4-runner 4.88 gears for my 92 22re truck with 33's

[meatloaf]

so I found a 95 4runner with 4.88 gears for cheap, dead motor. it has 250K miles. I know there are many variables, abuse, etc. but is there a way to check integrity of the gears without pulling third members or driving it? would this high mileage present problems? i want to put the 4.88's on my 92 truck, w/22re and 33" tires


thanks in advance,
ML

 

[rocktoy74]

I say go for It depending on price? Do you Intend on parting the rest? The only thing Is determine If these are Factory OEM gears or aftermarket? Some 4runners came factory with 4.88's If they were automatic and had 31's. If aftermarket they may have less miles than the truck Itself and I would say Inspect the gears before Installing either way

 

[Tom Thomson]

4runner-truck

meatloaf
I've been told-don't know-that there is a difference in housing size and pinion offset between the two gear ratios. I'm interested in knowing if I am right or wrong.
tommyt

 

[jynx]

Without pulling the chunks or driving it, about the only thing you can do is get underneath and turn the pinion flange by hand with the wheels off the ground and see how it feels. It should feel smooth by hand. Also make sure you don't have any slop or play in the pinion. It should feel tight with no movement in or out, or up and down. You can also drain the fluid and see what it looks like. Swamp lube = stay away because they will likely need a full rebuild. Nice clean fluid is what you are looking for. When you do get them out then you should check the backlash and preload on the pinion and carrier to make sure they are good.

I think the front diff is pretty standard as far as how it goes together OE vs Aftermarket, but the rear is not. The OE 4.88 is a dealer only setup, so the carrier, ring, pinion, etc are different than an aftermarket setup. I think the carrier has a thicker lip and the ring is much thinner. Aftermarket gears get very thick in order to account for the smaller pinions.

I would love to find a set of factory 4.88s. If you don't mind me asking, what is your reasoning for the 4.88s with 33's? I was actually right in the middle of doing some research on this very thing. I have a 90 that I am looking at building a front axle to swap into at some point and trying to decide what gears to put into the HP front that I have for it. Probably running 33s maybe 35s. Not a wheeler, will be a driver and a farm truck. Would appreciate your input.

 

[meatloaf]

I say go for It depending on price? Do you Intend on parting the rest? The only thing Is determine If these are Factory OEM gears or aftermarket? Some 4runners came factory with 4.88's If they were automatic and had 31's. If aftermarket they may have less miles than the truck Itself and I would say Inspect the gears before Installing either way

Got a good deal on these, factory 4.88's. i will pull them sometime this weekend, I hope.

meatloaf
I've been told-don't know-that there is a difference in housing size and pinion offset between the two gear ratios. I'm interested in knowing if I am right or wrong.
tommyt

Tommy, I am not sure but I've read that the factory 4.88's are a little different than aftermarket. https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyota-truck-tech/561115-factory-4-88-a.html

also, see jynx's comments below

Without pulling the chunks or driving it, about the only thing you can do is get underneath and turn the pinion flange by hand with the wheels off the ground and see how it feels. It should feel smooth by hand. Also make sure you don't have any slop or play in the pinion. It should feel tight with no movement in or out, or up and down. You can also drain the fluid and see what it looks like. Swamp lube = stay away because they will likely need a full rebuild. Nice clean fluid is what you are looking for. When you do get them out then you should check the backlash and preload on the pinion and carrier to make sure they are good.

I think the front diff is pretty standard as far as how it goes together OE vs Aftermarket, but the rear is not. The OE 4.88 is a dealer only setup, so the carrier, ring, pinion, etc are different than an aftermarket setup. I think the carrier has a thicker lip and the ring is much thinner. Aftermarket gears get very thick in order to account for the smaller pinions.

I would love to find a set of factory 4.88s. If you don't mind me asking, what is your reasoning for the 4.88s with 33's? I was actually right in the middle of doing some research on this very thing. I have a 90 that I am looking at building a front axle to swap into at some point and trying to decide what gears to put into the HP front that I have for it. Probably running 33s maybe 35s. Not a wheeler, will be a driver and a farm truck. Would appreciate your input.

