Trans, Diff and U-Bolt issues

n7narcosis

n7narcosis

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone,

I just picked up my new 2018 Tacoma TRD OFF-ROAD (Texas built) on July 21st 2018 with 7KM on it (Canadians Eh).


Here's my fluid report thus far:

- Rear diff, LOW

- Transfer case, OK

- Front diff, LOWER than the rear, to the point where my pinky was shoved in to the point of almost not getting it back only just barely touched fluid...


I will be picking up some diff fluid tomorrow... I will not be putting it in 4WD until the diff is brought back up...


The drive shaft from transfer case to rear diff DOES NOT have serviceable zerks.


The drive shaft from transfer case to front diff has zerks - was DRY as a bone, it took a good 6-7 squeezes on my grease gun to see life...


I have a Saturday appointment with the Toyota dealership for them to check the transmission. They of course "have NRVER heard of this issue" including "and I've been a Toyota service tech since the mid-eighties" --- It makes me wonder how this will go...


As for the u-bolts... They were at about 35-45ish ft\lbs I brought them up to 50-55ish.


Curious to know your thoughts as I was hoping after all of this chatter, Toyota would have sorted their **** out by now...


Is there anything else I should be checking???
 
Front diff spiders are turning even in 2wd because the driver side is connected.

If you have an auto, I'd be more worried about that being low.

Rear zerks are not inside the joints like in the front. I'd check again but maybe Toyota changed small details yet again.

Rear U bolts should be 78lbs I believe.
 
n7narcosis said:
Hey everyone,

I just picked up my new 2018 Tacoma TRD OFF-ROAD (Texas built) on July 21st 2018 with 7KM on it (Canadians Eh).


Here's my fluid report thus far:

- Rear diff, LOW

- Transfer case, OK

- Front diff, LOWER than the rear, to the point where my pinky was shoved in to the point of almost not getting it back only just barely touched fluid...


I will be picking up some diff fluid tomorrow... I will not be putting it in 4WD until the diff is brought back up...


The drive shaft from transfer case to rear diff DOES NOT have serviceable zerks.


The drive shaft from transfer case to front diff has zerks - was DRY as a bone, it took a good 6-7 squeezes on my grease gun to see life...


I have a Saturday appointment with the Toyota dealership for them to check the transmission. They of course "have NRVER heard of this issue" including "and I've been a Toyota service tech since the mid-eighties" --- It makes me wonder how this will go...


As for the u-bolts... They were at about 35-45ish ft\lbs I brought them up to 50-55ish.


Curious to know your thoughts as I was hoping after all of this chatter, Toyota would have sorted their **** out by now...


Is there anything else I should be checking???
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new OffRoad.
That’s disheartening about the diff fluid, I hadn’t checked mine on my 18 OR. Maybe I should.
That’s what happens when they build a truck in Texas isn’t it @Crawdad and @lcarrasco212
 
Welcome to the forum! Drain those diffs and fill 'em up......pump some grease into the u-joints.......torque the u-bolts as Bogunn and Whippersnapper said........Enjoy!
 
n7narcosis said:
Hey everyone,

I just picked up my new 2018 Tacoma TRD OFF-ROAD (Texas built) on July 21st 2018 with 7KM on it (Canadians Eh).


Here's my fluid report thus far:

- Rear diff, LOW

- Transfer case, OK

- Front diff, LOWER than the rear, to the point where my pinky was shoved in to the point of almost not getting it back only just barely touched fluid...


I will be picking up some diff fluid tomorrow... I will not be putting it in 4WD until the diff is brought back up...


The drive shaft from transfer case to rear diff DOES NOT have serviceable zerks.


The drive shaft from transfer case to front diff has zerks - was DRY as a bone, it took a good 6-7 squeezes on my grease gun to see life...


I have a Saturday appointment with the Toyota dealership for them to check the transmission. They of course "have NRVER heard of this issue" including "and I've been a Toyota service tech since the mid-eighties" --- It makes me wonder how this will go...


As for the u-bolts... They were at about 35-45ish ft\lbs I brought them up to 50-55ish.


Curious to know your thoughts as I was hoping after all of this chatter, Toyota would have sorted their **** out by now...


Is there anything else I should be checking???
Click to expand...
Might be a good idea to contact corporate and open a case so if anything down the road is damaged you at least have the history. Keep us posted on how this plays out. I personally would have left it low and taken it in for them to see and deal with. If it was out of warranty I would have done what you did.
 
