joint.

DAMHIKT.

 

I've done the socket method on my Jeep and it was a pain in the @ss. Installing new U-joints is not the problem but removing old seized up ones is the main issue. One of my fav tool investment is the puller from tiger tool. I can zip off the old UJ in minutes with little effort.