Replacement Rear Axle Housing

[penobscotriver]

'02 Replacement Rear Axle Housing

As has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, the 02 4rnr rear differential "pumpkin" is prone to rusting out. I had to replace the entire unit on my '98, and now it looks like I'll have to do this on my '02.

Can anyone post links to East Cost suppliers of the complete rear axle assembly? Seems it would be easier to swap it out rather than RR all the separate parts.

Thanks!

 

[MStudt]

As has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, the 02 4rnr rear differential "pumpkin" is prone to rusting out. I had to replace the entire unit on my '98, and now it looks like I'll have to do this on my '02.

Can anyone post links to East Cost suppliers of the complete rear axle assembly? Seems it would be easier to swap it out rather than RR all the separate parts.

Thanks!

Car-Parts

You can use this link to search for places near you.

 

[bandman659]

I have an axle housing complete with axle shafts and a 3rd member with 3.73 gears, no locker/LSD, and a noisy front pinion bearing for the low, low price of "get it the hell out of my garage". Seriously though, you can have my axle housing for the cost of shipping from Atlanta to Vermont. The housing by itself isn't terribly heavy, so shipping might not be too terribly bad. There isn't a speck of rust anywhere on it either. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Dous]

I have an axle housing complete with axle shafts and a 3rd member with 3.73 gears, no locker/LSD, and a noisy front pinion bearing for the low, low price of "get it the hell out of my garage". Seriously though, you can have my axle housing for the cost of shipping from Atlanta to Vermont. The housing by itself isn't terribly heavy, so shipping might not be too terribly bad. There isn't a speck of rust anywhere on it either. PM me if you're interested.

Just a housing without shafts and the 3rd member can probably ship via Fedex or UPS...just use one of their zip tie on label things

 

[Nelsonmd]

Most of the salvage yards around here will only have rotted out rear ends, so car parts probably won't help.

If I had to go back, I would buy this: Toyota Heavy Duty Differential Cover

and weld it on in place of the original cover. You could buy yourself a welder, the cap, and weld it on yourself for less than a replacement axle will cost you.

BTW, I bought my 4runner in Sheldon VT, and it was rusted out when I got it too.

 

[penobscotriver]

Repair for Rusted out Rear Housing

Folks:
Just found out this morning that a nearby garage/auto sales repairs rusted out rear axle housings.
They do this by grinding out the rusted pumpkin area and then welding a new cover (with fill plug) on it. After the grinding, they use a solvent to flush out any foreign matter/grindings.
They've done this a lot, apparently. Takes 2-3 hours and my cost is about $300. I'm going to go this route rather than the epoxy method (not long term, costs about $200 in the shop) and rather than replacing the entire rear end assembly ($800-$1,500).
I don't know what "cover" they've found that will fit, but will post that when I get there in a couple of weeks to get that job done.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Sounds like a pretty good deal. $300 for what should be a permanent fix isn't bad. Certainly less than I paid to fix mine with a replacement housing. Just be sure to take care of the rest of the rust on the housing.

 

[penobscotriver]

Replacement Quote

Just heard from a local garage who quoted me $1,700 for the replacement rear axle (4:10 gear ratio). "Hard to find" he said. Add the labor, and the replacement cost would run over $2,000.
Talked with the garage who is grinding off the rusted section and welding on a cover. He said they have the part fabricated for them on order and questioned the after market cover I found at Barnes 4WD . He didn't like the position of the fill plug and was concerned about how much it stuck out regarding possible interference with a sway bar(?).
Still, I'm going with the garage's fabrication option as they've done this many times, he told me.
What got me there was looking for a replacement 4Runner but missed it by a week. The sales sent me to their service guy, and now I have a date for a more permanent repair than epoxy (suggested by many others I called this AM, and also on Toyota forums. Epoxy, I gather, is a short term (1-2 year) fix.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Hmm, I think he's confused, the fill plug isn't anywhere near the sway bar. The panhard bar is there, but there is really no chance of them interfering.

