Build Let's Baseline my new to me 1993 Land Cruiser

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If a person was ambitious (and maybe not very bright) they might build their own brake and make their own quarter panel mount.

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PNWTreeOctopus said:
People go out to eat? What is this crazy thing you speak of?!?
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All sorts of food and the “occasional homeless individual”. I took my wife there three years ago because she had never been. I got a nice room up on Queen Anne Hill. We walked across the park the first night finger on trigger. Rats dominate the landscape beneath the space needle under cover of darkness.
We toured three days without issue but I was seriously, and still am, alarmed by the number of boys trying to be girls. Can you relate?
 
baldilocks said:
All sorts of food and the “occasional homeless individual”. I took my wife there three years ago because she had never been. I got a nice room up on Queen Anne Hill. We walked across the park the first night finger on trigger. Rats dominate the landscape beneath the space needle under cover of darkness.
We toured three days without issue but I was seriously, and still am, alarmed by the number of boys trying to be girls. Can you relate?
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I lived in Seattle for several years while finishing my Master's degree at the UW. While I could care less who's trying to be who and what they think or do, I personally struggled with the tide of humanity flooding into the streets and offices of the city and their ebb out again. The endless streams of folks rushing around seeking work and pleasure was just too much frantic energy for me. Unlike the actual ocean tide there was not a predictable rhythm to the movement of people and over a couple of years my wife and I decide to GTFO of the city and moved to...a smaller city mostly to be near my ailing mother so my children could know her before she finished her life.

I've been to some cities with some rough folks in my wanderings: Nairobi, Puerto Maldonado, Glasgow, etc., and the feeling is the same. Finger on the trigger and eyes wide open. That vigilance is so palpable to me, yet my colleague and I had to go to San Fransico and Oakland this weekend to do some work and it was clear he was experiencing a completely different sensation than me while we were eating in the city. He had a relaxing time and I was on edge.

Earlier you said something about being a farm kids with no time for weak and useless implements. I'm not sure what my metaphor is these days, but I certainly am doing some soul searching to figure it out. Anymore all I long for is a bit of solitude and discomfort served up by a lonesome place. Those are the things that make me feel most alive and well, yet they are hard to come by when you're busy raising a family.

Anyhow this is what happens when I 'mud surf with whiskey. Ramble, ramble, Blah blah.
 
I heard back from Torfab, they said if I have loose thirds that I should contact Just Differentials, or NW differentials. I called NW differentials and was quoted $1200 for labor to do ARBs and gears. That was a higher number than I expected. I haven’t contacted Just differentials— it looks like they only do online sales and are not a driveline shop. I may seek out my local guy, rather than shooting all the way down to Monroe.

Whatever, I guess Torfab is too busy. I find this totally disappointing. Now I’m starting to consider buying a shop press and doing it myself. Is this a terrible idea—maybe. But $1200 in labor is no joke. And I would love to k ow how to set up my own diffs. Considering the only labor I’ve paid to date on this rig is $40, it’s hard to justify. But I don’t really have time to do this right now. I also don’t really want a big ass shop press living in my 1 car garage.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
I lived in Seattle for several years while finishing my Master's degree at the UW. While I could care less who's trying to be who and what they think or do, I personally struggled with the tide of humanity flooding into the streets and offices of the city and their ebb out again. The endless streams of folks rushing around seeking work and pleasure was just too much frantic energy for me. Unlike the actual ocean tide there was not a predictable rhythm to the movement of people and over a couple of years my wife and I decide to GTFO of the city and moved to...a smaller city mostly to be near my ailing mother so my children could know her before she finished her life.

I've been to some cities with some rough folks in my wanderings: Nairobi, Puerto Maldonado, Glasgow, etc., and the feeling is the same. Finger on the trigger and eyes wide open. That vigilance is so palpable to me, yet my colleague and I had to go to San Fransico and Oakland this weekend to do some work and it was clear he was experiencing a completely different sensation than me while we were eating in the city. He had a relaxing time and I was on edge.

