Information I have read on this site would agree with you that pumping some grease in does not address the problem. The TSB is posted in this thread. Said it feels like a bump from behind at or after stopping. Mine sounded like a clunk coming from the transmission shift area just after stopping and I could feel the truck bump forward.
1) Somewhere in this site there are pictures of a guy taking his propellar shaft off and greasing inside. Looks easy to do and addresses the problem. It has to be repeated in the future.
2) There is a TSB posted in this thread with the instructions for installing the new propeller shaft part #37110-60A40. It is redesigned not just greased up.

I have 89,000 miles on my GX470 and the propeller shaft was replaced at 72,000. It was an immediate fix. Extended Carmax warranty covered it with no charge in 2014. Without the warranty I would have put it in myself to save some money. Hope that helps.

 

Want to fix your clunk? Lift the damn thing. Clunk gone immediately...

 

How so ... ?

 

changes where the driveshaft rests at, but mine started clunking some after my lift again.
Need to get under there and shoot some grease in it. thats the best way.

 

Hi all, I have this problem on my 2004 GX470, but living in Bolivia I don't know if they cover the TSB work. Any corporate types know if international dealers are bound by Toyota to fix this stuff? I know that question is a long shot, but just hope to be armed with info before I go in and (potentially) fight with them.

Also, my car is definitely out of warranty, so I am wondering if I am out of luck anyway for a free fix. I am new to Lexus/Toyota ownership, but my two Jeeps and a Ford F-150 were still covered after the end of the warranty for many TSB repairs.

 

There is a Lexus of Bolivia. I'd give it a try. Hopefully to generate sales and goodwill of Lexus that they will take care of you. I attached a link to their website. Good luck...

https://www.toyosa.com/representacion/lexus/

 

the clunk comes back even after the new driveshaft is installed, it just takes a while for it to come back.
better off with the $15 grease gun and grease combo, just pump the driveshaft with some grease and its gone for 15k miles. do it with every third or fifth oil change or when the noise comes back and you are good to go.

 

Ali is right, save yourself a headache, buy $11 grease gun and your old shaft will be better than the rebuild they would install for you. Trust me, I have 304K miles on my original driveshaft.

 

Very cool!!! Thanks so much for your responses! Sorry it took me so long to get back online and respond to your responses

I'd much rather go the grease-gun route, to tell you the truth, especially if you guys seem to point in that direction anyway!

Is there a thread on that (or maybe it's in this thread and I just didn't find it before I jumped to the end and asked my question about dealers here in Bolivia.

I think I speak enough Spanish to be able to talk to them, but they immediately know I am a "gringo" and so it's hard to argue successfully with them sometimes when I don't know if they have to stand behind the Lexus name here like they do in the USA. So much is different here like that *sigh* But the gas is cheap and the chickies are smokin'...

Anyway, I have a grease gun, one with a rubber hose, and one with a fixed steel "hose". Does Lexus/Toyota have a preferred grease to use in all the zerks around the car? I think I have regular old Moly grease in the grease guns now, that is what I used in my '46 Ford (although it was devoid of zerks) and my '67 Cougar, so if I have to change it out for something more modern and better, I will.

Also, while crawling under the car to discover where the lube dripping on my driveway/ceramic was coming from (found the thread on that - transfer case - still reading up on that - my mechanic says that I will lose 4WD if I just change the o-ring as suggested here, but I know that was a subject of debate in this forum also - more reading to do before I tackle that one), I noticed a couple zerk fittings on the U-Joints on the front of the differential, I assume that is where I need to apply grease to fix the thumping.

I'll check to see if/where it is discussed on the forum, unless one of you guys want to point me in the general direction.

Thanks again for the responses...I'd sure like to be able to get under there and grease it away...am sure I need to do quite a few greasings, in fact. Folks down here aren't much good at maintenance.

 

Just got this truck at 73000 miles and change. Clunk was definitely present. I got the moly lube out and gave each prop shaft 11-12 pumps.....drove it 80 miles. seemed to help, bur not completely gone. Got back under there yesterday, front shaft seems to have some grease on the female side of shaft. The seal is sooo tight you can just barely see it. Gave that shaft 10 more pumps and you could just see it begin to move, maybe a 1/16. So I stopped there. The rear shaft needed another 15-16 pumps before I heard and felt some resistance in the grease gun.I just took my time, didnt want to overfill it. You can tell when its filled if you pay attention. Drove the truck around town and the clunk is gone. Im pretty sure the inside of my set up was dry to the bone. That was a lot of grease I put in.
Thanks for all the input here!

 

I'm looking to buy my friends 2006 GX 470 with 103,000 miles. The car has been serviced regularly but I'm not sure if anything has been done to address the clunk or lurching forward before and after stopping which still exists. Any thoughts on how to fix that what the cost would be and what the TSB number is. also is there anything else I should look for in a car at this age and mileage that might be a potential problem. Last how many more miles should be able to get out of this vehicle.

 

I think there are some besides the U joint but yet the zerk fittings on the driveshaft itself is where you want to grease up until you see the driveshaft move a hair (meaning its full of grease now).

The leaky seal on the transfer case, if you pull it out carefully, replace the seal, and put it back in carefully without breaking anything, 4wd will still work just fine. many people have done it, very few have broken it off (dont do it on a night where you dont have alot of patience, take your time).
Dont go pressing all the 4wd buttons while you have it pulled out, and dont go tunring it a bunch while its pulled out, this can cause you to have to recalibrate it possibly, but still it can be done.

worst case scenario, if you mess it up you will just have to drop the transfer case to do it the right way, which is what the original fix is to do, so the shortcut is worth trying, cause end result you can still fix it by dropping the transfer case, but if it works it saves a ton of headache, dropping the transfercase is not fun I have done it before.

Well done sir! now enjoy that clunk free ride.

 

I greased the crap out of both driveshafts, and clunk is gone! Broke a couple of zerk fittings though. Tried autozone zerks, but the heads snapped off, so ordered oem fittings.

 

how much was the oem fitting?

 

Bought at discountpartsmonster.com for $1.73 each plus shipping. Local dealer wanted $5.90!