U joint sheered off. Because of lift?

[ingmire]

My rear driveshaft dropped out while commuting a couple weeks ago. The u joint was 'shaved' down enough on one side for it to slip out. Is this something that can happen with time (300k on it)? Or is this likely do to me lifting the van 2" last summer? I used the bushings to gain lift in the rear and torsion bars to gain lift in the front. Though I had to crank the passenger side torsion almost to maximum to get it equal to the drivers side height (drivers side torsion is cranked more than passengers). Also I did not do an alignment after the lift.

any advice would be much appreciated!!
thanks so much u guys
-jordo

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[boogieman]

yikes! i dont believe that is from your 2" lift but from a high mileage ujoint that would have probably been obvious if it were inspected/had hands on it....now everyone go.out and see how much play is in your ujoints!! that could have been a very dangerous situation....

[ingmire]

Thnx! Doner part should arrive today and hopefully that'll put me back on the road

[Burntboot]

Yes, you're lift probably did cause it to fail, but only because that joint was already toast.
It's clear that it has been unhappy for a very long time.

Upside is, when the new shaft goes in, vibration/noise underway should be greatly reduced.
Be a good idea to change the rear diff oil and watch for shavings, bad U-joints are hard on diffs.

When I bought Red and started the 1500ml drive home I was 1/2hr up the road, hit the highway and had to pull over due to the noise/vibrations.
Rear joint was fried, all orange dust and excessive play, but with nothing on hand, it got wrapped in electrical tape and driven super easy.
Made it home and ordered a new shaft. Replaced the rear diff 2 weeks later, as the pinion bearings were wiped out.
(Caveat - it may have been that way for a LONG time under PO, but am sure that drive home didn't help)
YMMV. Hopefully.

[Burntboot]

And to add to what Boogie said, don't just be looking for loose joints.
The first sign of a failing joint is orange dust at the cap seals.

Anytime you see that dust at the cap seals, new joints are order of the day, ASAP.
If the joints are loose, the needle bearings have already deconstructed (rusted and ground into orange dust)

If you REALLY wanna be anal about your joints, mark the shafts and pull them, then articulate the joints thru full range of motion.
If they are sticky or notchy, (the precursor to orange dust) then its time to start ordering parts, but at least you can still drive it in the meantime.

[ingmire]

Just received my used rear drive shaft. It came from a yota 4x4. But it is different from the one one my 87 4x4? It's quite a bit shorter.

does manual transmission and auto transmission make a difference in the driveshaft?

Picture right to left

1.replacement drive shaft
2.broken drive shaft *original
3.random junk yard drive shadt

option #3 fits if I fully compress the yoke. But then there is 0 play. So I decided not to use it. At this point I may try to combine the slip yoke from option #1 to the shaft from option #3. Any folks here know if this is a bad idea?

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[ingmire]

It looks like the slip yoke off my 87 4x4 MT and the slip yoke from the 4x4 AT are identical. So I should be able to swap those out.

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[originalkwyjibo]

Auto rear shafts are shorter than the manual tranny shafts. Hopefully you marked those shafts before pulling them apart. Driveshafts are balanced as an assembly and if you put them back together out of phase you could have serious vibration issues. As long as the bolt pattern of option #3 fit the flanges of the van then Drivelines NW in Fife Wa can shorten it for you. Alternatively, you could cobble together from option #1 and #2 and then have them balance it but your still have weaker staked joints with high miles. In my opinion, having option #3 shortened would be better as it has more robust and easily replaceable u-joints. Drivelines NW would certainly be able to advise you as well if there is a better option. They were above and beyond helpful when I was in the same dilemma to the point of talking me out of buying an all new shaft from them for a less expensive option.

[Burntboot]

Ing - You don't want to use that 3rd shaft unaltered.
The reason for the slip joint is so that as the rear axle goes up and down (bumps) driveline length changes
If you put a shaft in fully collapsed when level (longest drivetrain) when you go over a bump, wheelbase shortens slightly and all that load is now placed on the pinion.
Not a good recipe for a happy wallet

If you NEED it up and running now, cobble away but be aware of what OK said regarding balance.
There is a thread on here somewhere about driveshaft balancing and back yard work arounds.
Then get the nice shaft reworked at your convenience.
Or do what I did and pay the ransom that Toyota parts command.

[AD2101]

There is a thread on here somewhere about driveshaft balancing and back yard work arounds.
Then get the nice shaft reworked at your convenience.
Or do what I did and pay the ransom that Toyota parts command.

I believe this is the thread BB's referring to. Pages 2 and 3 go into driveshaft balancing.