Rear Differential gone?!?!

20034RunnerV84x2

20034RunnerV84x2

New member
Okay. So this story starts out last night. I woke up from a nap around 10pm after working an open at Starbucks. I was thirsty and wanted an iced coffee so I got up and drove to Starbucks (about a 6 mile drive round trip) and I heard a faint "whining" noise. I figured it was the breaks since I suspect the rear caliper is frozen. Fast forward to about 7AM. I woke up thirsty and tired and got up to go to Starbucks, the car wash and the post office. I didn't notice a whining noise or anything. I come home and shower, get dressed & ready. Go to leave for work. When I get out to my truck it get in, start it, buckle up and put it in drive. All I hear is "BANG BANG BANG BANG" like Godzilla is under my truck with a sledge hammar. I figured it was my E break stuck on and it would eventually release. I got maybe a mile down the road and it is 100x worse and louder and now there is a very noticeable whine (keep in mind this is all relative to the RPM/ wheel speed.) I pull over, call for a tow truck and have it towed to my go to shop. Get it up on a rack and put it in drive. Makes the same noise but if you hold the breaks on with it up in the air you can still hear the noise. Diagnosed as a broken tooth. Great. My only car and it is officially out of commission.

Quoted anywhere from $800-1400 to repair/ rebuild it. I would do it myself but I'm insanely busy with work and family/ friends that I just don't have the time. (I used to work at this shop BTW and it is 110% trustworthy.) I honestly don't know if the gear oil has ever been changed (judging from the bolts I'd say no) but even with that in mind, what would cause it to just snap like that in between trips? I never drive it hard (maybe a little but I know it isn't a BMW M3 or Audi R8, and never anything to cause anything like this. I've towed before (when moving, max weight of the load was maybe 1,500 lbs between 3 days and 7 or so trips. It's a 2003 SR5 V8 2WD (no auto LSD or anything) and I was wondering if there is someone on here who's had the same problem or has any idea what would cause such a catastrophic failure, or if you know someone willing to let their rear end go for a cheap/ decent price. It has a bit under 113,000 miles on it BTW. I don't have any video of the noise but it was horrible sounding.

I have 2 bent rims (one barely tweaked, one looks like satan himself screwed it up) because I'm kinda thinking the constant in & out movement of the rim (the tweaked one is on the Driver rear) may have contributed to this. The really bent one hasn't been on since it was bent. Heres a pic of it coming off the tow truck:
ejyguqem.jpg

(I'm in Atlanta by the way)
 
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Ive only got a third gen but have changed out the rear end and its super easy. took prob an hour by myself. since you worked at a shop you should be savvy enough to make quick work of it. I would assume yours is the same format as mine where you just pop the half shafts out and then the third member can just unbolt and drop out. I got mine from a wrecked runner for 150 I think. Fed it some synthetic gear oil and no problems 20,000 miles later. Good luck!
 
RPC said:


I can't tell if serious...​
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Why would I make this up? It's my only vehicle that I don't have the time or money to fix. It you want to see it is real for yourself it's sitting at ToyoTechs off Clairmont Rd in Atlanta. Should still be on the lift too, so start it up and throw it in drive and see if it's fake. \•_•/
 
Avwizz said:
Ive only got a third gen but have changed out the rear end and its super easy. took prob an hour by myself. since you worked at a shop you should be savvy enough to make quick work of it. I would assume yours is the same format as mine where you just pop the half shafts out and then the third member can just unbolt and drop out. I got mine from a wrecked runner for 150 I think. Fed it some synthetic gear oil and no problems 20,000 miles later. Good luck!
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I've done these before but working almost 60+ hours a week and just moving out of our house (apartments don't like when you get gear oil all over their parking lot so I hear) and having one vehicle to drive I wish I had the time to change this crap out but I barely have time to wash it like I used to. I've been looking and looking non stop for at least a used one and it's kinda impossible to find a 4Runner in a junkyard around here. Just seems kinda weird that something like this would happen with only 112,600 miles on it when it's been babied for the last 50k of it's life. Feels like I just got a lemon.
 
20034RunnerV84x2 said:
I've done these before but working almost 60+ hours a week and just moving out of our house (apartments don't like when you get gear oil all over their parking lot so I hear) and having one vehicle to drive I wish I had the time to change this crap out but I barely have time to wash it like I used to. I've been looking and looking non stop for at least a used one and it's kinda impossible to find a 4Runner in a junkyard around here. Just seems kinda weird that something like this would happen with only 112,600 miles on it when it's been babied for the last 50k of it's life. Feels like I just got a lemon.
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Can't really say it's been babied when you don't maintain it, drive it 6 miles when making noises it shouldn't, and don't get out of whack wheels replaced. You should delighted that is all that's wrong.

Man up and get it fixed. You put enough hours in to pay for it.
 
20034RunnerV84x2 said:
Why would I make this up?
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I don't know... to get the laugh out of me that you did? On second thought, I'm not sure a person could make that story up.

Given the way this vehicle was admittedly treated/neglected, I think your situation is the very best outcome. Worst outcome being "Satan's wheel" comes flying off your truck at freeway speeds and kills or seriously injures someone.

