I am experiencing the driveline shudder on my '05 Tacoma 4X4 that others on this forum have posted about in the past. It occurs upon acceleration from a stop before the 1-2 upshift and lasts a brief moment before settling out. I have taken the truck into two different dealers and both acknowledged the vibration but diagnosed it as "normal". Does anyone have an update that confirms a solution to this problem? Thanks for your help.
How about a few more details on your truck. TRD? Lifted? Stock? Etc. etc.
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My truck is a stock double-cab with the TRD Off-Road package and currently at 17,000 miles.
A review of this forum as well as others (edmunds, Toyota Nation, TTORA) show several posts describing the exact same problems that I am having. No one has posted a definite fix from what I can tell.
This vibration is more annoying than anything, especially in stop-and-go traffic, but I also worry about it affecting the longevity of other components in the drivetrain.
Others have guessed the problem to be related to the slip yoke, carrier bearing, torque converter, e.t.c. I found in interesting that the Service Manager mentioned the factory in Mexico that produces the transmissions as "having problems" and specifically the woes with the transmissions in the new Avalon.
Its axlw wrap, plain and simple, want to prove it? Go C- clamp a piece of angle iron to the top of the leaf springs (Dont go flying down the hwy or anything) This will stop axle wrap for this test. Go drive around the neighborhood, notice the vibration is gone, its also gone in 4wd when the front wheels are pulling and not allowing the rear axle to wrap. I have done this test.
The rear springs are so weak the axle twists under any moderate acceleration and throws the pinion angle out.
The fixes are, stiffer rear springs, some form of ladder bar or panhard bar or some traction bars.
I had my truck in for this problem a few times when I first bought it. They never found the cause, and I'm so used to it now that I don't even notice it. But it is true that it doesn't happen in 4WD and it's alot less noticable when the bed is loaded down with weight. The axle wrap suggestion makes sense--it could just be the release of tension when you start from a stop.
I am not so sure about the axel wrap theory. I have a set of super springs on my truck since about 3000 miles and I have felt the vibration with and without the super springs. It has got worse over time. IMO it may be the carrier bearing with the rubber donut. It has been suggested to use shims between the carried bearing and the frame. I read where one guy did that and everything was smooth after that. I do recognize that when in 4WD and with the bed loaded down the vibration does go away (which does suggest axel wrap), but with a set of additional springs that doesn't make sense. It's got to have something to do with the driveline angle and the rubber carrier donut. When I accelerate I can feel it right between the front two seats which is pretty much right above the carrier bearing. Both theories are sound, but I wish some of these toyota engineers could just fix this problem. It is really annoying in stop and go traffic!
Yes, stop and go traffic is where it seem to show for me... Kinda like a little thud when you hit the gas... Though, if I go real easy, it doesn't happen... From what I've read here, most seem to agree it's normal... Not too sure about that...
__________________ 2004 Tacoma short bed - V6 Auto-TRD-Off-Road Color Key-Line-X Liner PIAA Silicon Wipers - WeatherTech Vent Visors - Michelin XC LT4 - Husky Liners- Undercover Tonneau
I am not so sure about the axel wrap theory. I have a set of super springs on my truck since about 3000 miles and I have felt the vibration with and without the super springs. It has got worse over time. IMO it may be the carrier bearing with the rubber donut. It has been suggested to use shims between the carried bearing and the frame. I read where one guy did that and everything was smooth after that. I do recognize that when in 4WD and with the bed loaded down the vibration does go away (which does suggest axel wrap), but with a set of additional springs that doesn't make sense. It's got to have something to do with the driveline angle and the rubber carrier donut. When I accelerate I can feel it right between the front two seats which is pretty much right above the carrier bearing. Both theories are sound, but I wish some of these toyota engineers could just fix this problem. It is really annoying in stop and go traffic!
I looked into the supersprings for this exact problem but the way they function I didnt see if having much effect on the axle wrap problem.
The bed being loaded down would make sense since the overload spring would be in contact with the other two springs and not allow the axle to twist as easily since it would now be fighting against 3 leaf springs.
I had a 2000 F150 that has the same issue in additon to axle hop. A set of springs off of the F150 with the 7700 package (7700 GVW instead of 6300, 5 leafs instead of 3 leafs) instantly fixed the problem alsthought it did make it ride stiffer.
I was planning on building some custom ladder bar/panhard bar and welding it to the axle then attach with a pivot at the frame but have not found a good location to attach to the frame due to the gas tank. My step dad built street rods for years and many of the vehicles that came with low horsepower engines that had been upgraded to big blocks had this issue and the bar always fixed it. I even looked into designed something similar to what the 3rd and 4th gen camaros use but have not had the time to draw it out and machine it.
Yea, now that I have thought about it, the super springs really only kick in when there is a load on the bed or when needed. That is one of there selling points about the spings. One thing good about the super springs is that they really don't change the ride too much. I just wish somone could fix this problem because it is really driving my crazy.
A guy on TN said his carrier bearing bracket wasn't fully welded all around, causing horrible vibrations. His actually started to pull away from the crossmember.
I think I feel that in my '06 Taco PreRunner (quad cab long bed) and I'm also having an issue with the rear suspension bottoming out. My bed cap added 150 pounds to the rear, but that really should not affect the suspension much at all. Seems that the springs and/or shocks are too weak. I see that Performance Products has a bolt-on leaf spring stiffener, think that would help? BTW, I recently wrote a letter to Toyota about the rear suspension. My dealer checked it out, found nothing wrong, but agreed that the rear suspension is too weak. I'm curious to see what Toyota does to help.
Driveline Shudder Revisited
Linear Mode
