Rear Diff trouble, Rebuild or Used?

[rubegoldberg]

So thanks to my leaky axle housing, my rear diff has a loud "whirring" which I understand is likely the pinion bearing.

When I went to change the diff fluid, it only had maybe 1 tablespoon of jet black fluid. So I'm assuming the gears are most likely ****ed too? (although no metal on the drainplug aside from very light shavings, but i might need to run more liquid through to see it)


What will be the best option?

1. buy a new E-locker Diff for 600ish? (this is the going rate from local wreckers)

2. Have a mechanic rebuild my existing one? My guy knows toyotas well and works for about 40 an hour..
how many hours should it be for a rebuild? how much for parts?

 

[ajordan1975]

find an elocker......... duh :boink:

 

[nalbertasr5]

My rear diff also bit the dust. I've found it hard to find low-mileage used parts where I am from in Alberta. I was not able to find a rear diff. Not sure about BC. I asked Toyota to price out a new diff for me and it was a ridiculous amount of money and they said they didn't have a new e-locker one?? Not sure if they even still make a new e-locker OEM one anymore. A lot of OEM parts for the 3rd Gen are discontinued, at least in Canada. If by new diff do you mean a used one for $600?

Mine is currently being rebuilt, The spider gear was totally f'd as well as other issues. The tranny shop is currently machining me a new spider gear because they couldn't find one! It's obviously way more expensive (but it will be stronger than the original). They are also rebuilding my 5speed tranny and a new clutch. They had a hard time finding a rebuild kit. They got one from Tennessee.

This will cost me about $5000 for both the diff and tranny work, but I plan to keep the truck forever. It gives me great peace of mind to know that it's basically going to be a brand new drivetrain with a year of warranty. You never know what you get when you use parts that are going on 20 years old.

I guess it's kind of a crapshoot either way. You can pay a bunch of money and know it's done right or take a chance, save some money and hope the used parts last you to make them worthwhile. If you really want to keep your Runner for a long time and your mechanic's shop rate is low and you can afford it, I say go for the rebuild and you could do an e-locker retrofit! There is a lot of info on how to do them here.

My plan is to eventually get an ARB air locker instead of the e locker. I believe the air locker is not a complete diff kit, so rebuilding seemed for me the way to go. I plan to make a thread on what's been done to my 4runner and its performance once I get it back in February.

 

[rubegoldberg]

My rear diff also bit the dust. I've found it hard to find low-mileage used parts where I am from in Alberta. I was not able to find a rear diff. Not sure about BC. I asked Toyota to price out a new diff for me and it was a ridiculous amount of money and they said they didn't have a new e-locker one?? Not sure if they even still make a new e-locker OEM one anymore. A lot of OEM parts for the 3rd Gen are discontinued, at least in Canada. If by new diff do you mean a used one for $600?

Mine is currently being rebuilt, The spider gear was totally f'd as well as other issues. The tranny shop is currently machining me a new spider gear because they couldn't find one! It's obviously way more expensive (but it will be stronger than the original). They are also rebuilding my 5speed tranny and a new clutch. They had a hard time finding a rebuild kit. They got one from Tennessee.

This will cost me about $5000 for both the diff and tranny work, but I plan to keep the truck forever. It gives me great peace of mind to know that it's basically going to be a brand new drivetrain with a year of warranty. You never know what you get when you use parts that are going on 20 years old.

I guess it's kind of a crapshoot either way. You can pay a bunch of money and know it's done right or take a chance, save some money and hope the used parts last you to make them worthwhile. If you really want to keep your Runner for a long time and your mechanic's shop rate is low and you can afford it, I say go for the rebuild and you could do an e-locker retrofit! There is a lot of info on how to do them here.

My plan is to eventually get an ARB air locker instead of the e locker. I believe the air locker is not a complete diff kit, so rebuilding seemed for me the way to go. I plan to make a thread on what's been done to my 4runner and its performance once I get it back in February.

600 dollars is the going rate in BC for a junkyard rear diff with elocker.

Out of curiosity, why are they machining you a spider gear, when you could just buy a near gearset from the usa for maybe a couple hundred?

 

[fourwd1]

A new R+P about $300, $100 for a master rebuild kit, 3 hrs (you bring diff in to shop)

 

[nalbertasr5]

600 dollars is the going rate in BC for a junkyard rear diff with elocker.

Out of curiosity, why are they machining you a spider gear, when you could just buy a near gearset from the usa for maybe a couple hundred?

They weren't able to find one. But the cost to machine it wasnt really more. Also the shipping would be expensive where I live. Dude had to call all over to find parts for the thing.

 

[rkntoy]

My rear diff also bit the dust. I've found it hard to find low-mileage used parts where I am from in Alberta. I was not able to find a rear diff. Not sure about BC. I asked Toyota to price out a new diff for me and it was a ridiculous amount of money and they said they didn't have a new e-locker one?? Not sure if they even still make a new e-locker OEM one anymore. A lot of OEM parts for the 3rd Gen are discontinued, at least in Canada. If by new diff do you mean a used one for $600?

Mine is currently being rebuilt, The spider gear was totally f'd as well as other issues. The tranny shop is currently machining me a new spider gear because they couldn't find one! It's obviously way more expensive (but it will be stronger than the original). They are also rebuilding my 5speed tranny and a new clutch. They had a hard time finding a rebuild kit. They got one from Tennessee.

This will cost me about $5000 for both the diff and tranny work, but I plan to keep the truck forever. It gives me great peace of mind to know that it's basically going to be a brand new drivetrain with a year of warranty. You never know what you get when you use parts that are going on 20 years old.

I guess it's kind of a crapshoot either way. You can pay a bunch of money and know it's done right or take a chance, save some money and hope the used parts last you to make them worthwhile. If you really want to keep your Runner for a long time and your mechanic's shop rate is low and you can afford it, I say go for the rebuild and you could do an e-locker retrofit! There is a lot of info on how to do them here.

My plan is to eventually get an ARB air locker instead of the e locker. I believe the air locker is not a complete diff kit, so rebuilding seemed for me the way to go. I plan to make a thread on what's been done to my 4runner and its performance once I get it back in February.

Holely crap I can only imagine what machining new spiders cost. Olathe has a whole spider kit for $93 - shipping must be a killer.

OP - I would look at popping across the border if you cannot find an e-locker setup in BC. I used to live in Bellingham and had friends from across the border that would come down and grab parts that I would help install before they headed back over the border.

 

[rubegoldberg]

A new R+P about $300, $100 for a master rebuild kit, 3 hrs (you bring diff in to shop)

That's not bad at all. I was expecting way more. I might just go for the rebuild then and not risk some used diff.

my mechanic has a set of 4:30 gears from a re-gearing somebody else did anyhow.