So finally made some time for the 4runner today.

Before throwing the axles back on I went to see if the front driveshaft was spinning when in 2wd. Stuck the go pro down there and sure enough … I get front driveshaft movement even when in 2wd… going 2Lo stops the spinning, but in regular gear I get contact from the synchro to the 4wd gear. Hard to say how much force is making it through so it could just be a little rubbing that’s spinning the shaft but none the less it’s a little weird since it shouldn’t be.


Went to throw my front axles on, and before I did that decided to make sure my drain and fill plugs can be undone. Got them loose and went to pull the drain plug, and what do I find ? Chunks of metal. Decent size and amount. Shot front diff … clearly .. right ?

While dropping the diff I was running through the possible scenarios of getting this back to ECgs for warranty, having a local shop so it, finding a local off-road guy do it, etc. diff came out in about 20 minutes.

Once out.. a quick YouTube video convinced me to crack it open myself just to see.. I was super curious.

Boy am I glad I did. Nothing , not one thing , is busted writhing the arb locker or ring and pinion. I will do a more thorough clean and inspection once I get some brake cleaner, but… not a damn thing is broken

After a closer examination, the chunks I found match almost identical to the broken intermediate shaft I kept. It seems a few of these pieces were wedges somewhere and did not flush out when I did the flush.. needless to say I’m pretty stoked. Still a lot of work to get everything back together and into the rig but now at least I know.












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