Going to California, after the front differential is fixed

[Potbelly]

Greetings,

Per my previous post, I just picked up a Year-2000 100 with 98k on it and the front differential blew in about 150 miles. Man, does it suck to have a new-used LC in good condition waiting around to get fixed.

This is likely to be the vehicle that my son & I will take take to California this summer (from Ohio) after he graduates from high school. (Epic Journey kind of thing).

After long hours of research & discussion, I think I'm NOT going to put a locker in it. I've owned an 80 for about 5 years & really don't do anything to warrant the locker, and there's just something about all the complexity of adding air lines, air tank, switch, etc. I know it's not a huge deal as it's been done thousands of times before, but I'm fooling myself if I think I'm going to need a front locker. Want one? Sure! Need one? No way.

I'm discussing with the mechanic what to replace the ring & pinion with - it's looking like the one from Slee. Can I get some input on that? We were going to go with stock Toyota parts, but I don't see the logic in that unless they've been improved.

Also a good time to baseline in while it's up on the rack. A couple of the guys from my post said "It's good to see you have a good attitude about it." Lol - I really was disappointed, but what am I going to do?

So hopefully you'll hear from me from time to time; we are only in the formative stages of planning the trip, and it's not a certainty that we will take the 100, but it's fun planning & talking about it.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

 

[yeti in ga]

You could always put the ARB locker in it for an upgrade but don't finish the complete install (ie air and switches). This way you have added strength that is needed up front above stock.

 

[Potbelly]

You could always put the ARB locker in it for an upgrade but don't finish the complete install (ie air and switches). This way you have added strength that is needed up front above stock.

Ok - help me understand this; I'm a rookie with this stuff. How would installing the ARB locker make it stronger if it's not being used? From the reading I've done, I thought the locker made it "stronger" only when engaged?

I'm reading threads, etc, but I still don't get it. We're pretty sure (pending teardown) that the ring & pinion grenaded. Can I replace the ring & pinion with factory toyota parts, yet still add the ARB?

Please explain; many thanks.

 

[Rot Box]

The gears, housing and overall construction of an ARB are much stronger than the components of the average open carrier. Many people (not just the 100 series crowd) add them for strength alone without planning to use the locker feature.

Do you need more strength than the factory components offer? From the sounds of it probably not. If you think you might add larger tires and run difficult trails someday.. now might be the best time to do the upgrade. Hope this helps and congrats on the purchase once that's squared away I think you'll really enjoy your 100

 

[Potbelly]

The gears, housing and overall construction of an ARB are much stronger than the components of the average open carrier. Many people (not just the 100 series crowd) add them for strength alone without planning to use the locker feature.

Do you need more strength than the factory components offer? From the sounds of it probably not. If you think you might add larger tires and run difficult trails someday.. now might be the best time to do the upgrade. Hope this helps and congrats on the purchase once that's squared away I think you'll really enjoy your 100

Okay, I think I'm getting it. I initially understood (i think incorrectly) that I have to replace the differential anyway AND THE LOCKER UNIT IS SEPARATE. That's wrong isn't it? By putting in the ARB, it IS replacing the differential WHILE ADDING LOCKING CAPABILITY. Do I now understand correctly?

Apologies for my thick-headedness. I'm actually a reasonably intelligent guy, but obviously know NOTHING about gears, differentials, etc. lol. And for SURE, if the ARB is even moderately close to the cost of a factory replacement, I'm all in. Please keep the comments coming. Thanks.

 

[Rot Box]

By putting in the ARB, it IS replacing the differential WHILE ADDING LOCKING CAPABILITY. Do I now understand correctly?

Yep you're on the right track. The ARB replaces the carrier which is inside of the differential. In your case you have an 'open carrier'. The ARB is also an open carrier however with the flip of a switch it will become a locked carrier which is where the term selectable locker and locking differential comes from. The advantages to having a locking differential off-road are many but that's a whole other story..

I think an aftermarket ring and pinion, install kit and ARB would likely be less money than OEM but who knows.. Remember no matter what you choose the components are only as good as the installer. If the mechanic isn't comfortable with differentials it would be worth the effort to send it to someone who is. Best of luck,

Andrew

 

[artwerks]

Greetings,

Per my previous post, I just picked up a Year-2000 100 with 98k on it and the front differential blew ...

I'm discussing with the mechanic what to replace the ring & pinion with - it's looking like the one from Slee. Can I get some input on that?
...

Potbelly,

I'm guessing that it's the ring and pinion that broke, not the central spider gears. If the former, then all you have to do is replace it with the "Slee" gears. These "Slee" gears, by the way, are Nitro gears and, yes, they are stronger than stock ,or so I've been told.

The ring and pinion is what broke on my 2003 doing some pretty heavy off-roading and, although the spider gears were not my weak point (2003 has the 4-pinion spider gears), I went with an ARB locker in addition to the Nitro gears since I do a lot of off-roading; both of which Slee installed for me.

Note: the ARB locker spider gears are stronger gears than OEM, locked or unlocked.