The barnes one will cause to to put more gear oil in there than there normally is, but I don't think that will be a problem.

I'm sure his custom part is perfectly fine. If it keeps him happy and keeps the work cheap, then go for it. An 4.10's aren't anywhere close to rare. Auto non-locked runners are 4.10, and that is most of them.

Yeah, epoxy will probably only last around a year or so. I mean it's totally doable, but the remaining metal is just going to continue to rust, so you'l get more pinholes every year, so you might as well fix it right. I think you have the best/cheapest fix so far with this guy that has done it before. You are pretty lucky.

 

[jsmith7]

I just replaced the whole rear axle assembly on my 99. It was $745 shipped from the west coast to Ohio. unfortunately it was damaged during shipping and neither the company I bought it from nor the shipping company has yet to do anything about it. :Cry:

 

[penobscotriver]

Rear Axle Update

I thought I was saving money with the $300 it cost me to have the rot cut out and a new cap welded on the rear differential. That plate immediately pounded away on the cross member of the frame right above it. Forcefully, I might add.

The mechanic who welded the cover on told me that I needed new springs and one shock was leaking, so we did that. What a difference in the ride. But as soon as I put any weight in the rig without the boat trailer, it began pounding away again.

I went back to the garage as soon as I got home, and the mechanic was able to fold down the top part of the cover and re-welded that....no charge. And no more pounding.

Yay. I thought all was well.

But I was wrong.

About 100 miles later, all packed up and heading to my remote Maine cabin, I began to notice a growl coming from the rear. It appeared when I loaded the drive train and disappeared when I took my foot off the gas.

So I got to camp and pulled the drain plug with some help from a friend. Small pieces of silver came out including what appeared to be a 1.5 inch section of bearing cage.

We cleaned out the differential the best we could, added a heavier gear oil (all we had), and I carefully headed out 90 miles to civilization (40 miles of bad dirt). The growl was then present on both load and unload. I was on borrowed time. My 4Runner is now having a used rear axle installed.

I think the pounding on that cross member caused a bearing to fail, but there could have been other causes as well. The Toyota dealer I called did not recommend trying to repair the rear as other damage could have happened to the gears, other bearings, and wheel bearings as those share the same oil with chewed up bearing parts with the rest of the unit.

If I had my own shop, I would have attempted a repair (if the yoke bearing was the one that failed) by flushing everything out, inspecting it all, and replacing that bearing and seal.

I'm out an extra $300 for the cap, time in the shop, and a lot of inconvenience, but at least I'm not dead beside the road waiting for AAA to try to find me on the Golden Road while being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Lesson learned. Epoxy would have been a smarter choice.

 

[Nelsonmd]

That's a bummer man. I think you should cut ties with that shop; they did a bad job if it was hitting the cross member afterwards, they should have caught that.

Is your new rear end a used one? If the OEM coating is not perfect, I'd recommend doing something else to protect it too. My replacement axle housing was pretty much perfect, but the stock rust protection didn't last all that long and it has started rusting again in places. I'm not sure what will adhere well to the stock coating, but I'd do something if you can. Maybe bedliner?

How much is the new rear end running you?

 

[calithirteen]

Most of the salvage yards around here will only have rotted out rear ends, so car parts probably won't help.

If I had to go back, I would buy this: Toyota Heavy Duty Differential Cover

and weld it on in place of the original cover. You could buy yourself a welder, the cap, and weld it on yourself for less than a replacement axle will cost you.

BTW, I bought my 4runner in Sheldon VT, and it was rusted out when I got it too.

I have a question about this and maybe you could help. My diff is leaking bad and I'm liking this route as my gears are fine. Just spoke with a welder who thinks the gears would have to be pulled or else risk getting damaged by debri from cutting the housing? Is that necessary or should I find another welder?

