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My own vehicle! (son drives it to school) - Significant vibration issue has developed in recent weeks. My tech is a friend who works at Honda dealer and also owns Toyota trucks himself.

Tires are good (balanced and rotated by Discount Tire), alignment is good (did it last year before new tires when on. When it persisted, the tech said it's probably the driveshaft. So he pulled it out and the u-joints were getting sloppy so he put Chevy style U-joints into the OEM driveshaft. He texted I was "ready to go" then texted "call me". He said we're not out of the woods yet; it's better but there is still vibration in the 50-70mph range. He recommended that I take it to Clinard's Drive Line in Nashville to have them determine if the driveshaft itself was out of balance. So I called them and they said to bring it up for examination. I dropped it off and waited for a call. The expert calls me and says "all of these OEM drive shafts are junk; they have a tube inside a tube with rubber that breaks down. There's no point in even putting this up to check it, they're all bad." Then he tells me they build new replacements for $425. Let me think about that. I tell my tech what Clinard's said and then he tells me "yeah, they're like that sometimes." Great, wasted trip.

Since my son and I had a 500 mile trip planned with the 4Runner, I started looking at more options. I found a 1999 (same 1996-2002) in a yard nearby for $100. The tech said it's in better shape with just a little play in one position so we put that in to make it through the weekend trip, and it did work pretty well for a time. Now 3 weeks later I am more aware of a squirrelly shake between 40-55mph when I drive it and Brian thinks its more like 60-70mph. Needless to say I want this to function properly; these are the options I am mulling:

1. I bought the new u-joints that are still in the original driveshaft - do I live with that one as is or do we take the u-joints out of that shaft and put them into the used shaft we're unsure of now?
2. Find another drive line shop in my area to assess the original driveshaft?
3. Do I have a new one made for $425 (or buy for $365 on eBay)?
4. Other suggestions from the experts?

Thanks for reading this.

First is to determine if this is indeed a driveline vibration. Your tech should be able to do this by feel. First order vibrations are lower in frequency and are dependent on speed (think wheels and tires). Second order vibrations are much higher in frequency and are driveline related because they spin 2-4 times faster than the wheels (think axle ratio).

Second is to check the driveshaft angles at each end. If they are not the same, you can experience vibration. A worn transmission mount or twisted springs can change these angles, and even a new OEM driveshaft will shake.

I'd agree with the driveline shop. Those shafts are trouble. My driveline shop retubes them and installs new yokes where needed. It's expensive, but worth it if you're looking for smooooooothness. Personally I wouldn't buy one on EBay because I have a relationship with a good driveline shop; not worth the risk.

We have used a large hose clamp and weights and tried to balance it ourselves while running on the lift to be certain its the driveline. I charge for this but its the best way to be certain. once I knew it was the driveline then I guess it depends on your area and the quality of the driveline shops

All good points - thank you. I believe the tech went through that thought process and thusly came up with driveshaft being the culprit.

Another option I failed to mention might be to whack the ends (with yoke and new U Joints) from original tube and place onto a new tube. (aka re-tubing)

Correct if the internals are what is the problem that's that is what they would do. Re-tube it and balance it properly.