Axle help

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M

Mekanecman

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
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18
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61
Location
Fort Collins, CO
I diagnosed some driveline vibration on my 4runner and found my pinion bearing in my rear diff to be toast. I found a Mitsubishi Montero Sport rear end on craigslist for $350 with a posi locked diff and disc brakes. The axle measures about the same as a ifs yota rear end. I was just curious if this axle would work on an 85 4runner. Is the gear ratio the same? Has anyone ever done this b4? It would be sweet to get disc brakes and a locking rear end.
 
I can't say I've ever heard of someone doing this swap. Will it work? The real question is how much is it going to cost to make it work.... You can put almost any axle under any rig.

Gear ratio? I'd suggest doing some research on what was stock in the Mitsubishi.
 
ratios, wheel patterns, will the caliper fit in your wheels, is it coils, is it leafs, is your truck leafs, do the leafs line up, will the drive shaft bolt up, are the brake lines the same fitting, will the shocks bolt up with out interfering with exhaust etc...?

Im sure its weaker than a toyota rear end. The phrase "posi" suggests to me, clutches, and not a true locker. Not to mention posi clutches are a wear item.

You can definatly get a direct toyota replacement rear end for half that.
 
From what I can find online for info on the axle its a 7.5inch diff and it has a 4.6 to 1 ratio and it might be narrower than the yota axle. So in the long run the best bet would be to save up my money and get a elocked yota axle if i can find one!
 
Solid Axle front, correct? Me, I'd go for a rebuilt 3rd with the selectable locker option and a solid spacer instead of the crush version. Then consider going to a 2nd-Gen 4Runner front disc brake swap available through one of the vendors. E-locker's are sweet with the rear leafs, but an ARB will serve you well also, less wiring to do and you get the benefit then of on-board-air from the compressor.

*Just upgrade the rotors and calipers to the SW13B's and 1-1/16" master first..skip the crossdrilled option and go for some nice factory or premium rotors and factory pads.
ie: http://www.marlincrawler.com/brake/brake-combos/vented-rotor-upgrade-combo-kit


Try searching Corax's threads, he has a 1st-Gen and just recently did a rotor and caliper upgrade his own way and IIRC he's doing fine w/ those pieces.

Heck FWIW we just redid my brakes and they stop my 4500lb 2nd-Gen 4Runner just fine.
 
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I don't know about the sport but I do know some the old Mitsubishi rears was retarded strong for its size.
Mekanecman said:
I diagnosed some driveline vibration on my 4runner and found my pinion bearing in my rear diff to be toast. I found a Mitsubishi Montero Sport rear end on craigslist for $350 with a posi locked diff and disc brakes. The axle measures about the same as a ifs yota rear end. I was just curious if this axle would work on an 85 4runner. Is the gear ratio the same? Has anyone ever done this b4? It would be sweet to get disc brakes and a locking rear end.
Click to expand...
 
Would it be beneficial to replace the entire rear end with an ifs rear end or just keep the stock axle? Keeping in mind that I want to run 35's on this truck. Other than the wider rear end is there any benefit to this? Stronger? I like the idea of ARB's being able to unlock and lock my axle would be really good considering right now this is a daily driver. Also what years are the best for this swap? Are there any years to steer clear from? Finally are the diffs inter changeable from an ifs rear to a solid axle rear end and vise versa?

Yes I have the solid axle by the way.

Just a few questions for ya.
 
79-85 front diffs and 79-95 rear diffs, and 95.5 + E-lockers will all swap around, however the E-Lockers require some modification to the axle housing to fit.

I don't think the 85 rear axle is any stronger or weaker than the IFS rears, but having the IFS may come in handy if you break something because there are more IFS rears out there.
 
I'm pretty sure the IFS-ers shafts are a wee bit thicker. Besides the wider axle, the brakes on the IFS axles are much better. Bigger drums, better e-brake linkage, bigger cylinders.
 
If you go ifs rear you can hunt down a v6 rear then you will get a SIGNIFICANTLY stronger rear!
 
ummm yes it has been done.

I suggest searching
 
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