Front Drive Shaft Update

[Shopkeep]

Is the failure of the boot and the failure of the circlip two separate issues that can occur independently or does one relate to the other? Do both have the same root cause being excessive angle putting stress on the components or is something else causing the circlip failure?

 

[NQ94]

This seems a lot like Toyotas tap dance around years worth of badly engineered engines, claiming it was debris from machining and not engineering. They accidentally confessed in a NITSA document the other day as they added another 126K engines to the recall list. that the engines do indeed have engineering flaws. Here is a little secret....I replaced my factory one with a Terra Flex unit and that is what failed. It is NOT boots themselves. It is a bad angle and limited range of travel. That Italian FB photo looks like mine does. However, I checked the boot before I hit the road the day before and it was fine. It was pinched towing over undulating roads because there is not enough clearance. Mine failed and melted down like that in a few thousand feet. Another few thousand feet and it would have been wrecking stuff under neath. I am fortunate it held. Here is the thing, Toyotas are dead last in truck reliability, folks are driving off the lot and having them blow up and fail in every kind of miserable way.....AND SALES ARE UP! Ineos does not have a history of reliable vehicles they can use as a cruch to get through a bad time. However not sure Toyota will ever be as reliable again. Ineos HAS TO fix this drive shaft issue. And they have reliable running gear in general, so this issue has to be solved as a recall or it will destroy them as a new car maker.

It seems like every manufacturer with a new platform or powetrain combination is having major issues at the moment. Ford and GM with transmissions (Allison has anounced it's removal of any brand association with any current GM transmission), GMs new V8, Toyota V6 petrol, every one who makes a wet belt engine, Ford V6 diesel in the Ranger, both Ranger and Lc300 with drive shaft vibrations and the list goes on. Has cost cutting in engineering and production plus the introduction of more and more tech, higher employee wages from the traditional manufacturers plus trying to keep competitive with the tofu-dreg cars finally caught up an now high priced sub-par products are becoming the norm.

 

[GrenaRik]

I think this explains a LOT regarding caster and front shaft failures (and the reason steering radius sucks):

View: https://youtu.be/-rs-xdtDh9c?si=a-X4Dua4vUqZqPNJ


Easy fix but $$$$$$.

 

[Mountain4x4]

Yes, its interesting all the issues in the automotive world. Ram is now the most reliable truck brand with the addition of the ZF, and buyers are starting to flock to Ram. If they can keep it together with the 10 year warranty, they will rule the pick up truck world eventually. But substandard parts are another issue as well that auto makers have to control. Lots of challenges for auto makers. I mean the list is pretty long now for Ineos, power window switches, both coolant tanks, door buttons, wrong power steering o ring...I am sure you can add more. Ram probably has a better handle on that with more experience. However, that is a far cry from crank design issues on GM and Toyotas, or cheapening out on transmission valve bodies, or lowering design strength on the front diff to save money...Clear differences. And I can forgive Ineos for parts supplier issues. But engineering flaws are another issue all together, whether that be HVAC, Cable Stay, Steering, drive shaft or other. But so far the driveshaft is the one show stopper that will effect everyone and be very costly. Most of us are tolerant of a these quirks, knowing we have a robust drivetrain that you are not getting from the factory anywhere else. The driveshaft violates that basic covenant.