Axle/differential comparison (1 Viewer)

[SWUtah]

What would you experts compare our 100 series axles too. Dana 44's? Dana 60's. I'm talkin from a strengh durablity standpoint. Just wondering, watched a segment on extreme4x4 this sunday that talked about axles and which ones were the strongest/best, but they did not mention Toyota axles or differentials so I was hoping some of you more experienced and technical 100 series owners could enlighten me. Also I understand that my 95 FZJ80 had free floating rear axles where the 100 series has semi floating. Free floating are suppose to be better for not leaving you stranded/ wheels don't fall off on the trail

 

[Jim_Chow]

What would you experts compare our 100 series axles too. Dana 44's? Dana 60's. I'm talkin from a strengh durablity standpoint. Just wondering, watched a segment on extreme4x4 this sunday that talked about axles and which ones were the strongest/best, but they did not mention Toyota axles or differentials so I was hoping some of you more experienced and technical 100 series owners could enlighten me. Also I understand that my 95 FZJ80 had free floating rear axles where the 100 series has semi floating. Free floating are suppose to be better for not leaving you stranded/ wheels don't fall off on the trail

I think the wheels falling off on semi-floater was a FJ60 thing, since it was a little c-clip that held the axle in. The 100 uses the same system as on the old 4runner, in which the axle unit (with bearing/retainer) is bolted to the axle housing via 4 bolts. I think the main way it can fail is if the bearing retainer fails, and the only cases I've heard of that happening on 4runners is if the owner tries to reuse the retainer (single-use item). At 21 yrs and 200K mi, the rear bearings in my 4runner have play, but haven't gone bad. They are relying on rear diff oil as the lube and have been for at least 60K mi (as the diff oil always comes out greenish). I know one guy who has over 300K mi on his original SF bearings.

As far as ring gear sizes go, my feeling is the same sized toyota gear seems to be stronger than the same-sized Dana gear. The bottom line is the metallurgy. Do gear makers use cold-forged gears, heat forged, or machined/cut?

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

I've read before and seen numbers in 4x4 mags that the 80's axles were comparable to Dana 60 strength. This was some time ago.

The 100's rear axles are larger and with more splines so the axles themselves I believe are stronger though the entire "setup" in the 80 might be better due to semi float.

The 100's front CV axles are also slightly larger in diameter than the 80's front axle though we're talking diameter only.....not the other benefits of a live axle like in the 80 and or Dana-brand.