greasefingers
New member
I change the gear oil every 30 k miles. Once these things start to growl, don
"How many miles ...? Please share your Rear Diff problems!
- Thread starter hendy
- Start date
willbgood
New member
What did it cost?
Konkordmusk
New member
I'm willing to bet that the OP of a 10 year old thread probably isn't around anymore to answer that question lol.
In fact, his last activity was in 2010.
willbgood
New member
Nope and I pretty sure the prices won't be close either...missed the date on this, thanks.
Buckaroo
Member
Have some more recent data for you.
In Jan '15 at about 216,700 miles, rebuilt rear diff due to whine in 2000 3.4L T4R w/ open diff - worn pinion bearing but gears were good. Also replaced rear seals/wheel bearings because they had never been done and had fluid leaking on rear brakes. Did the rear brakes & bell cranks, too.
I did all the work myself except I had a bearing shop replace the pinion & side bearings & set-up the third member and press the axle bearings off & back on. I R&R'd the axles and third member and supplied all the diff/wheel bearing parts & pieces purchased from Camelback Toyota.
The total to do the Diff and the axle bearings (without the brakes) was about $800 which included about $320 for the bearing shop. I was very happy with the results
Good Luck,
Buckaroo
willbgood
New member
Thanks for the info, sorry I did not responde sooner, still recoverying from a bad motorcycle wreck.
alltimedonny
New member
2000 sr5 4wd 208,000 both rear upper control arms snapped, putting pressure on drive-line during acc/decel, gnarly rumbling during braking, acceleration, and especially accelerating from standstill or low speed on an incline. replaced rear upper control arms and the rumbling is all but gone when accelerating uphill. (1/2 gear tranny problem? after trnny flush/shift solenoid cleaning, shop says no, i'm still skeptical.) drained diff to find glitter gear oil, but no large shavings. two bad wheel bearings, no visible gear wear. thinking possible seizure due to bad fluid, will be replacing wheel bearings (diy pinion bearing replacement also?) i'm stumped due to the loss of power uphill. shes had a lot of rough miles on her (bought when i was 19 to romp in Moab, also has about three seattle-SLC to and from roadtrips under her belt. budget is next to none, but plenty of tools at my disposal and a will to learn from my mistakes.
brillo_76
Elite Member
Curious on your rear top control arms snap. Did you ever change those bushings in the control arms? As they can seize up and put extra pressure on your control arm mounts.
As I have not only broken 2 of those in the past. I have busted the mounting brackets off from binding and being in the rust belt.
Your rear diff glitter oil naturally is wear. How long did you drive around with snapped upper control arms?
Do a test on your rear diff. Take the rear driveshaft off the rear diff and see how much pressure or resistance it takes to spin the tires.
See if you have extreme wear by how much play is in the differential itself. Basically how much movement on one side with the tires off the ground and the rear end secure before the other tire moves. Also see how much before the pinion flange moves.
I thinking there are limits listed in the FSM but its possible I am wrong.
If its extremely hard to turn the tires with the driveshaft disconnected either you have some major bearings issues or your rear brakes are jamming against the drums.
However mostly you can smell the breaks and can feel major heat coming off them after a drive around if thsts the cause.
Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk
Bikeric
New member
Thread was resurrected by others so why not add in?? Long picture stream below, but I purchased my 1997 2wd with just over 300,000 miles. The previous owner didn't seem to care about all the oil leaks and I guess it did help to keep my frame from rusting LOL. My rear diff had leaks at the carrier and passenger side axle seal. I checked around at shops to get repair quotes and it was just too high for me stomach. I decided to do it myself. Found a clean rear end but no gears at the junkyard. Someone beat me to the gears on it. It took awhile but another 4Runner showed up at the junkyard with the proper 4:11 gears so I snatched the pumpkin out. Got on RockAuto and bought all new seals and gaskets. Took my time rebuilding what I had and then painted it glossy black with a rattle can. Had some free time during the first part of Covid to swap it out. It was real work doing it by myself, but still only took a couple of days. Worth the piece of mind as well as a cleaner driveway.
