I hate 8" differentials

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1911

1911

chupacabra
10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Threads
56
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8,206
Location
Parker County, Texas
... in early FJC's anyway. Too small of a diff for too powerful of an engine and too heavy of a truck.

Blew my second rear ring and pinion set. At least the second set (early Nitro 4.56 FWIW) lasted 90-100,000 miles, about 4X as long as the stock Toyota 3.73 gears. Pictures at 11:00.
 
I'm certain you're well aware of all of this info, but for the sake of conversation.

What's your plan?

Don't know what the housing would cost, nor if the investment would prove worthy, but seems the 8.2" has performed better than even the newer 8" rears and Just Differentials now offers gear options for.

Seems more effort and money than what it's worth, but app other OE components could remain. Based on pics posted in blue from bazross, the AUS housing " appears" to be more Prado-ish and a little beefier, but can only imagine the expense.

Considered this route early on, an effort to remain Toyota true, but wasn't economically viable, since there wasn't a salvage source for the rear axle housings at the time.

Seemed a better option to go with an aftermarket housing and a 9.5" full floater with custom axles. Appease the Toyota deities (joking) and retain speed sensors and brake bracketry, but still expensive.

Lose clearance, but a stouter housing, so may not matter that it'd be a rock magnet.

Anyhow, lengthy post to subscribe.
 
Mtbcoach said:
Sorry to hear that Lee, hope no other collateral damage when it went. It will be nice to see the wear pattern on those Nitros, with that kind of miles on them, it will give great feedback to others considering them...
Click to expand...

Thanks Jerry. I'll post photos when I get the 3rd member out; I've got a lot of work to do this week so I can't remove it all at once.


Delancy said:
I'm certain you're well aware of all of this info, but for the sake of conversation.

What's your plan?

Don't know what the housing would cost, nor if the investment would prove worthy, but seems the 8.2" has performed better than even the newer 8" rears and Just Differentials now offers gear options for.

Seems more effort and money than what it's worth, but app other OE components could remain. Based on pics posted in blue from bazross, the AUS housing " appears" to be more Prado-ish and a little beefier, but can only imagine the expense.

Considered this route early on, an effort to remain Toyota true, but wasn't economically viable, since there wasn't a salvage source for the rear axle housings at the time.

Seemed a better option to go with an aftermarket housing and a 9.5" full floater with custom axles. Appease the Toyota deities (joking) and retain speed sensors and brake bracketry, but still expensive.

Lose clearance, but a stouter housing, so may not matter that it'd be a rock magnet.

Anyhow, lengthy post to subscribe.
Click to expand...

Chris, I almost went with a Rock Jock axle the first time it went (and Toyota declined to repair it on warranty). At this point with 140,000 miles on the truck, $665 for a rebuilt 3rd from ECGS just makes more economic sense than the $2300 for the Rock Jock plus another $900 for an ARB locker.

To tell the truth, I hadn't even considered swapping in the later 8.25" diff; I suppose if I could find a late wrecked FJC in a salvage yard that might be a decent option, but I've already ordered and paid for the ECGS rebuilt 3rd so it's moot at this point. Thanks for the ideas though.
 
Lee, jog my memory...stock drive train, except for 4.56 gears? Or do I remember ARB up front too? That's a tough pill.

[Hi-jack on] Misery loves company.[/hi-jack off]
 
For $665 a pop, can swap several times before coming close to housing swap cost.

I've been fortunate to not experience any (2008 )rear axle issues, short of rock carnage from wheeling Braille, but have made up for in front axle issues (potentially due to LT)

Question I have:

Have yours been in reverse?

Hopping?

Do you think the e locker has anything to do with the failure?
 
OK, I got the 3rd out this afternoon. Jerry, I can take more/better photos of the ring gear later if you want, but the short story is, it's the pinion that went this time. Photo looking down into the 3rd:

IMG_1074_zps25219651.jpg


About 1/3 of the teeth are gone. Here are the biggest pieces that were sitting in the bottom of the housing:

IMG_1075_zps1b97eefc.jpg


The ring gear is OK, except where it has been grooved/notched by trying to mesh with the broken pinion.



BMThiker said:
Lee, jog my memory...stock drive train, except for 4.56 gears? Or do I remember ARB up front too? That's a tough pill.

[Hi-jack on] Misery loves company.[/hi-jack off]
Click to expand...

Rick, I'm running an Inchworm "Lefty" 4.7:1 transfer case and an ARB locker up front too. That gearing on the transfer case does generate a lot of torque in low range.

Sorry to see your steering going again!


Delancy said:
For $665 a pop, can swap several times before coming close to housing swap cost.

I've been fortunate to not experience any (2008 )rear axle issues, short of rock carnage from wheeling Braille, but have made up for in front axle issues (potentially due to LT)

Question I have:

Have yours been in reverse?

