Installation of the 4.88 Gears
Don't look for a build on the 4.88's here. I'm too dang busy and lazy to do the installation myself. I'm having them installed over the weekend.
For what it's worth here's a breakdown on the diffs. These are fully assembled front and rear differentials with a gear ratio of 4.88:1. I decided to leave them open instead of adding the ARB locker.
Total Cost(with the core charge) - $1977
Subrtract the Core Charge - $300 + $250 ($550)
Total from ECGS -
$1427
Gear Oil is Lucas - 85-140 High Performance Oil
Rear Diff
- PN# - DIFF-BUILD-TV6 Link to ECGS Website for This Product HERE
- Nitro 4.88 Ring and Pinion
- All New Timken, or Koyo bearings
- Solid Spacer Installed
Front Diff
- PN# - DIFF-BUILD-T7.5CS Link to ECGS Website for This Product HERE
- Nitro 4.88 Ring and Pinion
- All New Timken, or Koyo bearings
Here's a few photos of them on my bench as I examined them to ensure everything was OK. And off they went...
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May 19th, 2016 - Update on the Diffs:
I had the diffs installed at Broadway Toyota in Portland. Only Chris Jette is allowed to work on my rig. He's the master tech there and with three toyota's in my family, they know me fairly well.
Installed at 336768 miles
Drain and refill at 337340
Total break-in miles - 572
Drove my 4Runner around trying not exceed the 70mph but damn that was hard. The new gears added so much more spunk to my rig. I couldn't believe the pedal response I had now - instant. I no longer needed to hit the OD or the ECT switch to get the power I needed.
RPM's are sitting around 26-2800 at 70-75mph. this is a very acceptable RPM range for me. I had anticipated between 3 and 3500rpm's based on all the charts and calculations I've read. I'll be using this post to document my mileage over the next month or so for those considering the higher gears over the 4.56's. I know I'll take a hit in the MPG's but I'm not worried about it. The reason I chose the 4.88's was it gave me the flexibility to add more weight (bumper, loaded down rack, winch etc...) and/or move up to a bigger tire without worrying about gears. The second reason was because of everything I've read and heard from others about regretting they didn't put 4.88's in instead of the 4.56's.
Check out the video with the TRD Cat Back and 4.88's while driving. This will give you an idea of the "feel".
I've also attached the ECGS New Gear Break-In Procedures.