Hello everybody so i finally took my new, well okay used, pickup camping with one of my buddies tacomas . So the trip started off with the two roads we needed to go down being blocked off for construction so after 2 1/2 hours of backtracking we we finally found an open road. So anyways this is where my problems arise. We first have to take Dakan Rd., which is filled with those grooves and bumps from hell that are on dirt roads. So i was getting thrown all over the place but i assume evrything is fine, i mean its a toyota. So the road finally turns into a mild 4 wheel trail in the mts. This is when i start to notice some drivetrain vibration(I have been in 2wd the whole time). I know this isnt good so i tried different gears and it persisted. So i started to slow down to investigate when i hit a bump going about 5mph and i hear a BAM, CLA-CLUNK, CLA-CLUNK, CLA-CLUNK. I immediately stop and i knew it could only be one thing, DRIVESHAFT!!. So i get out of the car cursing and hitting the bed, look under the truck, and oh and behold theres my driveshaft hanging down disconnected from the transmission. What i see amazes me, 3 bolts and nuts are missing, with one bolt still connected to the transmission part with some driveshaft metal on it. So i easily figured out 3 of the other driveshaft bolts came loose and fell off from the vibrations leaving one on trying to hold the whole driveshaft on then finally gave way and the driveshaft ripped away(driveshaft picture that connects to transmission). Then as i investigated more i found 2 bolts and nuts missing from the rear of the driveshaft that goes into the differential. Then on top of that the holes where those bolts are missing are not lined up and the two screws that are still there are bent.(here u can kind of see how the missing bolt holes do not line up).. So seeing as i was way up in the mountains i slowly drove the yota as far out as i could with the driveshaft lightly secured by a strap. So i parked my truck and left it over night not to ruin our camping trip. haha then to top it off, on the way back from our camping site, going back to pick up my truck, there was an escavator doing maintience work on our trail causing us to backtrack another 2 hours. So i finally called a tow and $200 later my baby is sitting wounded in the garage. So now this is where you guys come in. Can this happen this easy or was it my driving, or was there mechanical failure when the last person who owned this car installed the driveshaft? Can someone tell me what the easiest way is to fix this and how to get the job done? and lets just thank god this didnt happen going 60mph down the highway...

 

that sucks man. Sound like a hack job was done. I wheel the piss out of my scrap heap and never had a d-line bolt come loose....everything else falls off..... why didn't you just undo the remaining bolts and drive it in 4WD?
To fix this you need to replace the broken piece, I am sure you can get on at Pull and Save in Denver on the cheap side.

I was out late with my GF and both dogs, where headed up clear creek canyon. I'm in 4 low givin it lots of skinny pedal and hear this CLACK CLACK CLACK....WTF??? I stop only to find the motor mount bolts where missing and the engine came off the mount causing the whole drivers side to fall and the noise was the alternator fan hitting the frame...Now that brings the suck! I only had a Jack, cheap pliers and a lock. I found some wood used that on the oil pan to jack up the motor, used the lock as a bolt to hold the engine in....




PM me if you need a D-line I got one just chillin....

 

well thats what i tried to do, i had some basic tools but not a rachet set. I couldnt get those 2 bolts off near the differentail. then i couldnt find any bolts to use to to just put 3 bolts back on the transmission part. so then i just put it in 4 and locked the hubs and slowly made it as far as i could, but then the drivetrain started to grind along the u joint holding it in the middle what i am wondering is if i need a whole new drivetrain or if i can just replace those yoke things?

 

http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/axles.htm Scroll down near the bottom.

From what it sounds like, cut and press the old bolts out, replace them with new ones and you should be good to go, provided you didn't bend anything.

 

Whoops...didn't notice before, but did you break off part of the bolt hole on your U-joint flange?

It might not be as easy as I stated. You will need to replace that piece, too.

 

no worries man but yea that whole bolt whole on the top right of the picture got ripped off and do you know how hard it is, or is there any write-up showing me how to take the old flange off, or for that matter, how do i get those other locking nuts off and stuff to get the whole driveshaft outa there?

 

Yeah, I see that now. That's the part of the driveshaft that has the slider on it to allow the driveshaft to elongate as it moves up and down, correct?

 

my slider part of the driveshaft is on the second half of the driveshaft. near the rear

 

Well, normally I'd say you just remove the 4 bolts at the front and 4 bolts at the rear and drop the shaft, but you don't seem to have that problem.

You're going to have to cut those remaining bolt free of the shaft if you can't remove them with a wrench. To remove the bolts from the flanges, all you should need to do is press them out somehow. I used a hammer on mine, though that's probably not your best bet.

 

Looks like you might need to replace the whole driveshaft, unless you can find a shop nearby that can repair your old one. Try the usual pick and pull for a used one.

 

yea then i have 4 more bolts all in tact connecting the 1st half of the drivehsaft to the 2nd half of the driveshaft but there is like a U bracket bracing the two so im probably goanna have to take those out too to get both pieces of the driveshaft fixed.

 

crap i dont want to have to buy a whole new driveshaft its in good shape except for that dam yoke.

 

Well my friend that's your best bet. You have to buy a new drive line. It looks like the only way to save it is by welding the old parts together. And that will cost you more time and effort than buying a new drive line.

 

I'd imagine you can find one at a wreckers for cheap. I'd guess less than $50 or so, but that's only a guess.

Welding that is probably dicey at best.

 

k well thanks guys for all ur help ill keep ya updated. and im sure ill be back on here with more questions about this...