Dead - CV Joint or Front Diff ?

[ShottsUZJ100]

I would try EVERYTHING!

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I wonder if I can get the money from them then I can just take it to 4wheelparts and get them to hookup the ARB setup for the front diff.

NOOOOOO. Keep your 100 series far away from the jokers at 4wheelparts. You ain't drivin' a Jeep son. Keep it simple and get the warrenty repair done by Toyota, then buy Shotts spare diff for next time you break it. Airlockers are great, but you don't have the need so why go to the expense?

 

[stewbo]

Well I would like to go down the locked route in the future.
I just wonder if I can get Toyota to put in an ARB diff.
Are ARB's more bullet proof than the 2000+ front diffs?
I don't want to go down this road again, I still intend to hit the trails with my 100.

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

NOOOOOO. Keep your 100 series far away from the jokers at 4wheelparts. You ain't drivin' a Jeep son. Keep it simple and get the warrenty repair done by Toyota, then buy Shotts spare diff for next time you break it. Airlockers are great, but you don't have the need so why go to the expense?

On the contrary....4WheelParts did a perfect job on the 100 despite me being their first UZJ100. With it's abuse everything has held up perfect. They've done a lot more work than Jeeps. Taco's etc, etc.

I found the same chief mechanic who did my 100 and he just did my Lexus.

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

Are ARB's more bullet proof than the 2000+ front diffs?

Substantially at the front diff. A bit better at the rear too.

 

[stewbo]

I'm still waiting on the warranty people to decide how much money they are going to issue for the claim. After that I'm going to try to get the ARB setup.
Keeping my fingers crossed.
I'll try to post my video tonight, so everyone can hear what a messed up diff sounds like.

 

[stewbo]

Hear the sound of my front diff biting the dust!
http://www.youtube.com/w/?v=7efC9mXaWEE

Edit. I screwed up the url. It should work now.

 

[hoser]

Ouch! That sounds terrible!

 

[SamoL]

What is really the weak part of the front diff? If I install an ARB into my '98 LC100, will I still have the weak ring and pinion or does ARB supply their own?

Regards

Samo

 

[stewbo]

Yeah I was pretty freaked when I heard that noise!

 

[Campfire]

Hear the sound of my front diff biting the dust!
http://www.youtube.com/w/?v=7efC9mXaWEE

Edit. I screwed up the url. It should work now.

Ah, that's not that bad! You should hear what they sound like when your trying to rock back and forth and your at 3000 RPM and it lets loose!

What is really the weak part of the front diff? If I install an ARB into my '98 LC100, will I still have the weak ring and pinion or does ARB supply their own?

The pinion gears or as some call them, spider gears are the weak link. These are what allow the axles to turn at different rates while turning. The 98 & 99's have a "two pinion" while in 2000 on up, they beefed it up to a "four pnion" design. If you notice the posts on this subject, most, if not all the diff explosions have hapened on the early 100's (except for Shotts, his extreme offroading has tested the 4 pinion). The ARB unit replaces the carrier which houses the spider gears, thus eliminating the concern for pinion gear, shaft, or side gear failure. The ARB does NOT come with a ring & pinion, that would be another $798 plus bearings, etc. If you buy a new replacement front diff assembly from Toyota, it is now the four pinion design. They figured out that the 2 pinions don't cut it.
The eyes below are the side gears that are splined to the axles, the nose is a peice of the pinion shaft that holds the pinion gears, and the mouth or teeth, are whats left of the pinion gears.

 

[stewbo]

This is my 1st 4x4 vehicle and I'm not much of a wrench. So blowing the diff I've read about, but never thought it would happen to me. So when i heard those sounds, i was like WTF!!


So Campfire, I've read your other posts on replacing your front diff.
Right now I'm kind of worried that if I get a four pinion it might fail again. I don't wheel my truck that hard so I'm wondering if the 4-pinion will suffice.
Have you wheeled your front diff as hard, if not harder than your 2 pinion setup?

 

[SamoL]

Well, I'll stay on 32" tires. We'll see, how long my front dif will work. I just hope it will not fail somewhere far away from home...
The only concern is, that repairing the failed diff might get much more expensive, than replacing it early with an ARB.
The other concern is of course reliability. A traveller from Slovenia had ARB installed just before his round Sahara trip. The rear diff housing was not sealed properly and begun to leak oil in Niger - and that's really far away from home (it was a Defender, but it doesn't really matter). When you change the parts that work properly you didn't really improved the reliability of the car.
I have a problem with oil leaking (just slightly) from my rear diff (where the prop shaft comes to the rear diff). I had it changed, but after 10000km it's back (not much, but it's getting greassy). Anyone having simmilar problems?