Earlier you said something about being a farm kids with no time for weak and useless implements. I'm not sure what my metaphor is these days, but I certainly am doing some soul searching to figure it out. Anymore all I long for is a bit of solitude and discomfort served up by a lonesome place. Those are the things that make me feel most alive and well, yet they are hard to come by when you're busy raising a family.

Anyhow this is what happens when I 'mud surf with whiskey. Ramble, ramble, Blah blah.
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I share your sentiment.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
I heard back from Torfab, they said if I have loose thirds that I should contact Just Differentials, or NW differentials. I called NW differentials and was quoted $1200 for labor to do ARBs and gears. That was a higher number than I expected. I haven’t contacted Just differentials— it looks like they only do online sales and are not a driveline shop. I may seek out my local guy, rather than shooting all the way down to Monroe.

Whatever, I guess Torfab is too busy. I find this totally disappointing. Now I’m starting to consider buying a shop press and doing it myself. Is this a terrible idea—maybe. But $1200 in labor is no joke. And I would love to k ow how to set up my own diffs. Considering the only labor I’ve paid to date on this rig is $40, it’s hard to justify. But I don’t really have time to do this right now. I also don’t really want a big ass shop press living in my 1 car garage.
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1200 sounds fair if the axles are in the truck. But loose thirds are easy to setup.

2-3 hours each at most. 600-700 is what I'd expect to pay
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
I heard back from Torfab, they said if I have loose thirds that I should contact Just Differentials, or NW differentials. I called NW differentials and was quoted $1200 for labor to do ARBs and gears. That was a higher number than I expected. I haven’t contacted Just differentials— it looks like they only do online sales and are not a driveline shop. I may seek out my local guy, rather than shooting all the way down to Monroe.

Whatever, I guess Torfab is too busy. I find this totally disappointing. Now I’m starting to consider buying a shop press and doing it myself. Is this a terrible idea—maybe. But $1200 in labor is no joke. And I would love to k ow how to set up my own diffs. Considering the only labor I’ve paid to date on this rig is $40, it’s hard to justify. But I don’t really have time to do this right now. I also don’t really want a big ass shop press living in my 1 car garage.
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$1,200 is about going rate these days. Money well spent IMO.
 
Bludozer said:
$1,200 is about going rate these days. Money well spent IMO.
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10 hours shop labor to do gears in a third member on a bench?
 
Dusten said:
10 hours shop labor to do gears in a third member on a bench?
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This was my thought too. Seems a little high, but I don’t remember what @cruiseroutfit quoted as a ballpark for thirds (not including shipping).
Bludozer said:
$1,200 is about going rate these days. Money well spent IMO.
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I get that it’s money well spent, but what tricky is that I would really prefer a shop that has set up some 80 series thirds before, has some experience working with the ARB lockers. $1200 at Torfab feels very different than $1200 at a driveline shop that does hotrods and some jeeps. After all, I’m providing the parts so there is zero warranty here, other than “I promise it won’t come unbolted”.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
This was my thought too. Seems a little high, but I don’t remember what @cruiseroutfit quoted as a ballpark for thirds (not including shipping).

I get that it’s money well spent, but what tricky is that I would really prefer a shop that has set up some 80 series thirds before, has some experience working with the ARB lockers. $1200 at Torfab feels very different than $1200 at a driveline shop that does hotrods and some jeeps. After all, I’m providing the parts so there is zero warranty here, other than “I promise it won’t come unbolted”.
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When I say some 80s thirds I mean like more than two.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
This was my thought too. Seems a little high, but I don’t remember what @cruiseroutfit quoted as a ballpark for thirds (not including shipping).

