Well folks I guess the panhard drop did NOT fix my problem. I am quite sure. When I lay down behind the right rear tire and eye the right front tire, the rear sticks out to the left about 1/2 inch still. Not sure how to correct this, but it's driving me nuts. Do you think the frame could be bent? I will take some pictures tomorrow. The tracking problem is the same pre drop as it is post drop I was really hoping this would fix my problem...

 

Well I guess I am going to replace the u-joints next. I am going to do it myself. Can anyone recommend a good place to get them? Are the autozone/pep boys one ok to use or should I go oem?

 

get the oem u-joints from the dealer, best to stay with the original stuff.

I'll be doing that too next weekend or so, I ordered my clutch parts and ujoint from www.1sttoyotaparts.com two days ago and I'll knock both jobs out on a weekend.

The bit about still being off-center doesn't surprise me. it's going to be very hard to get it extactly trued up since you've messed with the whole suspension system. I think mines even off a bit.

 

Did you happen to get the part numbers? Were they $39.62 ea?

 

Part Number: 04371-35051

Yea, $39.62.

 

Thanks J, I ordered mine today along with a new tranny mount. I am determined to get this figured out one thing at a time!

 

No prob. Let me know how the tranny mount turns out. I should have grabbed one while I was at it but my junk shipped out today so it's too late to toss it into the order. what was that part number and price? Also I have an AllDataDIY.com account for the '98 and the '03 and it's got pretty good write-ups on everything so if you need the info on the u-joint or something let me know.

 

is this the one you got for $58? 1237162110

 

Same virbration problem with mine. I have a 99 2wd with OME too. It's been bugging the crap out of me. Only happens when barely pressing the gas while trying to maintain a speed above 45 or so. I was about the do the panhard drop, but didn't know if it would fix the problem so I have been stalling. It seems like my ujoints are fine, I don't think they are bad. There is no play in them. Anyone else have any ideas?

I wonder if there is something different about the 4wd drive shaft.

 

I took my driveshaft off last night to inspect the u joints, one of them seemed a little tight, but not terribly. I went ahead and ordered new ones, they are pretty inexpensive so I figure the least that could happen is that I'll learn how to replace u joints myself.

Well, When I went to put the driveshaft back in, I noticed some tranny fluid had drained onto my garage floor. Is this normal?



Also I noticed that when I dropped the driveshaft after I removed the last bolt at the diff end, the driveshaft went about 1 inch forward into the transmission housing. Should the slip yoke go all the way in or should it need to be backed off a little to bolt it to the differential housing?

I also noticed this gap in the poly 'bushing' below the transmission mount.


Here is a shot of the transmission mount that I ordered to replace. The rubber bushing is a little dry rotted.



Here is a shot from below the poly 'bushing' Notice how it looks like it is off center? Is this normal?



I hope I am on the right track to getting this fixed.

 

No, for 2wd it's this one: 1237162180 and it was $46.

 

I don't know what your talking about for the drive shaft shoving an inch into the tranny. Your tranny mount looks to be in good shape to me. I'm only replacing my rear most ujoint. it is the one binding and I have a clink when taking off or changing directions. yours is different from mine I guess since you have a 2WD.

 

ok, mines a 4 wheeler.

 

When I put the driveshaft back into the sleeve that the yoke is inserted into, I had to pull it back about an inch or so to get it to make contact with flange where the 4 14mm bolts attach to the rear differential. Does that make sense?

 

that;s expected. it may have moved while uninstalled. I usually have to compress it to get it on the flange.

 

Actually it moved when I removed the last bolt at the diff. the truck rolled back about an inch and the slip yoke moved into the transmission at the same time. So when I went to install it, I pushed the slip yoke into the tranny and had to back it off to get it to be flush with the flange.

I am not sure what you mean by compress.

Did you have tranny fluid drip out of the trans housing?

 

Well I have spent the last 4 hours looking for this vibration. It is definately the rear u joints or differential. I rotated the driveshaft 180 degrees to see if I was out of phase. No change. Where o where are these phase marks that everyone speaks of? Then I put the runner up in jack stands and put her in gear and at about 50 mph it is really bad. If I leave it in gear, the speedo reads about 30, I put my hand to the diff housing, I can feel a vibration or grinding. I checked the fluid level in the diff and it is fine. It is definately coming from the rear end. I hope the new u joints fix the problem.

 

I am dealing with this same problem and believe I have it figured out. The problem is the pinion angle. When you lift with the OME springs the rear differential rotates "up". In other words, if you are imagining a line from the rear axle, moving forward and passing through the pinion, this line now points more up into the body and less forward. The pinion angle will increase with speed as the torque from the wheels will try to rotate the pinion (and rear axle) counter to the wheel rotation. When you accelerate or deccelerate you will change this angle and therefore change the vibration. If you change to a lower gear ratio this problem will get worse because you will be spinning the driveline at a higher rpm for the same mph. You can test to see if this is your problem by raising the forward end of the driveshaft. Try a washer under your rear trans mount but watch that you don't raise it too much or your fan will hit your fan shroud. I did this and then replaced my mount with a new one. It had compressed about 1/8 inch. This improved the issue but it didn't go away. I am working with a custom racing chassis builder on some adjustable control arms to realign the pinion and driveshaft angles and I believe this is the ultimate solution. If your problem is driveshaft balance the vibration will be worst at higher speeds when you step on the accelerator just enough to have "no load" on the driveline.

 

Thanks Austin!!! That makes perfect sense. Let me know how you fare with the chassis specialist. I hope I do not have to go this route to get it fixed, but if I have to I will. Look at this picture. Is this gap normal?

 

I have a 5-speed, I think yours is an automatic. On mine the view that you are showing is hidden inside the cross member so I can't get a picture. I can say that my new mount did not have any gap between the center plastic "nut" and mount itself. The space may be an indication that the rubber mountings have compressed. I'm not sure of design of this mount but here's what I think. The rectangular rubber mountings on each side of the trans are the weight bearing structure of the mount. The center bolt is intended as secondary support in the case of a rubber mounting failure. If I'm right then the gap that is showing is not a problem but it may indicate that the rubber mountings have compressed. I loosened the 4 mounting bolts, raised the trans, placed a 1/8 in. steel plate between the mount and the frame, and tightened the 4 bolts. Again, check your fan and fan shroud clearance before you start up. Because this decreased my vibration problem I assumed the mount had compressed and I ordered a new one. When I placed the old and new mounts next to each other I could tell the new one was "taller". I don't have anything under the new mount.
Raising the front end with more lift might improve the vibration also.
I am working on my supercharger tuning over the next couple of weeks and then I'll return to working on this issue. I'm to the point that I'm confident that I know what's going on and that I'm not worried I've got a rearend or other major component about to go. Good luck, I'll be interested in what you find and I'll post what happens with the control arms.