4th Gen weak point

[aha2988]

4th Gen weak point, passenger side differential support arm

I know this has already been discovered by guys running these 4th gens pretty hard. However i searched around t4r and didnt find to much throwing out a good warning. So to anyone getting there 4th gen into offroading more intense trails should know this..

The front IFS differential housing is mounted in three locations. one mount is just behind the carrier case, the other two mounts are support arms leading from driver/passenger side of the Diff housing to the cross member in front of the differential housings.

so theres two mounts on the driver side essentially and only one on the passenger. Durring any rocky climbs and or "jumping" of the vehicle..between bouncing as well as heavy torque loads to the front axle will result in a sheared passenger side differential support arm.

here is the link to toyota120 if your interested to see more claims of this failure. Passenger front diff bracket - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

97Kurt @ toyota120 has come up with a solution to beef up the passenger side mount to prevent this failure, also many guys are running kurts brackets without any failures.

Just thought i'd through this out there as i wait for my new bracket to come in after shearing my own personal passenger diff support arm this past friday night lol.

 

[CAN-03runner]

Oh yeaaaahhh...I forgot about this, now I remember this issue.... Some of the 120 post picture links are dead.


I hope you don't mind that I link to another http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1237&page=10 that shows pictures of the broken bracket and the kurtfab modification.

 

[aha2988]

not a problem at all i wish i couldve had a more clear warning myself befor finding out the hard way lol. luckily no oil pan or cv axle damage in my ordeal i cought the broken bracket pretty quick.

Here is also a write up link to the install of kurtfabs bracket
Kurtfab front diff bracket install - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

 

[JB.]

Aha, you may have some interest in this thread, too.It seems the brackets were a little thinner in 03.

Front Diff Support comparison - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

 

[AZTOY]

One other weakness of the 4th gen....it's not a 3rd gen. : )

 

[aha2988]

Aha, you may have some interest in this thread, too.It seems the brackets were a little thinner in 03.

Front Diff Support comparison - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum

that was def. a good find looks like toyota knows all about this issue. def. plan on ordering up a set of kurts for sure just waiting to hear back from him

 

[expatoz]

And to reiterate what has been said elsewhere - dont drive when its broken. You are asking for an immediate expensive failure.

I bust my axle bracket in Moab. Result was a busted CV and a huge hole in the oil pan. Not fun being stuck with no oil, no axle, in the middle of nowhere. Lucky I had great friends who rallied around to get me on the road again.

 

[aha2988]

I've got it straped in pretty well, probably going to change the wound dressings soon. I've got about 100 miles on the strap now with no issues other than some good wear showing on the CV boot. I have to get to work and back its all i have ill drive this truck till it dies and revive it if it comes to that i certainly appriciate any concerns though here ya go.. red neck inginuity at its finest let the ball busting begin lol still no word from kurt im sure he's busy but man i hope he gets online soon













IMG_1084.mp4 video by aha2988 - Photobucket
^^^the video isnt of the hill i broke on just thought i'd give you something somewhat entertaining to watch lol :guitar:

 

[Casper421]

Aha, are you gonna do the welding yourself instead of sending it off to Kurt? If so, where are you getting your new brackets?

 

[aha2988]

I found the support arms cheapest at villagetoyotaparts.com or something like that I searched for a while the price was still 108 per arm I bought two.

yea I talked to Kurt just to see if there was anything special about welding the cast steel arms and he just said a preheat treatment before welding. so I'll be welding mine up when they get here

 

[aha2988]

Kurt over at 120 is givin up the support arm beefy business as he takes on his wife and his first new born! He's still offering welding advice and info to anyone who wants to do this themselves but, seeing as how we all dont have acess to fine machinery such as what i have below...

I'm offering up the service to anyone who needs/wants this done. Here is how the deals will have to work...

option 1.) you send me your diff bracket, I'll plate it, paint it, then take payment via pay pal as soon as payment goes through your bracket will be returned. or if you have to send cash through mail to pay I'll ship as soon as i recieve the money. (will explain concerns shortly)

option 2.) you purchase a support arm from toyota. I found them cheapest at SUPPORT ASSY, FRONT DIFFERENTIAL; SUPPORT, FRONT DIFFERENTIAL, NO.2. FRONT AXLE HOUSING & DIFFERENTIAL for TOYOTA (5238060021) Part number is 52380-60021 have the support arm shipped to me. then ill plate weld and paint then you can send payment via pay pal or cash in the mail. once payment is recieved the bracket will be shipped out.

I would personally love to purchase a bulk order of these and have them plated and welded ready for sale however its not practical for me to make that investment as the demand isnt quite that high... I would offer my spare as a loaner while i plated yours but.. kurt lost a good handfull of spare arms to guys that well just plain took advantage of kurts helpfull service .

PM me for pay pal or payment address info.. I'm setting the price for the plating service at 50 dollars plus shipping, that covers my material costs for steel, paint, and welding wire and 35 bucks for an hours worth of labor to weld and paint.

If your just interested in the brackets and want to weld it up yourself I can sell you just the steel support plates for 5 bucks a pair plus shipping.

just an FYI this is the same 3/16" thick material Kurt was using as well I'm using his same exact welding process.

but check it out I've got the support braces on a CNC file ready to burn on my plasma table at any time. I'm welding two up for myself just to have a spare on the trail and a local 4th gen buddy is having me plate his for him so I've gone ahead and cut three pairs of supports out.. gotta love plasma tables..

I did this at lunch ill be welding them up when i get off work so ill add a pic of the finish product later

 

[aha2988]

We'll Heres the welding in action.. and finish product!

finished product..

 

[AZTOY]

Aha....impressive work!

 

[shallcallhimtim]

hey, i kno this is an old thread but do you guys thing that you could just weld in the openings instead of placing steel over it? I kno it would be as strong but do you thing it would work?

 

[having fun]

hey, i kno this is an old thread but do you guys thing that you could just weld in the openings instead of placing steel over it? I kno it would be as strong but do you thing it would work?

The only problem I see is getting the metal to hot and losing the temper in the metal in the process. Don't use a stick welder.

 

[shallcallhimtim]

very good point. the casting could get to hot and crack.

 

[TFJ-4runner]

Well I can post in here now reporting mine broke as well. $160.00 at Toyota

 

[aha2988]

Well I can post in here now reporting mine broke as well. $160.00 at Toyota

you can find it a little cheaper online, I paid 110 at villagepartstoyota.com

 

[TFJ-4runner]

you can find it a little cheaper online, I paid 110 at villagepartstoyota.com

Thanks for the heads up. I was able to get it for $105 from Toyota with my girlfriends discount.