98 Land Cruiser OEM rear locking diff in 2000 lx470? Can it be simple?

[JohnMed]

I occasionally see OEM rear diff locks pop up for sale like the picture below. Can I just take out my current diff and stick this in the axle and bolt right up? I would get an aftermarket wiring harness to avoid the ECU stuff.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

 

[MountaineerLC]

My understanding is that some modifications will have to be made to you diff housing for the actuator to clear. Not sure how in-depth that might be. Some prefer to swap the entire axle housing over.

 

[KiPod]

Not exactly the same, but I’m installing an 80 center into a 98 rear axle housing now. You will need to shave/trim the curve on the left for the actuator fork and locking gear, install longer studs in specific places, and I expanded the top and bottom to make sure I had room for the larger ring. Also, I believe you need a passenger side axle (I’m waiting on mine now), because it will slide in and turn but won’t go all the way in. I read that the length is the same, but the splines are cut further into the shaft. I should know more shortly and again I’m installing a locked 80 center, but the gasket is the same part number so you’ll most likely need to trim the same way I did. These pics are from the 80 housing and I matched up the trimming and studs to my 100 housing.

 

[KiPod]

And here’s the two 100 series passenger side rear axles. You can see the deeper spline cuts on the locked axle just like the 80 axles shown in my previous post.