4.88's are in!

It does feel nice to have an actual V6 feel in this thing now. Due to some errands, I have pretty much already finished the "burn-in" period, but there is an axle seal leak in the front that needs to be fixed. From what I can tell, the tech just put the new one in a little too far, which is not hard to do at all.

Paden Drivetrain in Portland is the shop to go to if you want Nitro (or Yukon) gears, prompt and friendly service, and stupid-cheap prices. F/R with e-locker cost me $1,850 out-the-door (he tacked on another $100 for the needle bearing bushing swap that I got from ECGS). This included the master service kit, so labor ended up being almost nothing compared to some quotes I got elsewhere. He's a long-time authorized dealer for Nitro, which means he gets the parts really cheap from them and passes on the savings to us.

The word is already out about Mike (Paden) and his crew thanks to some other forums, so don't expect to get in super quick. I originally called in December and he was backed up until the end of January, but he said there's always a holiday rush for some reason. When I called a few weeks ago, I had to wait about a week due to backorders from Nitro, but once he had the 4Runner then it took no more than a day to do everything.

It felt good to switch off ECT and still have pep! Once he fixes the seal then I'll do some highway tests to see how the higher RPMs are. I hear 4.88's can have the 5VZ's screaming over 70, so we'll see! I still have a slight tapping on the floorboard, which is most likely the u-joints in the front shaft that still need to be changed out, but overall the entire road feel is much more "stout" than before. I'm sure most of that is the ECGS bushing, but it's good to know that I don't have to worry about anything in the differentials now either. The clapping/clacking during heavy cornering has been subdued, as well, but I still feel some play in the CV's, so I think it's just something that I'll need to live with.