Regards

Samo

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

This is my 1st 4x4 vehicle and I'm not much of a wrench. So blowing the diff I've read about, but never thought it would happen to me. So when i heard those sounds, i was like WTF!!


So Campfire, I've read your other posts on replacing your front diff.
Right now I'm kind of worried that if I get a four pinion it might fail again. I don't wheel my truck that hard so I'm wondering if the 4-pinion will suffice.
Have you wheeled your front diff as hard, if not harder than your 2 pinion setup?

I'd not worry about the 4-pinion diff MUCH. I destroyed mine by user error. I slid down a long and loose hill I simply could not get back up even with TRAC. Now with dual lockers the 80 and 100 have to bulleted up the hill to make it.

I tried and tried to climb lifting and falling on wheels. It was a no go until some quaders showed my another way out through a wash! My first TRAC failure. Time for ARB!

 

[stewbo]

I was thinking if your front diff goes out far away from home , I was 150 miles away, and you had tools couldn't your disconnect the front driveshaft? I would think that would prevent more damage from happening.

I've read this New Gear Break-In by Randy Lyman
http://www.4x4now.com/gt0999.htm

Campfire, based on the above story, did you change your diff oil after running the new for 500 miles?

SamoL:
My rear diff looks good as far as oil is concerned.

Shotts:
Thanks for easying my concerns a little

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

Here's that hill where I busted my front 4-pinion diff. The videos just don't tell the story, though the second one does show what it took to get up this hill. It was dangerous. The first video shows the loose spot that high centered the 80. This is where I busted by trying over and over. Now, the 100 goes up but like this 80 I have to GUN the thing.

http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/photos/55637618-O.mpg



http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/photos/55637639-O.mpg

 

[Campfire]

This is my 1st 4x4 vehicle and I'm not much of a wrench. So blowing the diff I've read about, but never thought it would happen to me. So when i heard those sounds, i was like WTF!!


So Campfire, I've read your other posts on replacing your front diff.
Right now I'm kind of worried that if I get a four pinion it might fail again. I don't wheel my truck that hard so I'm wondering if the 4-pinion will suffice.
Have you wheeled your front diff as hard, if not harder than your 2 pinion setup?

I really haven't had a chance to go wheeling again, but I wont hesitate going down the same road just as soon as I get real tires. I'm going with 285/75-16's Terra Grapplers for the street and mild stuff, and then I'm scrounging up an extra set of rims to put MT's on for any "play" outings.

I filled up the diff and drove it, I've only put on about 1500 miles since then. I plan on changing the fluid after 3 or 5 thousnad miles just to see what it looks like. I read the story you linked, first it's written by a ring & pinion Guru who sees nothing but failed diffs all day long from EXTREME off roading and MONSTER tires on wanna be wheelers. I was a mechanic for 16 years and installed factory replacement diffs multiple times. Some were replaced from abuse, some were replaced for "noises" that customers did not wish to live with, but I never saw a diff come back burned up because it wasn't properly broken in. Do you see NASCAR, IRL, CART, F1, ALMS, SCCA, or NHRA "break in their diffs? Sure they do, at 200 MPH. Not to mention how new cars get broken in on test drives by most customers, if that was the case, dealers would stock diff assemblies for every model.

 

[SINCITY100]

I'm going with 285/75-16's Terra Grapplers for the street and mild stuff, and then I'm scrounging up an extra set of rims to put MT's on for any "play" outings.

Hey Jeff

Have you thought about what M/T tires you will buy?...

I am still deciding on the next set for my rig..I really want to go obnoxiously aggressive, but I havent decided on what brand/tread type yet..

Oh, and I agree with your "break in period" staement for a diff...I didnt know there was one !!

 

[Campfire]

Hey Jeff

Have you thought about what M/T tires you will buy?...

I am still deciding on the next set for my rig..I really want to go obnoxiously aggressive, but I havent decided on what brand/tread type yet..

Toyo Open Country Mud Terrains! The only problem is the price, and every tire dealer I talk to states that they'll order them but it will be a minimum of 90 days. One guy was honest enough to state "give me a hundred bucks to order them, and I'll call you in six months when they come in, like the last ones...)

 

[stewbo]

Well the dealership finally got approved to put the new diff in.
They default to the 4 pinion setup for broken diffs.
It took freaking 4 days for Mechanical Protection Plan (MPP) to get the ball rolling, really crappy customer service. I should have it back tomorrow or Sat.
I've been driving a corolla around, its a little different from the 100.

I told them go check out my CV boots for the leak on the passenger side. Maybe I can get a new CV out of this too