Hey all,
I'm looking to get some opinions on what I should do here... I have a fairly new-to-me 2003 LX470 with around 250k on the clock. I know I have a damaged pinion gear in the rear differential and I suspect a similar situation in the front differential. When I changed the fluid, it was pretty gross and there were large slivers of metal on the drain magnets for both front and rear (interestingly the transfer case was fine). I can see the damage to the rear gear with my borescope camera, but couldn't get a good look at the front. My camera just wouldn't cooperate on that one for whatever reason. Also, I'm getting a high pitched whine at highway speeds and some clunking, particularly shifting from R to D that I've narrowed down to the differentials with high confidence.
So I've pretty much resigned to rebuilding or replacing both differentials. My question then becomes: OEM or upgrade?
I don't plan on doing any serious offroading. It's currently at stock ride hight with the AHC suspension and stock tire size with no plans to change. However, I live in a rural part of the northeast so it's not uncommon for me to drive on snowy, icy, poorly maintained seasonal/dirt roads. I've also, on multiple occasions, helped neighbors out of the ditch/mud with my last truck (06 Tundra 4x4 with factory LSD front and rear). I wouldn't be opposed to taking this opportunity to upgrade to an LSD or locker so I'm better prepared and able to help this winter, though I'm not sure it's necessary. I mainly intend to use it for road trips with the family and some light towing. It'll certainly see many more miles, but not necessarily stressful miles. Time is also a factor for me, so I was considering ordering OEM part numbers: 41110-60801 and 41110-60871. That's a good chunk of change (none of the options I'm seeing are cheap) but it looks like I could easily swap those loaded assemblies into the truck on a Saturday afternoon as opposed to having to do the whole diff setup manually (checking clearances/preload, etc.) which would probably take me a few days, especially since I don't have a lot of experience. I want make sure I do things right the first time, so I'll spend the extra time if I need to, but personally I'd rather spend it doing other things.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and recommendations.
I'm looking to get some opinions on what I should do here... I have a fairly new-to-me 2003 LX470 with around 250k on the clock. I know I have a damaged pinion gear in the rear differential and I suspect a similar situation in the front differential. When I changed the fluid, it was pretty gross and there were large slivers of metal on the drain magnets for both front and rear (interestingly the transfer case was fine). I can see the damage to the rear gear with my borescope camera, but couldn't get a good look at the front. My camera just wouldn't cooperate on that one for whatever reason. Also, I'm getting a high pitched whine at highway speeds and some clunking, particularly shifting from R to D that I've narrowed down to the differentials with high confidence.
So I've pretty much resigned to rebuilding or replacing both differentials. My question then becomes: OEM or upgrade?
I don't plan on doing any serious offroading. It's currently at stock ride hight with the AHC suspension and stock tire size with no plans to change. However, I live in a rural part of the northeast so it's not uncommon for me to drive on snowy, icy, poorly maintained seasonal/dirt roads. I've also, on multiple occasions, helped neighbors out of the ditch/mud with my last truck (06 Tundra 4x4 with factory LSD front and rear). I wouldn't be opposed to taking this opportunity to upgrade to an LSD or locker so I'm better prepared and able to help this winter, though I'm not sure it's necessary. I mainly intend to use it for road trips with the family and some light towing. It'll certainly see many more miles, but not necessarily stressful miles. Time is also a factor for me, so I was considering ordering OEM part numbers: 41110-60801 and 41110-60871. That's a good chunk of change (none of the options I'm seeing are cheap) but it looks like I could easily swap those loaded assemblies into the truck on a Saturday afternoon as opposed to having to do the whole diff setup manually (checking clearances/preload, etc.) which would probably take me a few days, especially since I don't have a lot of experience. I want make sure I do things right the first time, so I'll spend the extra time if I need to, but personally I'd rather spend it doing other things.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and recommendations.