Diif Drop for 200

[cruiser100]

I've run through a few really old threads regarding diff drops for the 200; is this as much of an issue with a 2.5" lift on a 200 as it was on the 100? Is anyone still making the kits?

Thanks.

 

[linuxgod]

Under 2" the general consensus from manufacturers and those wheeling is that you don't need it. If you're running a 3"+ lift then it is a good idea.

I've actually pondered if a DD is good for wheeling. I'm not a mechanical engineer, just a techie who enjoys this stuff as a hobby, so my analysis here might be wrong (and if so I'd love to understand why), but here goes... The CVs are designed to follow a particular arc. When you lift an IFS, the arc stays the same but you just change the "starting" point - i.e. if you normally have 12" of travel and when parked a stock vehicle is sitting mid-way at +/-6" and you add a 2" lift you still have 12" of travel but now you have 8" of uptravel but only 4" of downtravel. If you add a 1" DD, there's a risk that on full compression your suspension uptravel is only 8" but your "CV uptravel" is now 9". If that's outside the Toyota design spec, you could break your CV.

If you want to run a DD I have an unused one I'd be happy to sell you. I bought one of these last fall but never had a chance to install it. It's been about 10k miles and my CVs look fine, so at this point I'm not going to mess with it. The diff bolts are grade 8.8 hardware so it looks like a solid kit. $60 including shipping (they're going for $68 on ebay right now shipping from China).

Diff Drop Kit 4WD For Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series Suit 2 " - 5" Inch Lift Kit 790996122342 | eBay

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I've run through a few really old threads regarding diff drops for the 200; is this as much of an issue with a 2.5" lift on a 200 as it was on the 100? Is anyone still making the kits?

Thanks.

No, the front diff of the 200 sits much lower than the 100 did. It’s the same situation that the 1st Gen Tacoma/3rd Gen 4Runners had with very high mounted front diffs. Then Toyota also lowered those models with the next generations. The whole IFS design theory changed at Toyota.

The problem is, holdover ideas from yesterday are hard to die.

I am running at roughly 3.3” of front lift (24mm of preload on BP-51s) and there is no vibration. I went to a local industrial drivetrain shop who ran the CVs on a balancer, at that angle. Their super fancy computers also confirmed it’s good to go. I did try 28mm of preload, but, I crossed the limit. Very slight vibration was occurring. (This is with ARB winch bar, Warn 9.5 XP, and an old synthetic line)

And honestly, at that much lift, KDSS starts to not have a lot of down travel left for when your bouncing the front end up a hill climb. So I just don’t feel a front diff drop has any place on a KDSS 200. Especially with the loss of ground clearance when dropping. The front diff is already the lowest point between the front lower control arms. So lowering it will just give another point to hand up on.

Also, when you turn your tires to full lock... do your CV bolts tear? Because that’s around 50°. Factory CV boots are incredibly tough, and the boot angles are not anywhere close to some much harsher angle I’ve ran on other, much cheaper and older Toyotas.

I’m keeping my front end height where it is, just to know what will happen. I’m at 25,000 miles with this height, no wear to be seen. But who know, only one way to find out right?

 

[cruiser100]

No, the front diff of the 200 sits much lower than the 100 did. It’s the same situation that the 1st Gen Tacoma/3rd Gen 4Runners had with very high mounted front diffs. Then Toyota also lowered those models with the next generations. The whole IFS design theory changed at Toyota.

The problem is, holdover ideas from yesterday are hard to die.

I am running at roughly 3.3” of front lift (24mm of preload on BP-51s) and there is no vibration. I went to a local industrial drivetrain shop who ran the CVs on a balancer. Their super fancy computers also confirmed it’s good to go. I did try 28mm of preload, but, I crossed the limit. Very slight vibration was occurring. (This is with ARB winch bar, Warn 9.5 XP, and an old synthetic line)

And honestly, at that much lift, KDSS starts to not have a lot of down travel left for when your bouncing the front end up a hill climb. So I just don’t feel a front diff drop has any place on a KDSS 200. Especially with the loss of ground clearance when dropping. The front diff is already the lowest point between the front lower control arms. So lowering it will just give another point to hand up on.

Also, when you turn your tires to full lock... do your CV bolts tear? Because that’s around 50°. Factory CV boots are incredibly tough, and the boot angles are not anywhere close to some much harsher angle I’ve ran on other, much cheaper and older Toyotas.

I’m keeping my front end height where it is, just to know what will happen. I’m at 25,000 miles with this height, so wear to be seen. But who know, only one way to find out right?

Thank you, this helps a lot. Time to LIFT!!!