Hi all.

I was wondering whether anyone can confirm the following from the RAV, page 47-2:

On vehicles from 03 model year fitted with the 4.6l V8 engine and 4HP24 transmission, the front propeller shaft is 15
mm (0.6 in) longer and the rear propeller shaft is 15mm (0.6 in) shorter than those used on vehicles with the 4.0l V8
and Td5 engines. This is to accomodate an increase in length of the 4HP24 transmission.

I have a failed front shaft I have rebuilt once already (4-5 years ago) that has a fully failed double U-joint.

I am thinking of just picking up a used one from the junkyard rather than rebuilding it (again) as that double joint was a bear to rebuild.

Unfortunately, all the D2s in the yards around here are 99-02s, so I was wondering if the 0.6" difference from the RAV above can be accommodated by the sliding spline on the supposedly shorter 99-02 shaft?

BTW, what size are the bolts holding the front driveshaft flanges on? Are they SAE or metric as I can't remember?

 

Yes it can. If you purchase a new or rebuilt shaft online they are all for 99-04.

 

Thanks for clarifying that.

A further update.

Not sure now whether it is the differential, driveshaft or transfer case.

Here's the symptom. The vehicle exhibits drivetrain clunking, vibration and a whine (like a bad belt pulley) at launch and up to about 55-60mph, above which the sounds and vibration dissipates. The sounds appear to be emanating from under the front ((and not the rear). It started when I was quite a way from home (Houston) and I nursed it 150-175 miles back to Austin.

I got under the beast just now and the U-joints seem to be solid (maybe one of the double joint u-joints is a little loose but not sure), but there is about 7-10 degrees of rotational "play" in the shaft. And there is a clear leak in the transfer case, though it is at neither the front or rear output shafts, but rather around that inspection(?) plate on the side of the case.

Is that rotational play normal? Could it be worse than a driveshaft?

 

Are you sure it's the inspection plate? Watch this @5:15

 

Thanks for the videos, most instructive.

Sure sounds like that could well be where my leak actually is.

It seems like it's at a pretty high point on the case, certainly well above the flanges that drive the front and rear propeller shafts.

Would I lose enough gear lube from there to cause a failure of the transfer case?

Other than the rotational play in the front shaft, anything else I can do to figure out the problem I described at the start of this thread?

I was hoping it was the front prop shaft but after inspecting it, not so sure.

I can get an '03 transfer case with <100K miles for $100 from a donor in the area (my D2 is a '04 4.6, so the '03 should be the same, right?), but would like to isolate the problem correctly before throwing parts at it (see for example my 5 month adventure on throwing part after part at what turned out to be an issue with a coil relocation I had done)..

 

And I am assuming that the 99-02 and the 03-04 transfer cases are not interchangeable? RAV lists a bunch of minor differences and a couple of major ones, e.g., relocation of the interlock solenoid, 2 diff lock switches (compared to 1 on the 99-02 case).

 

I would pull off the inspection plate and inspect it first, measure what oil comes out and compare to the correct amount.

Here's another that shows an in-situ example

 

I think the 03&03 t cases are different in that the 04 has the CDL while the 03 doesn’t. I think if you don’t care about CDL the 03 will work.

 

What's the CDL? something differential lock?

We've rebuilt the engine on this thing (slipped sleeve), but transmissions are a real mystery to me.

Thoughts on how to diagnose my noises?

FYI, the High-Low lever was slightly forward and felt not securely in position, so I pulled solidly back to High and it still makes the whiney noise (again, a little like a bad pulley bearing crossed with noisy lifters) feels "clunky" 'though maybe not as bad (maybe because it's had overnight to recover from a 200 mile run?).

 

The guy in the video is pretty amazing. Where is he located?

BTW, what's up with you BC guys knowing so much about these monsters? Winters aren't so bad up there are they that you spend the entire season 'til June in the garage with just the beer frig and a D2 to keep you company?