I'm beginning to think that I have an addiction...
I ended up going with reman OEM axles from Toyota because they were about $180, which would be cheaper than CVJ if I were to eventually put their extended inner boots on... which is what I plan to do with the one OEM axle that came off; the other is a NAPA brand and will serve me better in a dumpster.
Since I had to disconnect the LBJ to get the axles out, I figured that I may as well give myself peace of mind by replacing those, too. From all of the reading I've done, the worn out bushings that these last ones were working with around the front end most likely affected their lifespan, so 35k is long enough for them. They had more play than I felt comfortable with when I had the LCA's off a few weeks back and from all of the horror stories on here I didn't want to chance anything. I'll keep them because after handling the new ones they apparently aren't as tight as tie rods brand new, so the old joints are good enough to serve as trail spares.
The diff drop that came with this truck had to go. The plastic spacers were giving out, so I went with the Sonoran Steel tapered options and they seem pretty nice already! I still couldn't get the torque (101 ft. lb.) dialed in mainly because of the nut moving the counter-hold wrench to a position that was crushing my hand, but I cranked the shit out of it enough to where I feel comfortable with where it's at. That is a weird angle to be at to get that kind of leverage anyway.
The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the gaps that the new axles have going into the differential. As it is with everything on the internet, I was finding mixed responses. They don't appear to be leaking and I was beating on them considerably with a 4 lb. mallet and stout chisel, so is that good enough? The ones I took out were in further and the dust seal even popped off of one while I was removing them because of how tight it was against the diff. Not sure if that comes with usage or if I need to try to re-seat these new ones to match. What do you guys think?
Passenger side
Drivers side
I'm really looking forward to doing all of the interior projects now because my aging body is not responding well to crawling around the shop floor these days, lol.