Swapping 4th and 5th gen axle

[T4RNightHawk]

Coming over from the 4th gen forums.
I have a friend with a 2013 trail that never offroads. I offered to trade rear axles with him plus cash to get his locker and he's interested. Would this be possible and would it mess up his computer a lot. I'm guessing the axles are basically the exact same minus the diff. I looked at this FJ Elocker retrofit into 4th gen 4Runner - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum thread over on 120 but I'd rather swap the axles and not mess with grinding and stuff.
I'm posting this in the 4th gen section too.

 

[Watchdogg]

I think the locker is run by the computer. You can't just wire a switch in to get it to work

 

[(none)]

Coming over from the 4th gen forums.
I have a friend with a 2013 trail that never offroads. I offered to trade rear axles with him plus cash to get his locker and he's interested. Would this be possible and would it mess up his computer a lot. I'm guessing the axles are basically the exact same minus the diff. I looked at this FJ Elocker retrofit into 4th gen 4Runner - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum thread over on 120 but I'd rather swap the axles and not mess with grinding and stuff.
I'm posting this in the 4th gen section too.

Just compare the 3rd members, that's all you should need to swap. Gotta make sure the axle splines are the same, gear ratios are the same, etc. I'm far from a Toyota expert, so someone can feel free to correct me, but I believe the 4th and 5th 3rds are the same, but 4ths had some different ratios early on with the 4speeds. all 5ths have 3.73s I believe.

I think the locker is run by the computer. You can't just wire a switch in to get it to work

Sure ya can, it just needs 12v. Wire a relay and a switch, some wires and you're good to go. Just so safety nannies like mother yoda loves to add.

 

[Inv4drZm]

The 5th gens have an upgraded 8.2" rear diff pretty sure.

 

[(none)]

The 5th gens have an upgraded 8.2" rear diff pretty sure.

Ah, I think you're right. At least I remember something about the opens having the 8.2" and the ones with lockers having the 8.0"?

 

[STX4Runner]

Cleaver idea, but it will be waaay easier to just get an ARB air locker installed. With newer vehicles it's not like the old days of going down to the salvage yard, ripping 1-ton axles out from under a heavy duty pickup and swapping them under your 4x4.