Another blown front diff - looking for some options before going down the rabbit hole (1 Viewer)

[Blue Phoenix]

Well cheers to me for joining yet another not-so-exclusive 100 club:

Failed Brake booster -
Blown steering rack -
Blown front diff -

How it happened -

Decided to take a solo trip to the U.P. in Michigan for some exploring without all the tourists (mistake #1). If anyone has ever been out on High Rock road you know it's not that bad unless 1. it's still winter and 2. because of that there's still ice/snow/mud etc. BUT it's been warm and I went anyways.
Going out was OK, but I could already see alot of evidence of ice thaw and re-freezing in all the washes. Over night temp was 25 and I decided to get an early start to the day at 0530 and headed out to make my way back home (10 hours). (mistake #2).
One particular wash had standing water up to my frame the night before and baby-head sized ice chunks which had reset and frozen overnight. Front end fell into the ice about half way through and because I wasn't carrying the momentum I could the night before the truck started to sink into the greasy north michigan mud.
Too much skinny pedal and I think one of my MT's caught the leading edge of the ice-shelf I had fallen through and CRUNCH.


Now that I've bored you with the story here's where I currently am -

Mr. T takes delivery of the truck this weekend, decent dealership in Holland who's service manager has no less than 3-4 land cruisers.

Current plan is to just throw a new assembly in and be done with it. However, I know what you guys are thinking and I just want you to tell me because short of re-gearing, I've never thought I had the need for a locking front diff, but I also had a triple-locked 80 which I wheeled much harder and never saw this outcome.

Right now a new diff is about $2500
Throw in labor I figure of at least $1000 and I'm getting into the stratosphere.

I stopped wheeling hardcore years ago so currently I'm running without a winch which I think if I had had one I wouldn't have been so desperate to get out of the whole.

I assume I need new ring gear at the very least, I haven't even looked at lockers since I had my 80.

To me it's a choice between the need for a winch or the need for a locker. I will say from the years I had in my 80 I probably didn't appreciate having my winch as much (only ever used twice) because I used the lockers all the time and likely just didn't end up getting stuck.


Throw out some recs, I'm all ears.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Prior to the fun... the next morning

 

[Fairgame]

It's pretty hard to comment without a full autopsy. Excessive forces will create damage and I am all for a winch in rough and remote conditions

 

[dogfishlake]

Is the new diff the stronger one (newer)? I am barely literate on 100's but like 98-99 are the weak ones I thought.
If you went with the new one you would be back on the road quick, then budget for an arb.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Agreed about the autopsy.

I was cursing myself on the 3 hour trek back to town that morning because had I HAD a winch, I would have reluctantly let the truck nestle down into the wash and just winched myself out.

I'm just also pretty surprised at how easily it seemed to break. I feel I've been in much worse situations with my 80 and it always just carried on without any drama.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

2006 so it apparently has the stronger front end

 

[Ocho77]

Wow, that sucks. Sorry for the hassle...that's got to be frustrating. Hopefully you can get it back downstate and repaired without too much trouble/expense.

 

[Bisho]

Often guys will replace the front diff with a locker for less than what you’ve been quoted. You might check prices.

 

[kbahus]

Check August Pohl auto parts for a used one, they are in St. Joe/Berrien Springs but might have one. used-parts - August Pohl Auto Parts - https://www.augustpohl.com/used-parts/TOYOTA/LAND_CRUISER/15137/2004/CARRIER_ASSEMBLY/633237/

 

[97 AZ LC]

Is the new diff the stronger one (newer)? I am barely literate on 100's but like 98-99 are the weak ones I thought.
If you went with the new one you would be back on the road quick, then budget for an arb.

The thing to remember about front diffs is that it's strong ones that fail and the weak ones that don't fail.

 

[MechE30]

The thing to remember about front diffs is that it's strong ones that fail and the weak ones that don't fail.

No.

 

[hoser]

If you are okay with the downtime, I'd have Cruiser Outfitters build you a diff with a locker, send it to your mechanic, then ship back your diff for core value.

Cruiser Outfitters

 

[Sandroad]

On U.P. roads it can work the other way too, going in frozen and then trying to get out thawed. I about burned up a clutch on my Tacoma doing that one year. If you’re tempted to go exploring up there alone, a winch is a great last resort for self-recovery. I’m not at all sure a locked front would have extracted you from the partly frozen water hole that took out the diff.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

Sorry to hear this man, but yes the ring and pinion gear for sure needs to be replaced. Honestly a third member rebuild is not that hard, even if you get all the right tools to get the job done it would still come out way cheaper vs. getting it done by any shop. I would personally choose an Eaton electronic locking differential because of easy of use and maintenance. There are a ton of videos in YouTube for resource and walk throughs, next question is if you can allocate time or if your truck can afford some downtime.

 

[bozncsurf]

Sorry to hear this man, but yes the ring and pinion gear for sure needs to be replaced. Honestly a third member rebuild is not that hard, even if you get all the right tools to get the job done it would still come out way cheaper vs. getting it done by any shop. I would personally choose an Eaton electronic locking differential because of easy of use and maintenance. There are a ton of videos in YouTube for resource and walk throughs, next question is if you can allocate time or if your truck can afford some downtime.

I 2nd looking at electronic over air

 

[suprarx7nut]

Sorry to hear this man, but yes the ring and pinion gear for sure needs to be replaced. Honestly a third member rebuild is not that hard, even if you get all the right tools to get the job done it would still come out way cheaper vs. getting it done by any shop. I would personally choose an Eaton electronic locking differential because of easy of use and maintenance. There are a ton of videos in YouTube for resource and walk throughs, next question is if you can allocate time or if your truck can afford some downtime.

How many times do you suppose a first time rebuilds a diff with proper backlash and no whine? I give that 50/50 odds that diff is coming back out to do it right a second time, haha.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

@suprarx7nut I chuckled to myself on that one... I've paid my dues with knuckle rebuilds on 80's and all sorts of other things but I'd still rate my monkey skills at 3.5 .

Hope to get some pictures of the diff opened early in the week to have some definitive answers.

After mulling over this a bit I'm mostly kicking myself for intentionally deciding NOT to buy a winch for the first time because "I don't wheel like that anymore".

 

[Trapper50cal]

Stout R&P and a locker then it will be something else that breaks...most likely CV or U-joint. (easier to get to, especially on the trail)

 

[OEMGUY0720]

How many times do you suppose a first time rebuilds a diff with proper backlash and no whine? I give that 50/50 odds that diff is coming back out to do it right a second time, haha.

Can’t deny it how really possible this is. It still checks the first box on cost which was a concern and I’d take a 50% bet on myself in doing it right the first time over 100% just handing my $ to someone w/o giving a try. Again tooling (the right ones) plays a big part in getting rebuild right and of course time because gears are 99% tolerances. If the cruiser needs be on the road asap outweighs cost like what op stated, then doing a diy rebuild is not in the conversation anymore. It now just becomes a topic of R&P specs or if op will stick with his factory 2 or 4-pinion gear or maybe go for a locking diff, but the third member is already split open so tons of possibilities there.

 

[MechE30]

I’m not a professional mechanic but I am a professional mechanical engineer with nearly 20 years of experience and it took me two crush sleeves to set pinion depth and then probably 7-8 combos of side bearing spacers to get in spec. That was after reading every write up on Zuk’s site ten times over. It’s tedious, but not difficult.