Hopping?

Do you think the e locker has anything to do with the failure?
Click to expand...

When I blew the stock gears the first time, I was hopping the rear end with it locked, trying get up Wipeout Hill on the Seven Mile Rim trail in Moab. But here is the deal this time - I loaned my truck to some friends when their (cheby) truck broke down and they needed transportation, so I don't know what happened. What I suspect is, their 18-year-old son who drove it back to their farm probably tried to go wheeling on their farm, and didn't know what he was doing and probably tried to use the skinny pedal to get out of whatever situation he was in. When it broke bad enough to have to be put on a trailer, he was on the highway. He's not admitting anything, so who knows? It could have been weakened already and it's time just came when they had the truck. I'm not bent out of shape over it in any event, just one of those things.
 
So was the rear again or the front? Glad to hear it'll only be down for a little bit but that really sucks that we don't have very good luck with loaning people cars.
 
I agree with Chris. The newer 8.2" seem to be a little more stout. Aside from the truss kit welded onto the Aussie version, I cant see spending that kinda coin for basically the same tubes and diff. I had Baz price it out and it was close to 4000 from AU.
 
84pickup said:
So was the rear again or the front?
Click to expand...

The rear again.


84pickup said:
Glad to hear it'll only be down for a little bit
Click to expand...

Just waiting on the rebuilt 3rd to show up from East Coast Gear Supply, and it will be up and running that day. But I need to be back out on the next horizontal well within the next week to ten days, and I may not have the new gears broken in by then. I'm not going to be driving 80 mph on I-20 in west Texas without having them thoroughly broken in. If they aren't broken in by then, I'll just drive the 40 (again).


84pickup said:
but that really sucks that we don't have very good luck with loaning people cars.
Click to expand...

LOL, that's exactly what your mom said too!
 
Dang!!! Sorry to hear that you blew a second one!! I blew mine just a few weeks ago and ended up replacing the whole 3rd member
 
I have the rebuilt 4.56:1 3rd from ECGS sitting on the shop floor, just need to find time to put it in now. I am pretty happy with ECGS so far; eight days from from placing the order on their web site to having it in hand. Free shipping both ways - they give you a pre-paid label to return your core. They leave the last round of dye on so you can see the mating pattern on the gears, and it looks good.
 
Just got done replacing R&P in my 2008 last week. Switched to 4.88 from Nitro Gear in May 2010. Lost ring gear (2 teeth broken) four months later. Put in third member from ECGS and that only lasted 32,000 miles before again loosing two teeth. Hoping ECGS will stand behind their product. First install was by a Jeep shop, 'nuff said. Second was by a good Toyota dealer but they did not do the setup. The tech at Safari LTD says shims were in the wrong locations. This latest rebuild better last! It's not my driving. I drive like an old man cause I am one.

Ace
 
Well the ECGS rebuilt 3rd is in and everything is all buttoned up again with no problems at all. Drove it for the first heating/cooling cycle already; 12 miles up and down a few gentle hills around local farms at less than 30 mph. Halfway through the diff was barely warm, by the end of the 12 miles back at home it was about normally warm but not hot at all. It's nice and smooth and quiet too.
 
1911 said:
Well the ECGS rebuilt 3rd is in and everything is all buttoned up again with no problems at all. Drove it for the first heating/cooling cycle already; 12 miles up and down a few gentle hills around local farms at less than 30 mph. Halfway through the diff was barely warm, by the end of the 12 miles back at home it was about normally warm but not hot at all. It's nice and smooth and quiet too.
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Good to hear Lee, I've had good success with their work, Chase builds most of the 3rd's around here and in our local club. I doubt you'll let the culprit drive it again...:beer:
 
Must be that time of year, I lost a few pinion teeth in february, slight clicking was the only symptom. I did some heavy snow wheeling with all 4 locked and pedal on the floor braking trail. A week or so later my son noticed the clicking but I have no clue what he was doing or how he was driving, I thought that only losing a rear shock nut and having it drop out on whoops was getting off to easy since my last two trips to Lake Pilsbury Lemony road home on a flatbed from AAA.
ECGS did the regear 5 years and 40k miles ago when toyota wouldn't warrenty the original. ECGS fixed it for the price of shipping, I never expected that, I so I had ECGS regear my spare 3rd to 4.56 so I could just swap them next time I break it.

HUGE ENDORSEMENT for
1. East Coast Gear Supply
2. AAA Premiere
They were both money well spent and I would recomend them to everyone.


BUT Freeman Toyota service department in Santa Rosa is the hands down WORST I have ever dealt with period and would not trust them wash the windows on my rig, and this is the result of multiple interations with them starting the first day I bought my FJ while it was being prepped for delivery.
 
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