Devbot
New member
I'm at 297k and on my 2nd third member. PO replaced it, didn't ask why or when at the time (wasn't nearly as mechanically inclined as I am now) but I remember him saying he towed a family camper a lot over the 20 years he owned it, so that probably had something to do with it. I believe I might have a pinion angle vibe right now but aside from that it's been smooth sailing. That goes for the entire rear. I think I might have an axle bearing starting to wear out; pass. wheel has a little more rolling resistance, but I'm not worried about it until it starts howling 
97 4runner 270k runs perfect. i bought mine in march this year from original owner with 259,000 miles and has been a beast since. i dont know where to start how flawless this machine has been. Its only 2wd but that's fine cause the driver makes the machine. it is all about throttle control and momentum. the air conditioning has been freezing me out and the engine just SCREAMS!!! i redline it to 6000 rpms and it just goes, i cant give it enough 
( 0 - 90 mph in second gear folks!!! this has to be a one a kind yota cause it has yet to burp or have a hiccup. it is straight piped (no muffler) and sounds disgusting!! it literally makes you cream in your shorts or skirts to whom the reader is. screw the timing belt; mine was replaced at 159,000 but i inspected it the other day it looks brand new. again as my sister said "if it ain't broke don't fix it." and fyi i have been "living" in this thing since i got it, and idle it for days on end. I literally did not shut it off for 3 days, no problemos. i did have the alternator rebuilt for $125 cause to much charging my portable devices and heavy duty mudding clogged it up. oh and get rid of the splash guards and all the cosmetic plastic crap, just get hung up and in the way. anyway i have so much to go on about this "rig" but i am getting tired of bragging. 
) hehe. oh and definitely swap put the coils for Bilstein HEAVY DUTY coils, stress the heavy duty NOT anything else. i got 35's and no wheel spin just 30 foot rooster tails. change the oil when it turns from gold to brownish black no matter what mileage, oil filter can be drained and reused in between changes. but since filters are so cheap why not change it?? and that goes for fuel filters and air filters... screw K&N they are useless crap and WILL screw up your air flow sensors. use DENSO toyota parts ONLY!!! dont change or "upgrade" anything but coils and suspension spacers upfront with 2inch wheel spacers "hub centric". ebay is my go to site and Bilstein offers military discount so hit them up. and it possible when you get over 13 volts to the motor you will crap your pants with throttle response. adjust the slack adjust nuts for cruise control and transmission control as these get stretched over time and you will feel a difference. and if you get off road "mud terrain" tires ROTATE them at least every 500 miles to prevent cupping. i go diagonal and even have them flipped inside out and blackout the white letters. and screw the name brand tires, RIP OFFS!!! i got the Patagonia 315 75 r16 from walmart.com and they are badass! have them balanced from a local tire shop cause walmart tire department sucks and takes forever! anyway i'll keep posting as i have time from not terrorizing the streets and trials. run regular fuel and occasionally a tank of 89 will make a world of difference. 89 will make more mpgs and better explosion on the highway and trails... do NOT RUN PREMIUM you will waste your money.
( 0 - 90 mph in second gear folks!!! this has to be a one a kind yota cause it has yet to burp or have a hiccup. it is straight piped (no muffler) and sounds disgusting!! it literally makes you cream in your shorts or skirts to whom the reader is. screw the timing belt; mine was replaced at 159,000 but i inspected it the other day it looks brand new. again as my sister said "if it ain't broke don't fix it." and fyi i have been "living" in this thing since i got it, and idle it for days on end. I literally did not shut it off for 3 days, no problemos. i did have the alternator rebuilt for $125 cause to much charging my portable devices and heavy duty mudding clogged it up. oh and get rid of the splash guards and all the cosmetic plastic crap, just get hung up and in the way. anyway i have so much to go on about this "rig" but i am getting tired of bragging. ) hehe. oh and definitely swap put the coils for Bilstein HEAVY DUTY coils, stress the heavy duty NOT anything else. i got 35's and no wheel spin just 30 foot rooster tails. change the oil when it turns from gold to brownish black no matter what mileage, oil filter can be drained and reused in between changes. but since filters are so cheap why not change it?? and that goes for fuel filters and air filters... screw K&N they are useless crap and WILL screw up your air flow sensors. use DENSO toyota parts ONLY!!! dont change or "upgrade" anything but coils and suspension spacers upfront with 2inch wheel spacers "hub centric". ebay is my go to site and Bilstein offers military discount so hit them up. and it possible when you get over 13 volts to the motor you will crap your pants with throttle response. adjust the slack adjust nuts for cruise control and transmission control as these get stretched over time and you will feel a difference. and if you get off road "mud terrain" tires ROTATE them at least every 500 miles to prevent cupping. i go diagonal and even have them flipped inside out and blackout the white letters. and screw the name brand tires, RIP OFFS!!! i got the Patagonia 315 75 r16 from walmart.com and they are badass! have them balanced from a local tire shop cause walmart tire department sucks and takes forever! anyway i'll keep posting as i have time from not terrorizing the streets and trials. run regular fuel and occasionally a tank of 89 will make a world of difference. 89 will make more mpgs and better explosion on the highway and trails... do NOT RUN PREMIUM you will waste your money.
