Well Back in the end of October I went on a wheeling trip that turned into a nightmare. As I was attempting to climb over a rock, my wheels locked up and something snapped... I was certain it was just a cv, until I got a closer look. Upon further inspection I had snapped something in the front diff.
It took me a few weeks to get my first front differential because I was so busy with school, but my truck was still road-worthy in 2wd. After paying for it, it arrived fairly quickly and I swapped it in at a friends house in the driveway. We discovered that I had snapped one of the intermediate shafts. Why couldn't something easier to change have just broken? Well we installed the used diff and then I discovered that my truck was not willing to shift out of 4wd. I tried every trick in the book, and even check out some sensors that have been known to cause issues. Christmas break was coming up so I wanted to fix it before making the 180 mile trip home. Well the day I was supposed to go home, my truck decided it didnt want to drive (transfer case issue) It would only whine at me and act like it wanted to move. After having my mother take me home, I drove back up to school and had my grandpa tow me home on his car trailer. He has an old GMC Sierra with about 341,000 miles on it. Surprisingly we made it back after a long trip, and somehow managed to loose a wheel on the trailer within the last 20 miles.
Now it was home, safe and sound. I had the resources to get everything fixed quickly or at least I thought so. Well I took the front diff out because my dad said I probably just didnt install it correctly. Well it was in right, so we installed the same diff for the second time. It was still in 4wd permanently , so my dad's friend who is a toyota mechanic took over from there.
After a little investigating, somehow the t-case finally blew up. I guess it is better to know it was actually a problem than to just have a suspicion. I ordered a used t-case and had it put in. A few days later I got my car back, but the first differential had some bearing/gear noise... Oh the problems just keep on coming.
I decided to give up on this differential because it had a large amount of miles on it, and the mechanic friend knew of another one his buddy had. Well we got the other diff and it too had an issue. I am not too sure what the problem was but at least I didn't pay for it upfront.
Differential 3 came from a salvage yard. The sales manager confirmed that it was the exact part that I needed, multiple times. Well, when we got it, we discovered that it needed new seals. No big deal right? but it was still inconvenient. After installing this differential, she drove like a dream....until she was put in 4wd...
Side note: never believe what people tell you, always confirm it for yourself.
Diff #3 had a gear ratio of 4.56, not the 4.10 that I had specified and confirmed numerous time. Go figure.
Well I called the company up and of course they were closed. The next week we finally got in touch with them and they eventually admitted to being at fault. They sent another differential (#4) that also needed new seals... thanks guys. A few weeks later number 4 was put in, and now everything seems to be fine.
She is currently running great and 4wd is functional. I acquired a front diff with 4.56 gears for free if that counts for anything. It still doesn't make up for the 8+ quarts of gear oil I bought... I am just glad to hove my 4Runner back up and running. I am terrified of going off road for now, but sooner or later I will return to the trails. Now for the fun...
Finally, back in action!
Sorry for the rant, I'm just glad to be back.
It took me a few weeks to get my first front differential because I was so busy with school, but my truck was still road-worthy in 2wd. After paying for it, it arrived fairly quickly and I swapped it in at a friends house in the driveway. We discovered that I had snapped one of the intermediate shafts. Why couldn't something easier to change have just broken? Well we installed the used diff and then I discovered that my truck was not willing to shift out of 4wd. I tried every trick in the book, and even check out some sensors that have been known to cause issues. Christmas break was coming up so I wanted to fix it before making the 180 mile trip home. Well the day I was supposed to go home, my truck decided it didnt want to drive (transfer case issue) It would only whine at me and act like it wanted to move. After having my mother take me home, I drove back up to school and had my grandpa tow me home on his car trailer. He has an old GMC Sierra with about 341,000 miles on it. Surprisingly we made it back after a long trip, and somehow managed to loose a wheel on the trailer within the last 20 miles.
Now it was home, safe and sound. I had the resources to get everything fixed quickly or at least I thought so. Well I took the front diff out because my dad said I probably just didnt install it correctly. Well it was in right, so we installed the same diff for the second time. It was still in 4wd permanently , so my dad's friend who is a toyota mechanic took over from there.
After a little investigating, somehow the t-case finally blew up. I guess it is better to know it was actually a problem than to just have a suspicion. I ordered a used t-case and had it put in. A few days later I got my car back, but the first differential had some bearing/gear noise... Oh the problems just keep on coming.
I decided to give up on this differential because it had a large amount of miles on it, and the mechanic friend knew of another one his buddy had. Well we got the other diff and it too had an issue. I am not too sure what the problem was but at least I didn't pay for it upfront.
Differential 3 came from a salvage yard. The sales manager confirmed that it was the exact part that I needed, multiple times. Well, when we got it, we discovered that it needed new seals. No big deal right? but it was still inconvenient. After installing this differential, she drove like a dream....until she was put in 4wd...
Side note: never believe what people tell you, always confirm it for yourself.
Diff #3 had a gear ratio of 4.56, not the 4.10 that I had specified and confirmed numerous time. Go figure.
Well I called the company up and of course they were closed. The next week we finally got in touch with them and they eventually admitted to being at fault. They sent another differential (#4) that also needed new seals... thanks guys. A few weeks later number 4 was put in, and now everything seems to be fine.
She is currently running great and 4wd is functional. I acquired a front diff with 4.56 gears for free if that counts for anything. It still doesn't make up for the 8+ quarts of gear oil I bought... I am just glad to hove my 4Runner back up and running. I am terrified of going off road for now, but sooner or later I will return to the trails. Now for the fun...
Finally, back in action!
Sorry for the rant, I'm just glad to be back.
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