Front Diff crapped the bed! Diff Carrier?

[MtnGoat9]

Hi folks
2000 SR5, manual trans, stock wheels, 360k. I'm heading to work on the highway, BANG whacka grind whaka grind....

I pull over immediately. All tires good. Nothing hanging down. Front boots fine, etc etc. I get back in, starts and runs fine. I shift through everything on trans and transfer case, all smooth. I put it in gear, bang judder judder grind.

I had it sent to the dealer. They tell me the front diff ate itself and one half shaft (splines). And that I need a differential carrier...

This is my first 4x4 and I've never messed around up front so I don't know the terms, this is basically the entire front diff assembly, right? Not just the shell?

Because when I look it up at toyotadiscount.com or whatever, it says they're in stock and 1800ish...but the picture looks like a housing or case, not something with splined sockets and driveline attachments and stuff.

then they're wondering about gear ratios and I'm thinking criminy guys you're supposed to be the experts! something about rare 4.3s or a common 4.1.

comments?

 

[JohnMc]

Looking here, I see what appears to be two different options for 'complete' differentials (not sure how complete, but at least the gears as well) for $1222 and $1758 - see how it mentions to order them by gear ratio? No gear ratios in an empty case. Right below that is the $590 'carrier housing' which I would guess is the empty case.

EDIT: Forgot to paste a link here for the Toyota parts: Just a moment...

Seems like a lot of money to spend for one, though. I'd at least ponder installing a junkyard diff. Like this: Front Carrier Differential 4.10 Ratio From 2000 4 Runner 11013862 | eBay
Just make sure you figure out what gear ratio your 4Runner is and get a matching diff.

Also worth looking at is East Coast Gear supply: Tacoma 7.5 Reverse Clamshell 3rd Member Assembly
Around $800 for completely rebuilt with new bearings and gears, but there's a $400 core charge. Depending on how yours blew up, it may or may not be acceptable as a core. And $1200 with no core. Still cheaper than the $1758 new diff from Toyota. The $1222 diff seems to be for manual hub base 4WD Tacomas. I got front and rear diffs from them a couple of years ago when I added a front locker and regeared to 4.88's.

 

[JohnMc]

And look at the drivers door sticker, it has a code that fairly reliably states what the gear ratio is. My '99 manual came with 4.10 gears, but it had a factory rear locker. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, I think the automatic's had different ratios if they came with factory lockers. IIRC, usually 4.10 gears for non-locker, 4.30 with a locker.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3305052-post7.html

 

[T4R2014]

I believe a 5VZ manual on 265's came with 4.10s regardless of e-locker or not. Unsure if that means e-locker ones say A04A in the door jamb though. Can someone confirm?

 

[fourwd1]

And look at the drivers door sticker, it has a code that fairly reliably states what the gear ratio is. My '99 manual came with 4.10 gears, but it had a factory rear locker. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, I think the automatic's had different ratios if they came with factory lockers. IIRC, usually 4.10 gears for non-locker, 4.30 with a locker.

A locker has no effect on gear ratio.
Tire size package or transmission type would effect the ratio.
A truck with a specific engine/tire size/manual trans might have a 4.10 ratio, but the same engine/tire size/auto trans truck would have a lower 4.30 ratio.
Auto trans usually has a lower ratio everything else being equal.

 

[T4R2014]

A locker has no effect on gear ratio.
Tire size package or transmission type would effect the ratio.
A truck with a specific engine/tire size/manual trans might have a 4.10 ratio, but the same engine/tire size/auto trans truck would have a lower 4.30 ratio.
Auto trans usually has a lower ratio everything else being equal.

On a 96-00 V6 with an auto it definitely does. With an e-locker you get a 4.30, without one you get 4.10. This applies to Limiteds and SR5s.

 

[JohnMc]

On a 96-00 V6 with an auto it definitely does. With an e-locker you get a 4.30, without one you get 4.10. This applies to Limiteds and SR5s.

That's the pattern I've seen over and over. Most of the 3rd gens you see (at least here in the Midwest where thee 4cylinders are extremely rare for some reason) are automatics, they're all 4.10, and the ones that have lockers (usually Limiteds) are 4.30. My factory manual locker truck came with a 4.10, and apparently 4.10 lockers are relatively rare.

Manuals are pretty rare, not sure what the normal pattern is.

And to be honest, I wouldn't really trust that door sticker code 100% anyhow. These trucks are 30 years old now, even if the factory never did something squirrely with installed gears and the stickers, someone could certainly have swapped gears in the past. My 99 came from the factory with 4.10, at some point it got a little pinion whine and I swapped easier to find 4.30's into it (helped with bigger tires), and then more recently went to 4.88 gears. Obviously nothing that you can tell by looking at a factory sticker. So just jack up a rear wheel, turn the tire and count the driveshaft turns to know for sure.

 

[3bears]

agree with a lot of above, my first 2000 with a v6 auto 4wd had 4.10 and had to find a elocker with that ratio when I modded it. My current 2000 also a v6 auto 4wd came from factory with elocker and it has a 430

 

[phattyduck]

That's the pattern I've seen over and over. Most of the 3rd gens you see (at least here in the Midwest where thee 4cylinders are extremely rare for some reason) are automatics, they're all 4.10, and the ones that have lockers (usually Limiteds) are 4.30. My factory manual locker truck came with a 4.10, and apparently 4.10 lockers are relatively rare.

Manuals are pretty rare, not sure what the normal pattern is.

And to be honest, I wouldn't really trust that door sticker code 100% anyhow. These trucks are 30 years old now, even if the factory never did something squirrely with installed gears and the stickers, someone could certainly have swapped gears in the past. My 99 came from the factory with 4.10, at some point it got a little pinion whine and I swapped easier to find 4.30's into it (helped with bigger tires), and then more recently went to 4.88 gears. Obviously nothing that you can tell by looking at a factory sticker. So just jack up a rear wheel, turn the tire and count the driveshaft turns to know for sure.

The Taco pre-runners use 4.10's with e-locker (V6 auto)... so that's a decent source - but you can't use the housing, obviously.

My door sticker says I have a 2WD with 3.73 gears... And its now 4WD with 4.88's - so yeah, plenty of stuff can happen through the years.

-Charlie