I will pull and inspect them...

as for my reasoning on going with 33's/4.88's, it is just from what I've read here on mud. Some people say 4.56's with 33's and others say 4.88's with 33's. I got a good deal on the 95 4-runner with factory gears...

 

[Devilmans Hand]

I've run the 4.88s with 33"s for about a year and I like the combo. This gearing makes up for the lack of horsepower and torque in the 22re(when compared to cruiser 6cyl). Top speed suffers a little bit and I try to stay around 55mph but 70mph is easily doable. Long hills are fine in 4th gear around 50mph.
4.56 is likely fine if you live on flat land or like to shift at 3grand.
My opinion anyway.

 

[meatloaf]

another question, where do I find the G144 stamp on the chunks?

 

[meatloaf]

also, what is this for? topside of the rear axle

 

[KLF]

That is an ABS sensor. Rather than put tone rings on each wheel and sensors, they monitor the ring gear and detect skidding there. There is a freeze plug you can get to plug that hole, you probably don't need the sensor. Trail Gear sells them, among others.

Found it: http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/inde...ifferentials/v6-differential-freeze-plug.html

 

[Hadmatt54]

another question, where do I find the G144 stamp on the chunks?

You won't find the G144 anywhere on the diff. That's just a code that Toyota used to identify the gear set. They also painted the end of the pinion different colors to identify the gears...pink for 4.10, ect., but the best way to identify the gears is to count the # of teeth on the ring gear and divide it by the # of teeth on the pinion gear. The ring gear should have 39 teeth and the pinion should have 8...39/8= 4.875 or 4.88.

 

[pappy]

another question, where do I find the G144 stamp on the chunks?

It's not on the diff. It's on the VIN tag. On my truck it's on the firewall. I think on that year it's located on the driver's side B pillar.

 

[pappy]

another question, where do I find the G144 stamp on the chunks?

BTW, there is a great collection of FAQ threads stickied at the top. You might want to take a look at the threads that have been posted. Many common questions and answers are found there. From the FAQ:

http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html

 

[meatloaf]

Finally getting around to swapping the front 3rd member. Is there instructions on how to pull the needle bearing from the passenger side? The 4.88 gears came with add tube and my son's truck is non add. I got rhis picture off the net for illustration.

Thank you all for all of the valuable help!!
ML

 

[Mudder]

@SimplyTanner can probably help you.

 

[meatloaf]

Thanks Mudder! I will contact him... ML

 

[SimplyTanner]

Yes I can, let me read this thread and try to catch up.... I just did an ADD/Non ADD swap, where I learned a lot about both systems.

 

[meatloaf]

Yes I can, let me read this thread and try to catch up.... I just did an ADD/Non ADD swap, where I learned a lot about both systems.

Thank you ST, I was just about to pm you.

 

[SimplyTanner]

I hope I didn't speak too soon...! Is the needle bearings removal all your concerned about? Seems like you on the correct track. FYI; An ADD diff can be swapped into a non-ADD system by using the non-ADD driver side tube. It's said that it can't be done the other way around (non ADD diff with ADD tube) but I'm not convinced. I suggest using a real bearing removal tool if possible. And so do most manuals and write ups. Although since you don't need to reuse the needle bearing it could be removed a number of other crude ways. Funny, I thought I learned everything I could about these two systems, but removing the bearing was the one thing I didn't need to do!! Let me look through all my notes and sources...

 

[SimplyTanner]

Hey man, I need to step back a second and rethink this. I may have just given you ( and all of MUD) wrong advice. You should be able to leave the needle bearings in and just swap diffs with no issues. The Non-ADD diff has a cast in "bushing" that is non removable. The ADD diff uses the needles instead, but they are the same Inside Diameter. In theory it's an upgrade. Sorry for the mass confusion, I've been on the clock for wayyyy too many hours!

 

[meatloaf]

ST, thatnks for your post... I will look at it again this weekend. I will keep you updated. Hope you get some rest