Replacing/servicing front diff on a 1999 (1 Viewer)

[digitalmarker]

Hey all,

The original front diff on my 99 grenaded about 4 years ago, and I was in a rush and had it replaced by a neighborhood shop. Ever since then I've had a whining noise coming from the front diff, especially audible when rolling to a stop or taking off from standing. Recently the noise has gotten a lot louder (to a point that even my wife noticed) so I expect the original front diff to give up the ghost again.

I recently picked up a used front diff from a non-wrecked 2001 land cruiser with approx 180k on it. This is the stronger front diff design with 4 spider gears and the same gearing ratio as the original diff.

I am planning to replace the axle seals and the pinion seal while I have it on the bench.

Is there any other maintenance/work I can do on the "new" diff before I put it in?

Also I have been struggling to find a definitive answer on the right part number for the axle seals. Can someone confirm that these are the correct ones:

Diff Oil Seal (Drivers side): 90311-47013
Diff Oil Seal (Pass Side): 90311-47027


Thanks in advance

 

[TheForger]

You will never have a better time to put a locker in

 

[digitalmarker]

You will never have a better time to put a locker in

Thought about it and thought about regearing. This is my daily family hauler, and I have an 80 for all the other “activities”. So if I have spare cash to spend on mods it almost always goes into the 80

 

[TheForger]

Thing about regearing is you’ll also have to tear into the rear end at the same time. Since you have an 80 that sounds more heavily modified, I’d say stick with just a locker for now and don’t run anything bigger than 33’s

 

[hoser]

A 180k differential certainly has some wear and the backlash could be out of spec. If you wanted to do the most you can... you would have a shop (or yourself) re-adjust the gear backlash (ring and pinion). But at that point, you could've just rebuilt your existing differential. If you do plan on re-adjusting the backlash, I would opt for a solid pinion spacer rather than the OE crush sleeve.

 

[flintknapper]

Hey all,

The original front diff on my 99 grenaded about 4 years ago, and I was in a rush and had it replaced by a neighborhood shop. Ever since then I've had a whining noise coming from the front diff, especially audible when rolling to a stop or taking off from standing. Recently the noise has gotten a lot louder (to a point that even my wife noticed) so I expect the original front diff to give up the ghost again.

I recently picked up a used front diff from a non-wrecked 2001 land cruiser with approx 180k on it. This is the stronger front diff design with 4 spider gears and the same gearing ratio as the original diff.

I am planning to replace the axle seals and the pinion seal while I have it on the bench.

Is there any other maintenance/work I can do on the "new" diff before I put it in?

Also I have been struggling to find a definitive answer on the right part number for the axle seals. Can someone confirm that these are the correct ones:

Diff Oil Seal (Drivers side): 90311-47013
Diff Oil Seal (Pass Side): 90311-47027


Thanks in advance

Seals are correct