I get that it’s money well spent, but what tricky is that I would really prefer a shop that has set up some 80 series thirds before, has some experience working with the ARB lockers. $1200 at Torfab feels very different than $1200 at a driveline shop that does hotrods and some jeeps. After all, I’m providing the parts so there is zero warranty here, other than “I promise it won’t come unbolted”.
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An 80 third is no different than any other third member. Gears are gears. A hot rod shop would be a good bet because they'll have done a ton of 9" third members.
 
Dusten said:
10 hours shop labor to do gears in a third member on a bench?
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Have you set up gears before?

PNWTreeOctopus said:
This was my thought too. Seems a little high, but I don’t remember what @cruiseroutfit quoted as a ballpark for thirds (not including shipping).

I get that it’s money well spent, but what tricky is that I would really prefer a shop that has set up some 80 series thirds before, has some experience working with the ARB lockers. $1200 at Torfab feels very different than $1200 at a driveline shop that does hotrods and some jeeps. After all, I’m providing the parts so there is zero warranty here, other than “I promise it won’t come unbolted”.
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Check with Zuk at gearinstalls.com. Toyota specialist and arguably one of the best, if not the best in the business. Last time I checked I believe he was a little lower than your quote, but in the same ballpark + gears/lockers/install kits/shipping/etc. and that was a few years ago.
 
Bludozer said:
Have you set up gears before?



Check with Zuk at gearinstalls.com. Toyota specialist and arguably one of the best, if not the best in the business. Last time I checked I believe he was about $1k + gears/lockers/install kits/shipping/etc. and that was a few years ago.
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Yes and a third member that's already pulled isn't a five hour job. It's a five hour job if it's a differential like a 12 bolt gm or if you're pulling the third yourself.

On a bench, it's a 3 hour job.
 
Honestly you have local options

Randy's off-road in Marysville
Randy's ring and pinion in Everett
Olympic in snohomish
 
Dusten said:
Yes and a third member that's already pulled isn't a five hour job. It's a five hour job if it's a differential like a 12 bolt gm or if you're pulling the third yourself.

On a bench, it's a 3 hour job.
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I'm not saying it's a 10-hour job, I'm saying the numbers in this thread are relatively in line with what I have personally seen from trusted experts. I'd consider it money well spent, you may not.
 
Bludozer said:
I'm not saying it's a 10-hour job, I'm saying the numbers in this thread are relatively in line with what I have personally seen from trusted experts. I'd consider it money well spent, you may not.
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I'm saying based on a shop rate of $125 an hour charging 1200 to setup gears is charging you ten hours labor

I don't mind spending money that's commiserate with the work being done.
 
Bludozer said:
Have you set up gears before?



Check with Zuk at gearinstalls.com. Toyota specialist and arguably one of the best, if not the best in the business. Last time I checked I believe he was a little lower than your quote, but in the same ballpark + gears/lockers/install kits/shipping/etc. and that was a few years ago.
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This is a great reference for costing this job. Sad to say Zuk has taken 2022 off “to go camping and fishing”. And he is no longer willing to do ARB lockers. He was my first choice.

Dusten said:
An 80 third is no different than any other third member. Gears are gears. A hot rod shop would be a good bet because they'll have done a ton of 9" third members.
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yes, and we all know that it can be difficult to find folks who do the best quality work. There are lots of folks who are happy to cut corners to save time and money. This is classic Caveat emptor territory. Thanks for the suggestions down in Skagit. I’ll try contacting those folks.

Still considering a gear installation self taught course. Might be a terrible idea, but I’ll learn a s*** ton. Maybe I should try and buy a set of empty thirds and set them up on my bench and still drive the rig….

I anticipate a flurry of opinions…which are always welcome.
 
Dusten said:
1200 sounds fair if the axles are in the truck. But loose thirds are easy to setup.

2-3 hours each at most. 600-700 is what I'd expect to pay
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$1200 labor??? A good diff guy will be done in 2 hours max especially if you drop off the thirds. You can do it yourself.
 
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