If true, best of luck, but please remember: vehicle ownership is a responsibility and vehicle operation is a privilege- taking both seriously would've kept you from needing to post this in the first place.
 
Sorry to hear this happened, it's never easy with only one vehicle. If I were you, I would research the replacement parts needed and try to tackle this on your own to save money. Judging by what you've explained regarding your experience working at a shop, and the fact that you're no stranger to this forum as a Senior Member with over 1,700 posts, I imagine you would have no trouble accomplishing this.
 
Hold on OP,

You say that while on the lift, if you hold the brakes ( I'm assuming that no tires are turning) it still makes the noise? Is the driveshaft still turning at this point? Or, were you trying to spin the rear tires with the brakes applied to see if this stopped the noise?

Have you drained the gear oil yet? I would look for the tell-tale signs of metal chunks in the oil.
 
You worked at that repair shop and never changed the rear end fluid, continued to drive your vehicle with wickedly bent rims and now wonder if that contributed to the rear end failure? Then after it started making godzilla noises you figured it would fix itself if you just drove it some more?

Were you a mechanic or the bookkeeper?

Sorry for the bad luck. I hope it works out for you. :pop2:

Daren
 
the quoted price sounds about right. new gears/bearings/set up kit and labor...

I wouldn't say its common, but it does happen. seems to happen with these more than the previous years. maybe due to more powerful engines? not sure.

im not exactly sure what the point of this thread was tho?

you have it in the shop, get it fixed. end of story.
 
DarenS said:
You worked at that repair shop and never changed the rear end fluid, continued to drive your vehicle with wickedly bent rims and now wonder if that contributed to the rear end failure? Then after it started making godzilla noises you figured it would fix itself if you just drove it some more?

Were you a mechanic or the bookkeeper?

Sorry for the bad luck. I hope it works out for you. :pop2:

Daren
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I was a tech there since I was 18. I changed the rear fluid 2 times since I've owned it, but I don't know if it was ever done before I owned it. And a bent rim that's barely tweaked wouldn't cause such a big failure. Went to Starbucks around 7am, left to go get food around 9 and that's when it happened. I figured it was something stuck under the truck or in the rim. At least it's still fixable right now.
 
gm350reratliff said:
Hold on OP,



You say that while on the lift, if you hold the brakes ( I'm assuming that no tires are turning) it still makes the noise? Is the driveshaft still turning at this point? Or, were you trying to spin the rear tires with the brakes applied to see if this stopped the noise?



Have you drained the gear oil yet? I would look for the tell-tale signs of metal chunks in the oil.
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I don't know if the driveshaft was turning or not. I was in it, not under it lol. I wasn't trying to hold the breaks and see if they spin, I held the breaks with no wheels turning and it was going "bangbangbang". I can tell it's the actual gear because it does it once every wheel revolution, not once every driveshaft revolution. I have touched it since I found out what it was. Really I just want to sell the truck for a Camry because I'm not really I to the off-road scene anymore
 
RPC said:
I don't know... to get the laugh out of me that you did? On second thought, I'm not sure a person could make that story up.



Given the way this vehicle was admittedly treated/neglected, I think your situation is the very best outcome. Worst outcome being "Satan's wheel" comes flying off your truck at freeway speeds and kills or seriously injures someone.



If true, best of luck, but please remember: vehicle ownership is a responsibility and vehicle operation is a privilege- taking both seriously would've kept you from needing to post this in the first place.
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If I was looking for laughs I'd use memes. Not joke about an $1800 repair.

And actually I never neglected it not abused it. It was an ex fleet vehicle and I'm thinking they never did anything but put gas it in and change the oil. Engine still runs fine. Driveline? Not so much.
 
jimmied said:
Can't really say it's been babied when you don't maintain it, drive it 6 miles when making noises it shouldn't, and don't get out of whack wheels replaced. You should delighted that is all that's wrong.



Man up and get it fixed. You put enough hours in to pay for it.
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6 miles is a bit over the top. That's just a guesstimate. I've been suspecting the rear caliper is freezing (4 rear break jobs in 50k miles under 3 years is 3 too many) and it has been maintained. Religiously maintained? Maybe not. But when it needs something it gets done before a FAILUE that leaves me stranded and without a vehicle.
 
LKQonline.com has the complete rear-end assembly with 78,000 miles for $1,400. Swap it out, and then sell it. Sell it as-is to your repair shop buddies and let them fix it and sell it for a profit. If I was a little closer I would buy it right now as is, so there might be someone out there that is the market for a fixer upper that isn't as far away!
You have to look at car ownership as a kind of rental agreement anyway, they are a depreciating asset. You buy it, you maintain, buy gas oil tires batteries, and then you sell it for less. Unless you own a classic you will never get more out of it than you put in it.
 
20034RunnerV84x2 said:
I don't know if the driveshaft was turning or not. I was in it, not under it lol. I wasn't trying to hold the breaks and see if they spin, I held the breaks with no wheels turning and it was going "bangbangbang". I can tell it's the actual gear because it does it once every wheel revolution, not once every driveshaft revolution. I have touched it since I found out what it was. Really I just want to sell the truck for a Camry because I'm not really I to the off-road scene anymore
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huh? that doesn't make any sense.



also being a 2wd you basically already have a camry.:drum::hiding::bounce:
 
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