I have a TWO WHEEL drive 07 4 Runner SR5 with 120k miles. Rear end has been bad for the last 30k miles or so.. Constant whine that matches speed, had it checked by the local dealer and 2 independent shops to confirm its the differential. Even tho I try to do all my own work DIY, finances and other life things got in the way and kept me from fixing it. Come tax time, first thing on my list is to fix it.
My original thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/172111-help-me-diagnose-whine.html
At first I was going to try and find a whole rear end from a junkyard but haven't had much luck around here. Doing some more research and seeing what ECGS offers, replacing for a new prebuilt third member seems a lot easier than I thought it was.
Pull drive shaft, pull both axels out about a foot, take out a bunch of bolts around the "pumpkin", remove and replace diff as one unit?? Put it all back together? Is it that easy?? Ive never done work on rear ends before. Ive swapped motors, brakes, clutches and just got done re-powring my Sea Ray with new 4.3 v6 (more on that later
)
Should I worry about cleaning out the housing of all the old oil and any metal particles that might be in there? Whats the best way to do this while the housing is still on the truck?
My next question is upgrading to something better than the stock open diff.
The truck is bone stock except for AT/revos and stereo. I plan to keep it that way, no bigger wheels, no lift kits, "maybe" might do a simple exhaust down the road and some cosmetic things. Driven 99% on the street however I DO pull a 19ft bow rider that we keep in the back yard and this were I run into problems. When backing up over my front lawn to park the boat on the side of the house, I have to come up over the curb onto the grass and usually wind up spinning a tire and wrecking my grass. I park the boat/trailer in-between my house and the next door fence. I have to often get a rolling start so when the front tires come up off the street I have some momentum to keep pushing the boat/trailer back but this often means I can't get the trailer exactly where I want it between my house and that fence. Its pretty much threading a needle with a 3600 lb trailer and spinning tires makes it a pain. So much that my wife is actually saying "we need a 4wd"
I was looking at the Detroit Trueurac as that seems to be the best option. Cost, no maintenance, best option for street driving ect... I don't ever plan on doing any serious off roading but it would be nice to know that if I did find myself on a dirt road, light trial or perhaps a slippery boat ramp I would have better luck than a complete open diff.
Sorry for the long post but I just want to hear what some of you guys think. Am I on the right track here?
Get a prebuilt 3rd member from ECGS (same gearing) drop out my bad diff and bolt in a new one. Simple DIY job in my own garage that should take what? a good Saturday afternoon??
While Im at it spend a little extra and upgrade to a LSD so when pulling/ backing my boat across the grass Ill have less if no problems loosing traction and more piece of mind at the boat ramps.??
Thanks in advance.
My original thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/172111-help-me-diagnose-whine.html
At first I was going to try and find a whole rear end from a junkyard but haven't had much luck around here. Doing some more research and seeing what ECGS offers, replacing for a new prebuilt third member seems a lot easier than I thought it was.
Pull drive shaft, pull both axels out about a foot, take out a bunch of bolts around the "pumpkin", remove and replace diff as one unit?? Put it all back together? Is it that easy?? Ive never done work on rear ends before. Ive swapped motors, brakes, clutches and just got done re-powring my Sea Ray with new 4.3 v6 (more on that later
) Should I worry about cleaning out the housing of all the old oil and any metal particles that might be in there? Whats the best way to do this while the housing is still on the truck?
My next question is upgrading to something better than the stock open diff.
The truck is bone stock except for AT/revos and stereo. I plan to keep it that way, no bigger wheels, no lift kits, "maybe" might do a simple exhaust down the road and some cosmetic things. Driven 99% on the street however I DO pull a 19ft bow rider that we keep in the back yard and this were I run into problems. When backing up over my front lawn to park the boat on the side of the house, I have to come up over the curb onto the grass and usually wind up spinning a tire and wrecking my grass. I park the boat/trailer in-between my house and the next door fence. I have to often get a rolling start so when the front tires come up off the street I have some momentum to keep pushing the boat/trailer back but this often means I can't get the trailer exactly where I want it between my house and that fence. Its pretty much threading a needle with a 3600 lb trailer and spinning tires makes it a pain. So much that my wife is actually saying "we need a 4wd"
I was looking at the Detroit Trueurac as that seems to be the best option. Cost, no maintenance, best option for street driving ect... I don't ever plan on doing any serious off roading but it would be nice to know that if I did find myself on a dirt road, light trial or perhaps a slippery boat ramp I would have better luck than a complete open diff.
Sorry for the long post but I just want to hear what some of you guys think. Am I on the right track here?
Get a prebuilt 3rd member from ECGS (same gearing) drop out my bad diff and bolt in a new one. Simple DIY job in my own garage that should take what? a good Saturday afternoon??
While Im at it spend a little extra and upgrade to a LSD so when pulling/ backing my boat across the grass Ill have less if no problems loosing traction and more piece of mind at the boat ramps.??
Thanks in advance.
