To TieRod or not to TieRod? And whiplash-ish clunk.

[Crashmachine]

One thing i've noticed on my wagon is that clunk noise and like others have said, it's less severe when in 4wd.. I've been planning on adjusting the backlash on my front and rear diff to see if this is the source of the noise many people are dealing with.

As time goes by the ring and pinion wear against each other and develop more space between them. Since the rear is barely used (depending on where you live) it would be tighter causing it to load up before all the 'lash' is used up in the front making the clunk less severe when in 4wd.

This is what i think it is but i haven't gotten around to replacing my clutch yet, and i planned on adjusting the backlash then since im going to have to take it out and order shims through toyota.

Has anyone ever adjusted the front or rear diff gears backlash?

[Petros]

That is a petty drastic step, make sure that is the sourse of the clunk. That seems pretty unlikly to me, usually if the wear is severe enough to cause it to out of tolerance, you break off teeth and trash the diff, without any other warning. If out of adjustment the gear teeth are loaded in the wrong place putting a lot of stress on the bevel gears, and hence the failure.

Make sure you know how to adjust it properly, or you will just trash a diff. I do not think it is that difficult to get correct, but for some reason many manage to mess it up.

The diff is the last place I would look for a clunk, it is likely somewhere else. If you already have a noticeable clunk out of the diff, it seems to me it likely has to be replaced, not just adjusted with shims.

[takza]

I think if the diff lash is off...you more likely will get a loud whine than a clunk?

Maybe engine/trans mounts? Maybe exhaust hitting something?

[dlb]

crashmachine (great name, btw-reminds me of megaman), did you try adjusting the backlash on your front diff yet? i have the same problem and i'm searching for a solution to it. thought it was a CV but nope.

[ilovemytota]

check.... front ring and pinion may be going

[takza]

Motor mounts???

[dlb]

i replaced all the mounts when we swapped the 4A in. it's been a while and i've since decided not to worry about this until it becomes a real problem. it's been like this since i bought the car and hasn't improved or gotten worse since--i figure i'll just drive it very lovingly and who knows, i might never have to deal with it. but if i remember correctly, when the CV's are in the differential there was a certain amount of slop when i rotated them. i don't know if that's the ring & pinion but that's where i believe the problem is since i get the 'clunk' when i first start moving forward and when i change gears, but only if i'm not careful. it's one of the reasons the wife doesn't usually get to drive ron.

btw, i checked the strut mounts after reading about petros' situation but mine appear all good.