1988 4Runner: Summer Beater

[ssapach]

i hate to repeat myself... but as i told you months ago, if you rotated the rear end up, and the driveshaft flanges aren't parallel, you'll almost certainly get vibration on deceleration... that rear end looks rotated up to me?

it's not grinding, it's vibration.

if that describes your situation, you'll need to put a cv joint in the rear driveshaft, just like the front has... that's what i had to do to fix the problem.

if you need to see the math, or more proof from other people, i can dig it up.

i didn't want to believe it either.

So it's been nearly a year since I posted anything here.

First thing, I must apologize to you for not listening to your advice sooner. I am sorry I even doubted it a little!

Second, I must thank you for even giving me that advice about the rear CV shaft!

So, multiple shops in town had told me a rear CV was unnecessary with my rear driveshaft angle and length. So I sort of avoided it. One shop told me my transmission was the culprit. While it wasn't the cause of the noise, it did need replacing or rebuilding, so I had it replaced with a used unit from a newer truck. Got the clutch replaced and flywheel machined at the same time, and the clutch was nearly worn out.

The noise was still there. At this point I was out of options. Honestly, there was nothing left to replace but the rear driveshaft. So I took it in to a friends shop (they specifically do driveline work) and they kept telling me that the driveshaft angle and length and everything was fine, but I insisted they make a CV shaft. They didn't think it would make a difference, and I was still doubting it too, but I had no more options.

Sure enough.....new CV shaft and the grinding sound is completely gone! I was happy as could be, the guys at the shop were quite surprised and a little confused, but mostly I was happy that the vibration and noise had disappeared!!!

So once again, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner but I am thankful that you did give me that information to go off of!!!

 

[OSV]

thx for the feedback on it, glad to hear that the issue is resolved... i lived with that vibration when coasting under load for a long time, before i finally bit the bullet and put a cv in there... it just didn't seem like the logical thing to do :-( and it wasn't a cheap fix.

my latest problem in that area is some side-to-side play with the rear driveshaft yoke, where it comes out of the transfer case... i kept thinking that the driveshaft vibration caused some issues, but i found a marlin crawler video that showed quite a bit of slop in that transfer case bearing, so i'm just living with it for now.

summer is here, keep us posted on the progress of your build!

 

[ssapach]

Got a few more things added to my rig. Getting ready for actually taking it off-road, as there is a day trip into the mountains this coming weekend.

Needed some satellite radio for tunes in the bushes:

Hi-lift jack mounted to the front bumper:

Cockpit view:

Added a small tray to the tire carrier, so I can carry fuel.....or whatever else I can strap to it. It's strong enough for me to stand on it, so it should be good. I also added a wedge/shim in my fancy "latch" mechanism. Keeps the whole swing out arm from bouncing around while driving, and it has totally quieted down a lot of the rattling:

And a couple shots just for fun:

The extent of leaf spring "flex":

 

[ssapach]

Got my altimeter/clinometer in the mail yesterday, so I had to put it in ASAP!