[Jon]

YouTube - ‪Front Diff‬‏
I got my diff out and apart to push the CV out and make sure there were no fragments left. First thing I found is that this probably isn't the first time this has been apart unless Toyota uses sloppy amounts of RTV. There were some small metal pieces stuck to the magnet and in the bottom of the shell. The damage I found was a shallow gash at the top of the shell about 4" long. I don't think it was made by this ring gear.The deepest this ring gear goes is 1 1/4 and the gash is 1 5/8 deep into the shell. the gear doesn't appear damaged either. Hope that whoever had it apart before just failed to clean everything out.

Then there's the issue of the carrier set. The driver's side (the axle that broke) has a lot more play than I'm used to seeing.

I'd love to just throw this back together and have a truck for our 4th July camping trip.

What's your thoughts?

[the great him]

yeah thats a bit too much play, granted ive never had a front apart but thats way too much play for the rear... id say it was time for a rebuild anyways. you could probably still run it like that but i would use the 4wd sparingly and it might come apart on you and bind up... but doubtful being its just the spider gears... but yeah id look at replacing that one... just my .02

[YotaZach85]

Thats fine, put the cv shaft in through the side gears and see how much play it has then, the cv shafts hold the side gears the same way the center pin holds the spider gears so with the cv out it has nothing to keep it from wandering.

That looks like a factory seal job, too, they do the same on the manual transmissions.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by YotaZach85

Thats fine, put the cv shaft in through the side gears and see how much play it has then, the cv shafts hold the side gears the same way the center pin holds the spider gears so with the cv out it has nothing to keep it from wandering.

That looks like a factory seal job, too, they do the same on the manual transmissions.

Gotcha! That makes sense. It should be back together in time to show my buddies new toy up... 89 Big Boy Blazer on 39" Super Swampers. It's Ok but I made it eat it's own front tire flexin through the normal stuff I do. Almost ripped the fender off! That was on the test drive. Trans was shifting like ass so it along with the T-case are getting rebuilt. Nice rig but he really wants to get it running like it should be, sell it and get a 4Runner.

[Jon]

Pulled the clip off a CV and threw it in real quick, MONEY it's solid now.

[the great him]

Originally Posted by YotaZach85

Thats fine, put the cv shaft in through the side gears and see how much play it has then, the cv shafts hold the side gears the same way the center pin holds the spider gears so with the cv out it has nothing to keep it from wandering.

That looks like a factory seal job, too, they do the same on the manual transmissions.

that is true i didnt think about the fact that the CV axles are not in there and that could account for some play... but then again on the other hand last weekend when i put in my ARB in the rear they spiders on it were not that lose with out the axle shafts in it.... i dont know if there is a difference from the front vs rear diffs but i wouldnt think so run and see what happens maybe you will be fine and if not oh well now you know how to get it out and if ig does go bad maybe by the time it does you will have enough $$$ for a locker up front either way your not out much if anything...

[Jon]

$hit if Uncle Sam feels like paying me for my last deployment before I go on my next one, I'll just throw a D44 up front and be done with the IFS BS.

[the great him]

Originally Posted by Jon

$hit if Uncle Sam feels like paying me for my last deployment before I go on my next one, I'll just throw a D44 up front and be done with the IFS BS.

good luck with that, all the $$$$ i just spent on my rig this last few weeks was my back pay from deployment... only took two years

[Singtoe]

This might be a moot point since you have it back together all ready.


I have never had the front diff apart. So this is my opinion . Please keep in mind that this is some what critical. These parts spin every time the truck is driven, so excessive play could lead to chatter and eventual failure.