 

[the great him]

I have a question about this and maybe you could help. My diff is leaking bad and I'm liking this route as my gears are fine. Just spoke with a welder who thinks the gears would have to be pulled or else risk getting damaged by debri from cutting the housing? Is that necessary or should I find another welder?

its not hard to pull a 3rd member, like 30min at most. dont touch the gears either, just pull the 3rd member and cut out the bad, install the new/good, clean everything out and put the 3rd member back in and put some gear oil back in it. good to go

 

[madcanvis]

-Cover_p_228.html]
BTW, I bought my 4runner in Sheldon VT, and it was rusted out when I got it too.

As mine was a native VT runner and have done the JB weld twice now....I'm listening.
FYI: A co-worker had his 98 done (axle swap) in Newton, MA with a southern axle...parts and labor right around $2000.

 

[the great him]

As mine was a native VT runner and have done the JB weld twice now....I'm listening.
FYI: A co-worker had his 98 done (axle swap) in Newton, MA with a southern axle...parts and labor right around $2000.

that is straight robbery! you should have a complete axle housing for $200 at most, and then be able to use all of your parts ie inner axle shafts, and 3rd member. so youll need $60 in a couple new seals -most of the important and hard parts to do are in the shafts themselves and in the 3rd members. the swap should be no more than a 3hr job with air tools and a shop. i can do my rear axle in less than 3hrs and i dont have air tools or a shop. bring it to me and ill do it for $1500 and giggle the whole time as well :hungry::hungry::hungry: this should be a $500-800 job tops

 

[Mark_BC]

What's the opinion on cutting off the rotten cover plate and welding the Barnes diff plate on when all the gears are still inside vs. removing it all and doing work on an empty housing? I've heard both done, seems sketchy to me to be grinding the old one off and welding while the gears are right there.

 

[Sean K.]

What's the opinion on cutting off the rotten cover plate and welding the Barnes diff plate on when all the gears are still inside vs. removing it all and doing work on an empty housing? I've heard both done, seems sketchy to me to be grinding the old one off and welding while the gears are right there.

BAD IDEA. Grinding dust in the gears/bearings would be catastrophic.

 

[Mark_BC]

BAD IDEA. Grinding dust in the gears/bearings would be catastrophic.

I agree it sounds like a bad idea. But wouldn't the magnet on the drain plug catch the little bits? According to this reviewer at the Barnes 4WD site they did it with the gears in. But I agree, I'll find someone who can take out the third member and weld it from both outside and inside, then clean it up nice. I see comments on this forum about how easy it is to take out the third member, how it takes 20 minutes! Not from the steps I've seen! It would take me days to do it! I don't know, maybe it's easy and fast for a mechanic in a shop who knows what to do.

"We used this heavy duty diff cover (Part # B4WK1012) as a method to repair the Toyota factory welded-in-place diff cover that had rusted through on our 2000 4Runner (3rd generation). The rust through from northeast road salt had resulted in diff gear oil leaking through the steel cover in several spots. Technicians at Barnes helped us by confirming dimensions of this part so we could be sure it would fit on a 3rd gen 4Runner axle. A local welding shop, Govel Welding in Albany NY, performed the installation work. With out removing the axle assembly from the truck, without even removing the axle shafts or the diff gears, Govel cut off the old rusted cover, cleaned out any resulting debris, and welded on the new Barnes cover. A very cost effective fix compared to an axle housing replacement, and completely successful! We are very satisfied"

 

[thegipper]

I would personally always remove the 3rd member before cutting and welding a new cover on. Gear oil is so sticky that it would be hard to completely clean out all of the debris caused by the repair (especially with the member still in there). Can it be done without causing any problems? Sure, but I wouldn't take the chance. All it takes is a little bit of missed debris and your rear end will be ruined. Why risk it when it only takes a half hour to take it out?

Just take the time to remove the 3rd member (doesn't take long at all) and do it right.