I am planning to boost come the spring time of 2010 but I have some issues with axle play. Every time I shift, I can hear the axles jiggling and of course when it's cold 2nd and 3rd gear grind but once it's warmed up its okay. I plan on swapping out the stock tranny fluid for Eneos or MT-90, and I also plan on installing Energy Suspension Motor/Tranny Mounts. I have brougt my car to Toyota, and of course they said there's nothing wrong with it because my car is sitting on coilovers. They tried to tell me that may be the problem, but the master mechanic looked at it, and said it was fine. They even drove it. If motor mounts and new tranny fluid do not fix the problem, should I be worried if I'm pushing 275-300whp with this axle play issue? Will the modifications I mentioned earlier help this issue?

 

Sounds like CV joints to me.

 

My boy Tim and I put the car on his lift at HIS shop and all of the ball joints/boots/etc. looked fine. There was a bit of oil leaking from the tranny. Not dripping out, but it's there. It has been okay the past 2 oil changes. I'm going to keep an eye on it. I'm going in for my 25K check up soon so maybe they can tell me a bit more.

 

Make sure the car isn't dropped to the ground. When you lower a car you change the angle of inclination on the axle and this puts extra stress on the tripot joints. This over time can damage the axle as well as limit your traction.

 

It isn't slammed. It was pretty low, but not slammed. I had about a 1 finger gap all around. It's raised back up for winter and has about a 2 finger gap in the front and a bit more then a 1 finger in the back. Any suggestions Don?

 

I also got alignments every time I adjusted the ride height.

 

I also went from 215/45/17's to 225/45/17's which is why the wheel gap isn't as much.

 

No recommendations at this time. I would recommend raising it to at least a 2 finger gap but you said you did that it's possible that damage was done. Check over the rest of your suspension for any loose parts etc.

 

it sounds like your axle is trying to slide out

 

You can't simply look at a CV joint to see if it's damaged or not. As it's the inner tripod that gets wacked out. I've been through quite a bit of axle trouble myself. Can't stand it when it happens. I hate the tripod design of the driver side. Wish there was a better solution/design.

Gear grinding when cold and then fine when warmed up is not an axle issue though. That's a fluid issue. Switch to Eneos or MT-90 as you were planning to do, and that will/should go away. Royal Purple sucks, so go with either of the two you selected.

If you are driving and you feel a harmonic noise/vibration coming from the drivetrain area (near the wheels and what not), and that noise/vibration seems to increase when you transfer weight onto or away from it, by making a lane change at nominal speeds then I'm 95% sure it's the CV joint. If not, then make sure that all of your suspension bolts are torqued down to spec, including your Axle nut. Stripped/slipped Axle nut will cause great vibration as well.

 

yup as most say gear grinding is the fluid......i switched to the Mt-90 which was good at first nice and smooth shifting then around 3,000 miles or so grinding came back escipally in reverse......so i did some research and foundf out that the mt-90 wasnt as good as people said well at least for me so i swithed over to the eneos and felt a difference right away better then the mt-90 felt.....but after 3,000 miles it still felt good still going on for 3 months no problems at all......but theres a whole threads on this so not gonna get into detailes..no i recommed Eneos if iwere you

 

When I am driving I never hear any noises, whether I am driving a bit spiritedly or just regularly, I never hear anything but the tires on the road.

When the car is on the lift and I move the front wheel (any side) You can hear the axle moving way too much. I know there is supposed to be SOME play, but not this much. Maybe it's time to bring my car back to Toyota. Hopefully they won't screw me out of it being covered under warranty because of the coils, which they probably will.

If anyone else has any ideas, please be sure to inform as I wish to diagnose this issue as soon as possible.

 

MY-90 is great stuff still. It was my solution to a 3rd gear cold grind. It's what Ptuning runs in their Time Attack car.

 

I predict they will not cover it due to having coilovers. Hence I never take my ride to the stealership. They are a waste of time. Their job is to cover themselves and not provide customer service.

 

True statement my friend. What do you suggest as far as pursuing this issue further? Would motor/tranny mounts help ANY?

 

Not sure, that might be just bandaid it. Might take some good ole fashion elbow grease and make sure all is torque to spec.

 

I'll get in contact with my friend who has his own shop with a lift and get to wrenching. Thanks for all your help, I appreciate it.

 

Is there information on what bolts should be torqued too how many lbs?

 

find all you need in the tech section

 

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/manual/?manual=tc05_0001