Dealer saids I need a new drive shaft.. Do I really?

Recently picked up a 2011 4Runner with 255k on it. I got it super cheaper so I expected to need to fix a few things on it. I took it to the stealership today and they wrote me up a long list of fixes. The most concerning was a drive shaft replacement. They said that an ear was broken. I’m not mechanically inclined but I crawled under and snapped a few photos. Does it look like it needs to be replaced to you?

 

Hard to tell from photos... nothing looks broken but there may be a hairline crack that's hard to see. Can you scrub it as clean as you can manage and then take some additional photos. Also rotate it though 360 degrees, feel for hairline cracks with your fingernail and get photos of all sides.


From the photo I do suspect its rarely been greased, as the zerk fittings tend to stay black and rust free from grease residue. #1 thing I would to is make sure those are not frozen up and really grease it good till you get good clean grease overflow from all caps. then clean off the excess good.

 

Oh and also check the front prop shaft. There is a small heatshield in front of the Tcase you need to take off (2 bolts) to get a good look at the aft U-joint but then the nice thing is you can spin it by hand when packed in 2H. That one is even more often neglected.

 

Is there a particular reason you took it to a stealership to have it looked it? You don't have a small, trustworthy local shop?

 

Just about any small shop with capable mechanics could replace the crosses and it would be good as new.

NEVER go to a dealership for non warranty repairs. They make up for the less lucrative warranty repairs by soaking those that pay out of pocket.

 

Every time I'm in the mood to get raped and robbed, I visit my local stealership.

 

I agree 100%, almost every profession is out to make a quick buck off of people every chance they get.

The key is to research before committing.

 

Keep driving it if their aren't symptoms. And stay away from dealers