OR17TRD said:
Might be a good idea to contact corporate and open a case so if anything down the road is damaged you at least have the history. Keep us posted on how this plays out. I personally would have left it low and taken it in for them to see and deal with. If it was out of warranty I would have done what you did.
Click to expand...
Yes, this was discussed with some friends, and you've brought up a good point too. I will be leaving everything as is so that the dealership can witness it for themselves since they say they've never seen it.

Once I have documentation from the dealership I will be calling corporate and opening a case file and forwarding the dealership results.

The only correction I made yesterday was tightening the U-bolts and greasing the u-joints, that I wasn't too fussed with.

Thanks all for the support and welcoming, after owning 2 4Runners over 10 years I'm stoked to have the 3rd gen Tacoma - this seems to be the right of passage...
 
OR17TRD said:
Might be a good idea to contact corporate and open a case so if anything down the road is damaged you at least have the history. Keep us posted on how this plays out. I personally would have left it low and taken it in for them to see and deal with. If it was out of warranty I would have done what you did.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! The right thing to do that way it’s on them and there’s record of it.
Hopefully you can get an extended warranty out of it if you don’t already have one.

n7narcosis said:
Yes, this was discussed with some friends, and you've brought up a good point too. I will be leaving everything as is so that the dealership can witness it for themselves since they say they've never seen it.

Once I have documentation from the dealership I will be calling corporate and opening a case file and forwarding the dealership results.

The only correction I made yesterday was tightening the U-bolts and greasing the u-joints, that I wasn't too fussed with.

Thanks all for the support and welcoming, after owning 2 4Runners over 10 years I'm stoked to have the 3rd gen Tacoma - this seems to be the right of passage...
Click to expand...

We’re glad to have you. It is a great place to talk about the Tacoma’s and learn from them. Plus it’s a pretty interesting place. We have some quirky, eccentric members....
You’ll see that in the future.
 
Bogunn said:
Absolutely! The right thing to do that way it’s on them and there’s record of it.
Hopefully you can get an extended warranty out of it if you don’t already have one.



We’re glad to have you. It is a great place to talk about the Tacoma’s and learn from them. Plus it’s a pretty interesting place. We have some quirky, eccentric members....
You’ll see that in the future.
Click to expand...
Looking forward to the adventures [emoji12]
 
Update on the Transmission and Diffs... Yesterday the lead mechanic at the dealership took the time (2hrs) to complete the FULL procedure, with the right tools (vacuum tools and calibrated straw with Techstream giving temp readings). They also filled both front and rear diffs.

Here is the result:
Transmission was down approx. 0.3L
Front diff was down approx. 0.3L
Rear diff was down approx. 0.1L

They topped everything following particular procedures AND let me stand with the Tech as he went though it - I couldn't be happier. Plus they updated the ECM with TSB-0058-18.

I don't know if it's just me, but the truck feels like it shifts completely different. Feels like it is sorted, doesn't hunt for gears and is more predictable on the down shifts. Could be that I am biased though, knowing fluid is good now.

Monday I'll submit all the documentation to Toyota Corporate in hopes of an extended warranty.

Big hats off to Peace Arch Toyota here in the BC Lower Mainland. If any of you folks are in BC, they treat you right - couldn't be happier at this point. Happy customers spend money too haha, picked up a paint pen and bed mat the same day too

Will keep you all informed on the Toyota Corporate adventure...
 
n7narcosis said:
Update on the Transmission and Diffs... Yesterday the lead mechanic at the dealership took the time (2hrs) to complete the FULL procedure, with the right tools (vacuum tools and calibrated straw with Techstream giving temp readings). They also filled both front and rear diffs.

Here is the result:
Transmission was down approx. 0.3L
Front diff was down approx. 0.3L
Rear diff was down approx. 0.1L

They topped everything following particular procedures AND let me stand with the Tech as he went though it - I couldn't be happier. Plus they updated the ECM with TSB-0058-18.

I don't know if it's just me, but the truck feels like it shifts completely different. Feels like it is sorted, doesn't hunt for gears and is more predictable on the down shifts. Could be that I am biased though, knowing fluid is good now.

Monday I'll submit all the documentation to Toyota Corporate in hopes of an extended warranty.

Big hats off to Peace Arch Toyota here in the BC Lower Mainland. If any of you folks are in BC, they treat you right - couldn't be happier at this point. Happy customers spend money too haha, picked up a paint pen and bed mat the same day too

Will keep you all informed on the Toyota Corporate adventure...
Click to expand...
PS - here is the proper transmission procedure detailed perfectly
 
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