I am installing ARB locker tomorrrow and will be removing the 3rd member in the process. I am planning to use the Toyota FIPG to seal the 3rd member to the axle housing. How much time does FIPG take to set in before I can fill the diff with 80W140 gear oil.

Will toyota paper gasket be a better option than FIPG?

thanks

@Jhelms swears by Permatex red; but I dunno about for a 3rd member.

I think @4-Ripcord had his diff apart recently for E-Locker install. Tagging him for any thoughts here.

4-Ripcord used Toyota orange FIPG. Not sure how many hours he waited before filling the diff with gear oil.

30 mins

thanks, 4-Ripcord

@infamousRNR and I just installed a 3rd member with an ARB locker from East Coast Gear Supply for @sunsetrunner and we filled it up with gear oil within 1 hour of installing it and have no leaks. I put a layer of orange FIPG on the axle housing as well as the 3rd member to make sure it made a good seal. When I torqued the nuts to spec, some FIPG squeezed out around the full circumference. The amount I used might have been a little excessive but I'd rather have too much than not enough. When Fred (aka sunsetrunner) was filling the rear diff, he posed the question of what the curing time was but I figured this FIPG was similar to the FIPG for the engine and you can put whatever you were working on back into service immediately without any issues.

We also pulled his front diff to swap it with an ARB locker which was much harder and involved lots of cursing because it's hard to get out and back in. You also have to swap over parts from the original diff like the diff tube and ADD actuator and vacuum and breather lines not to mention and intermediate shaft that was a pain in the ass to pop out.

So, I could be wrong but I think you can fill it up immediately after you get the axles back in and bolted up. But, I hope somebody will chime in with a definitive answer because I'm just guessing based off the experience we had with Fred's rig.

Edit: @4-Ripcord responded while I was typing. So, I guess by the time we got the axles in, the brake lines connected, and the parking brakes connected back up, at lease a 1/2 hour passed and that's why we were good to go.

BTW, a video of the front diff swap is coming soon to a theatre near you.

Front diffs are a b*tch, huh?


OP, for the record I have done front and rear diff replacements on 2 4runners now and pretty much just fill the fluid once the truck is all back together. No issues. Toyota recommends 30 mins from what I remember, but I cannot find any documentation of that right now.

With all that pain, you should have swapped the oil pan seal, just for the F of it in case it leaks (Since you can't get to it without pulling the front diff)..

This is a very good point but it was already a job that took longer than expected, like most of our jobs, so just getting the front diff out and back in was a big success because I was starting to think Fred was going to be spending the night at my place.

one more question.... Once I put 3rd member back in the diff housing do I just finger tight the nuts and wait for 30 mins before torquing them to 18 ft lbs?

I didn't wait. I just used a crossing pattern to slowly bring them up snug and then got out the torque wrench and again used a crossing pattern to bring them up to the torque spec. Like I said earlier, I used enough FIPG that it squeezed out around the full circumference and everything was good. On a side note, it took us quite a bit of time to get the old gasket off using a razor blade scraper and some fine steel wool. That gasket on Fred's truck was welded onto the axle housing pretty good.

I'm sure it doesn't make much of a difference, but for what it's worth this is the method that Toyota recommends..using a star pattern to torque.

20-30 mins cure time.

When you draw a star, you're crossing back and forth side to side so I reckon a star pattern is synonymous with a crossing pattern.

yeah thats what I meant.