Differential drop ?

[SHAKE35]

Well i have heard that with a 3" lift the front differential should be dropped. The stress and angles on the cv joints will cause extra wear . Is this mod neccessary on the fj to reach a full 3" in the front ?
Toytec offers with their ultimate 3" lift kit the front drop spacers 1" & bolts with the kit .

 

[1911]

99.8% of all the 3" lifts out there are running fine without the diff drop; the angles are not excessive. I guess if you're really going to crank up the front, say beyond what OME springs or the stock setting on ICON coilovers provide, then maybe you might want it.

 

[d0ubledown]

i ran one on my runner. its too cheap not to. at normal ride height..yes the angles arent too excessive. but off road where id be flexed, cranked and locked...was the main reason why i did it.

i was running adjustable coilovers and had them set for about 3" lift

 

[SkyKing]

For the money and ease of install, you should put the drop kit in.
You should not have any problem with a 3", but why wait to see.
And yes, you most likely will see it only off road.
Put it in and be happy. You will have ended a problem before it started. Chance is cool, if you have the time and money...

 

[tddfj]

i put it on my fj. easy to do mainly to so i wouldnt havt to worry about it.

 

[SHAKE35]

to drop the differential does the cross member have to be cut out

 

[knoll0351]

No drop and haven't had any problems yet, I like having what little clearance I have...

 

[Niner]

No drop and haven't had any problems yet, I like having what little clearance I have...

Why would you lose any clarance? the skid plates are the limiter here.

 

[knoll0351]

I'll have to lay under and take another look, but at the time I did my lift as I recall lowereing my diff would have forced me to lower my skid plate. Costing me ground clearance in my already too low front end.

Edit:
From the photo's I can see online it does confirm that the diff is the low point forward of the cross member, and as I recall I had issues with my first skid plate actually contacting my diff housing.

 

[Niner]

I'll have to lay under and take another look, but at the time I did my lift as I recall lowereing my diff would have forced me to lower my skid plate. Costing me ground clearance in my already too low front end.

Edit:
From the photo's I can see online it does confirm that the diff is the low point forward of the cross member, and as I recall I had issues with my first skid plate actually contacting my diff housing.

You still have more clearance overall than a solid axle front using the same tires.

 

[outinthewoods]

First of all not all "3" lifts" are created equally. Some are 2" some are 4" some are adjustable.

My understanding is that in general the angles are not extreme enough with the 3" lifts, to cause excessive wear to the CV joints.
Now, they will wear out eventually, and maybe a little sooner with a lift. How you drive off road will affect them more then anything.

That being said, why lift 3, just to lose one? Doesn't make sense to me. You can probably squeeze a larger tire in there and forget the lift altogether if you're that worried about it.

 

[knoll0351]

Along with that my local dealer informed me that 3" and 33's would not affect my warrenty. However if I lifted more than 3 and chose a larger tire that would affect my warrenty.

 

[outinthewoods]

Along with that my local dealer informed me that 3" and 33's would not affect my warrenty. However if I lifted more than 3 and chose a larger tire that would affect my warrenty.

Why would they be ok with some mods???

They have to be able to prove that the modification caused the failure. Another words, if you have a lift and bigger tires, and your AC compressor goes out, they can't blame your lift and not fix it under warranty.

 

[BoondockSaint03]

The dealer is going to play the game no matter what. If you had a 3" lift and 33's and your transfer case or tranny was messed up most dealers would blame it on the tires and try to make you pay for it. Then again if it was a cv axle they probably wouldnt blink. Something to think about.

 

[Niner]

The trail teams vehicles had a spacer lift, ARB, Warn, and 33's press the issue and drop the trail teams stats and your dealer should warrenty

 

[knoll0351]

Met the district rep today and was told that inner fender panel "rips" are not covered if you have any lift or bumper what so ever. And since I have both...SOL for me. I'll be following up with corperate, but still not holding my breath. Now none of that has anything to do with my dif, but thought I'd mention it while venting

 

[1911]

The dealer I bought mine from wouldn't replace my rear diff (under Toyota's own extended warranty) because I have 34" tires and an aftermarket transfer case.