Here you go:

 

Thanks I took my GX470 to the dealer along with the info about the replacement of the drive shaft. Since I purchased the truck as a CPO they replaced the drive shaff for free. Took it on a short trip this weelend and it ran and sounded great, a little better gas milage too.

Thank everyone for your help!

 

I have a 2008 GX with 29000 miles. Luckily I have two Lexus dealerships within 30 min. of my home. I called the first one, described the clunking issue, he explained that this is a common problem with the GX, but unfortunately it isn't covered under the powertrain warranty. He quoted me just under $1000 to fix it . I immediately called the other Lexus dealership, explained the issue, and he also said it was a common problem with the GX; however, he explained that it is covered under the powertrain warranty and that he could have me in and out within two hours. He said the part was in stock and to bring my GX in. I have an appointment for Saturday.

 

just had this done on my wife's 07 GX470.. Lexus of Roseville (CA).. they had to order the parts and gave us a brand new 2012 RX350 for a loaner (her's is a CPO, so both the factory drivetrain warranty and CPO warranty covered it) sure drives and stops nice now.

I thank the forum here for keying me as to what the problem was.

 

My 06 GX470 is younger than 6 years, but over 70k miles, so no surprise that my dealer told me it is not going to be covered under warranty. I just emailed Lexus corporate, let us see what happens next.

So far I am kind of disappointed with Lexus quality and service, this kind of well-known issue should be made a call-back, not a service item.

 

I found that if I put the car in N shift before stopping, then no clunk will occur at both stop and start time.

 

Of course, you have removed the torque from the shaft, just not always a safe move...just lube it yourself with synthetics grease and the clunk will be resolved.

 

I have a 'new to me' 07 with 90k miles on it. Since it is out of the warranty period and I did not purchase the extended warranty, it probably makes sense to A) grease up the shaft and then, if still clunking, B) order a new impeller (drive shaft) at Club Lexus discount and install myself. Worst case, I have trouble breaking any of the 8 bolts loose, I can always take the part to my local mechanic and pay him to install it. Is the type of grease I use a big deal? Thought I might just ask the local Jiffy Lube / Oil Change guy to lube it for me since I threw away my old lube gun years ago (hadn't used it for so long). Thoughts? Thanks, Mike.

 

As long as they don't use a high power one, only use hand pump grease guns, you can blowout the seals

 

I have been using royal purples synthetic and have not had a clunk. I lube rear every 5000 miles and joints and front every 10,000

 

I couldn't stand it any longer trying to visualize what the problem was. I pulled the shaft and it is pretty straight forward. The shaft is simply a telescoping 2 piece unit that spends most if its time in 1 position. When the truck comes to a stop, the auto height leveler kicks in and forces the shaft to adjust its length to a new point (away from its normal 'home' position) and if it isn't (hasn't been) lubed properly, TaDa, the 'thunk' occurs.

One thing I did realize was that it is best to compress the shaft fully (remove one end from the truck and shorten the length of the shaft as much as possible) before pumping grease in there otherwise you could pump lots of grease into the open cavity and when the shaft needs to compress it won't be able to unless the grease can escape past the seal (mine had so much old hardened grease at the seal that it would not let grease pass there). If there is another relief point, I didn't see it. The only other way to let the excess grease out would be to press the ball bearing in on the zerk (grease fitting) which I did just to see if it worked. Like I said, I had mine out on the workbench so it was easy to work on. Well, all greased up and no clunk. Let's see how long it lasts. BTW, the removal & reinstall takes less than 45 minutes. It's a total of 8 bolts. No biggie... and felt like it weighed about 40-60 pounds. There are some great pics and excellent explanations on the www.pirate4x4.com website. More than you ever wanted to know about driveshafts and CV joints. Thanks, Mike.

 

Would you mind providing a direct link to the article on the site for those of us too lazy to browse around for the goods? Thanks!

 

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-shaft/index.html

Sorry about that.

 

Well, 500 miles and no clunking and I am glad I saved the $300 for the new driveshaft but the process of taking the driveshaft loose to look examine, clean, and grease it, did make me realize that the replacement is no big deal. There are only 4 bolts & nuts at each end of the shaft (I think they were 14mm & 17mm). Mike

 

Just purchased my 2007 GX 470 last Friday (4/8). I hate creeks and rattles and such and almost immediately noticed a slight thunk when starting and stopping. I went ahead and made an appointment before joining this forum and then saw it as the 1st "sticky". Took it to the dealer who replaced the drive shaft for free (it is a certified pre-owned).