Basically, you can get away with just doing the ring and pinion and have stronger ring and pinion gears, but the next time you're doing something similar to what broke them in the first place, maybe your pinion will go in stead...

The bottom line is what you plan on doing with the truck. And don't do what you did last time with stock gears, or be much more cautious.

Aj

 

[artwerks]

I think an aftermarket ring and pinion, install kit and ARB would likely be less money than OEM but who knows..

This is true for the ring and pinion, if I remember correctly. I think half price.
I have a work order from Slee somewhere...

Install Kit - TOY-KIT009 - $302.52
ARB Air Locker - ARB1056 - $996.00
Ring and Pinion 4.10 29-spline Gear set - GEAR-LC410 - $250.00

It looks like my install kit was OEM Toyota. The work order doesn't say, but the Ring and Pinion were Nitro.


Aj

 

[mcgaskins]

How did you manage to break your diff so quick after you bought it? What makes you think that same breakage wouldn't occur again in the future?

 

[Potbelly]

How did you manage to break your diff so quick after you bought it? What makes you think that same breakage wouldn't occur again in the future?

I did nothing but drive it home after I bought it. All told we drove about 100 or 150 miles in it. It was not off the pavement at all. I had taken it for a test drive about a month prior. Drove it about 15 miles, went in a parking lot, tested the transfer case and differential lock engagement. Inspection underneath showed nothing unusual. Drove it back to the dealer and made him an offer. They countered with an offer $2600 above my offer, so we left. Several weeks later, we were able to get it for $1600 less than what the dealer was at previously, so we bought it. I have to chalk it up to bad luck, but I can't help but wonder if the previous owner knew that something was wrong. But how would you know? There were no unusual noises, leaks, or smells.

As for your second question, maybe I don't understand the question, but my answer is "nothing." What makes you think that I think that it won't break down in the future?

 

[mcgaskins]

I did nothing but drive it home after I bought it. All told we drove about 100 or 150 miles in it. It was not off the pavement at all. I had taken it for a test drive about a month prior. Drove it about 15 miles, went in a parking lot, tested the transfer case and differential lock engagement. Inspection underneath showed nothing unusual. Drove it back to the dealer and made him an offer. They countered with an offer $2600 above my offer, so we left. Several weeks later, we were able to get it for $1600 less than what the dealer was at previously, so we bought it. I have to chalk it up to bad luck, but I can't help but wonder if the previous owner knew that something was wrong. But how would you know? There were no unusual noises, leaks, or smells.

As for your second question, maybe I don't understand the question, but my answer is "nothing." What makes you think that I think that it won't break down in the future?

It seems very odd since most breakages I've heard about have been in tough off road situations or at least on road with ice or slippery roads where the vehicle slips and gains traction quickly. My question was more if it happened once and can't easily be explained why I would be leery to fix it with the same type of parts that already failed previously. The extra cost of adding an ARB seems like a lot now (and it is) but consider having to make the repair again down the road because you didn't put in an ARB. I would feel a lot more comfortable skipping the ARB if you said something like "well we decided to jump the car and see how much air we could get and overshot the landing by 10 feet, but after I fix it we won't be doing that again!". As it stands now there is no specific cause which personally would frighten me more.

 

[LX101North]

That's sucks about your LC man. I feel your pain. I haven't had any problems with the diff(yet), but when I bought my LX in October it ran like a champ the day I bought it. It still does. The engine sounds great and it shifts smooth, but it was a little disheartening to wake up on the very next day after purchase to turn the key and for just a "click". Ahhhh....starter contacts...$40.00 in parts. A little time and it was good.....for two weeks. Then it was a whine and a coolant leak simultaneously. Days of research led me to think that the entire problem was the water pump. Well, it does have 116,000 miles. Someone probably didn't want to have to deal with the 90k. So I purchased the 90k kit. Time to learn how to replace a timing belt. Job done. I surprised the hell out of myself. The car started and sounded good. No leak. No whine....until the whine comes back 2 days later. Remove drive belt. Tensioner pulley sounds like crap and I knew that when doing TB job, but had my heart set on that WP. Took care of that. No whine....for a day. Whine comes back. The night before last, I decided to take the drive belt off completely and start the LX just to make sure it was even a component spinning on the belt that is driving me nuts and is getting progressively worse. It is. I put the belt back on and whipped out the stethoscope(longest screwdriver I own). From what I can tell, (praying to infant baby Jesus I'm right this time) the increasingly noisy whine is coming from my power steering pump. Tried to flush to no avail, so I ordered a repair kit today. I dissected the pump last night. Nothing looked unordinary. The only thing that seems wrong, and I'm not even sure if it is wrong,is that the pulley shaft had some back and forth play to it. So, we shall see.
I have not been able to take my rig off road but one day for about 5 minutes on the beach. Hell, I haven't even been able to enjoy driving it period...I'm just super paranoid waiting for the next thing to pop up. Alright, enough of that. Good luck man! Go with the upgraded gears! When I actually have money to spend on the rig that I'm not forced to spend, that's going to be one of my first mods.