Front TT Break-in?

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bkgee

bkgee

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Threads
24
Messages
567
Location
Reno, NV
Hey all: I recently installed front and rear TrueTracs in my 4runner, with new gears. The front TT is not exactly "transparent" as I originally was lead to believe. Its not like driving a locked front end, but not exactly open either - it takes a little more muscle to steer than I thought it would.

So, I wonder if it will get a little more "transparent" after the gears/LSD get broken in... and since I only get about 5% of my driving off-road (its a daily driver too), I also wonder if I could break everything in faster by simply removing the rear drive line, and using the front around town for a couple hundred miles.

Another option if I don't want to muscle the steering during this process, I wonder, might be to use the front drive line only, but only lock one hub at a time. What do you think? Too much stress on the birfs? Thanks for any input. bk
 
WristPin said:
The best way to break in a front diff, is put it in the rear.
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Wristy,

You don't really think that do you? I'm not an expert by any means but they do run on the coast side in the front so wouldn't you want to break them in with the stress on the same side of the gears as they will be running on?

I wouldn't worry about the front. Just put it in 4WD when you're off road and don't worry too much about it...unless you're travelling 100 miles at 60+ mph off-road in one go.

Surely the tru-trac doesn't affect the steering when it's in 2WD with the hubs unlocked does it?
 
with hubs unlocked there is no steering effect. yeah, i've decided to just start piling the snow and trail miles on it, and see whether the steering effect eventually reduces. its actually not too dramatic, just a little more effort.

i also decided my final resolution will be a twin stick for the t-case, so i can access the low range without FWD. the rear TT provides a hell of a grab on even terrain by itself, so the twin stick will allow me to access the low gearing and the front traction independently. :idea:

BTW, WDE, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am bktaco on that "other" yota forum ;) thanks for directing me to this one!
 
Point of info: Unless they've changed, you can't swap a True-trac from front to rear, they have to spin in one direction only. At least that was what I was told, and that is why there are front and rear models, not just one.
 
More points of info: the old part numbers for 85 4Runner application are 913A318 (front) and 913A348 (rear). The current part numbers are 913A609 (front) and 913A611 (rear). From my coms with Eaton, the newer models are constructed with steel body casings (versus what, i don't know), and have a three pinion internal versus a two pinion internal.

Also regarding front versus rear, the following link on rebuilding one into the other gives the best idea why they are separate applications, has to do with the direction of spin of helical pinion gears Flipping Truetrac Gears
 
bkgee said:
BTW, WDE, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am bktaco on that "other" yota forum ;) thanks for directing me to this one!
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Yes, I did notice that a couple of days ago but you seemed to be getting plenty of advice on the other forum. Why didn't you just use the same moniker here?
 
WDE: selling the Tacoma, so no more taco in bktaco - bkgee is the tag i use on all my other usual stomps. btw, i'd like to know more about your marlin tie rod/drag link setup with regards to installation. i guess i can jack my own thread? specifically, how involved is the alignment? getting to the point i need to replace at least one drag link, but my alignment is perfect right now, so not too eager to jump in there...
 
I really like the Marlin Tie-Rod and the FZJ80 tie-rod ends. Budbuilt also makes a nice tie-rod but I went with Marlin because I was placing another order with them.

If you take the old ends and tie-rod off without jacking up the front end (or moving the front tires) then you can put the new one on without messing too much with the alignment. To be honest, though, I would take it in for an alignment after installation. Tires are too expensive to mess around with.

I would paint the tie-rod before installation and I would also suggest you use never-sieze on the tie-rod end threads when you screw them into the tie-rod. I think you can get the tie-rod powder coated from Budbuilt but not from Marlin (IIRC).

Many on here will tell you to skip the expense of upgrading your tie-rod and go straight to high-steer. I think about it occasionally but I'm pretty happy with this set-up.
 
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