I have a 2007 Limited with 156,000 miles on it.

My rear differential has been making a warbling noise for a while and because I have an upcoming long trip coming up I decided to have it look at by the local dealership. They came up with a $3800 bill! They want to replace the entire differential assembly as well as the rear wheel bearings on each side. They said they do not rebuild differentials and will not replace only the seals/bearings that are bad. They are also saying that because the truck has "high mileage" that I should replace everything anyway.

I can't feel any physical play in the wheels or the pinion and the noise isn't very loud. I've already put new gear oil in which helped it a bit (old stuff was very black and nasty). I'll have money to throw at this problem a little later, but I don't have much time or money to deal with it now (before trip). I'm wondering if this is good to keep driving for now and instead replace the diff with a locking option in a month or so.

Anyone know the cost difference to rebuilding the factory differential vs replacing it with an aftermarket that adds locking? Can you even do a locking option with a 4th generation that has ABS based traction control?

Looks like the Eaton Truetrac torsen differential carrier might be the way to go if I have to replace the ring or pinion for wear or anything more than just the pinion bearing and seal.

Anyone know what the right model would be for my '07 V6 Limited?
Think it is the 8" 30-spline model #913A610?

What would my stock gear ratio be and what would be the proper ring/pinion to buy as replacement if I needed to order one?

I'd go through East coast Gear Supply if you have to replace your rear 3rd member. Stock gears should be 3.73. You can easily come in under 3800. In fact I paid 3800 for front/rear lockers and a regear to 4.88s via ECGS.

I second going with ECGS. They'll get you all squared away. Easy to deal with and the 3rd is easy to swap in your driveway if need be. If after the swap the bearings are bad, then either do it again yourself or take to the dealer for a cheaper repair than what you originally were told (sans diff).

I just did this repair last weekend with a replacement differential from ECGS. It made a world of difference and the sound is totally gone. It took about a month to get the dif from ECGS. Even if you can’t do the repair yourself, you will still come out ahead paying someone to install the differential from ECGS.

Here are the best DIY instructions I found:

New 3rd member install


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you have a slight diff noise @150K miles so when gear oil changed it improved .. why pay $3K on a 11yr old 4runner because of some noise.

not loud so NBD.. I replace my diff oil every 40K miles. also when new the diff oil is replaced at 3K miles as it is break in .. oil gets very hot on the break in .. rear diffs do have these issues if the oil is not inspected and replaced when cooked well done...

no leaks then no problem ..., if it leaks then things are worn so that may be a replacing of it..

My 2007 rear started the same thing last summer at 150k.

If you just need a differential you can pick up a used one at the junk yard.

I ordered one from a 4runner with under 80k for 225 shipped to my door from a auto yard in Reno. Search Car-Pat.com or call a local yard GX470/FJ 07-09 with-out the lockers will work. Took me ~3 hours to swap it, most of the time was wasted getting a gasket from the auto store because the dealership gave me the wrong gasket.

You don't need to replace the wheel bearings till they go bad. Again you can pick up 4runner/fj/gx470 rear axle shafts from the junk yard for 150 bucks.

If you need helping doing the work, join the local clubs on facebook: pdx overland and pnw expedition, they have wrenching days at the DIY auto repair in Tigard (GearHead Garage). Or you can rent time there yourself.

Another option is to find a whole axle from a FJ 2007-2009 with a locker its a direct fit. You can buy wire kits for the electric lockers off the webs, give it a google.

You can also swap in a 5th Gen Axle i got a quote for one from G & R Wreckers in Portland for 1200 for the axle with everything attached last summer it wont be a direct swap (shock holes are a different size ect). Wheel speed sensor wires are the same and so are the brake lines. Nitro was selling 5th gen axle for 4th gens last summer, but i don't see that now.

The final option is to pick up a differential with a locker from 07-09 FJ and modify you Axle housing.

Or go the ARB (after market locker route). Check with the facebook groups for local recommendation, there is a place in wilsonville/sherwood i can't remember the name that seems to get the most thumbs up.

Best of luck

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I got the parts for a rebuild from my buddy that is the parts manager at a local Toyota dealer for 25% off today. I have a 7am appointment tomorrow at Paden Differentials and they promise me they can pull it, rebuild it, and have it back in same day for $425 labor. They even have a factory OEM gearset in-stock if my gearset is bad.

So by tomorrow I should have it rebuilt with only the parts that are bad replaced for around $500 - $800. I'm happy with that as a quick fix for now and will look at doing some torsen lockers and regear for the front and rear in the future when the CBI bumpers and suspension upgrades get done.

Is there a way to tell if just the rear bearings are bad vs the third member? I've got a similar noise, start with the differential?

I had a similar noise in my 2006 v8 around 165000 miles. it was the loudest about 55 mph but you could hear it all the way down to zero. It sounded like there were something wrong with the gears but it was just the bearings! I took it to a driveshaft shop and they were really surprised a 4runner had an issue. He would not even let me consider changing the gears, did not want me to waste the money.

They used OEM parts (bearings, seals, spacers) for the rebuild and it took one day and $850. Noise totally gone afterwards.

$3800 seems insane, I thought $850 was a lot but the breakdown of parts vs labor was quite reasonable looking back at it.

Any special tools required to replace diff bearings?

My 03 V8 Limited was just doing the same thing to me, making a bad jet sound. Found Zuk on gearinstalls.com where he specializes in Toyota. You can ship to him and he will rebuild. Mine needed bearings and cost me $600 with me removing and reinstalling the 3rd member.

I'm getting a "whirling" noise that is seemingly is coming from the rear. Its not loud, but it is noticeable. Anyway, I'm heading to my mechanic friend to further diagnose the noise to see where we are.

So far, it could be the rear diff bearings in which case getting another one from a jard is next to impossible (around here, in SE PAn (close to Philly). Another contact mentioned for some reason when they get them in, they are shipped overseas to some buyer. I dunno. Anyway, I might be looking for a shop to repair mine. URghhhh.

Oh, and I'm loosing coolant, and I have no idea where it is going .................

update: Turns out my rear diff was 1 quart low. Extremely strange as I personally filled it a few years ago. No signs of leakage. Anyway, most of the whirling sound went away.

Do you guys happen to know how far in the rear diff (8") pinion seal is supposed to seat?
20190430_192253 by Nathan Guice, on Flickr

I've gotten it in about this far and don't want to trash it by pounding it any harder, but it doesn't seem to want to go in further. Roughly 1/8" still sticking out of the diff housing.

This is a RWD '05 4.0 SR5