Third member questions

[mall crawling heep]

What are the strength advantages to a V6 third member over a 4 cyl?

Do third members interchange between front and rear axles?

Sorry for the lame questions, but I'm new to this.

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

The bearings and maybe the actual ring and pinion are larger. Here's a write up of installing 4 cylinder gears into a V6 housing. There is a pic compairing the bearings in there.

http://www.gearinstalls.com/cus.htm

 

["N8"]

Only real difrence is that the 6 cyl. will come in 4:33 as oposed to the 4cyl that comes in 4:10 gear ratios.

 

[KLF]

Only real difrence is that the 6 cyl. will come in 4:33 as oposed to the 4cyl that comes in 4:10 gear ratios.

This isn't true. You can find both types in several ratios. Ex: the factory gears in my '92 4Runner were 4.56's. If you had a 2nd gen 4Runner with an auto and the larger tire package, then you got 4.88's in your diffs. Early pickups got 3.90's in their diffs. Mid-80's trucks with the 4-cyl and auto trannies got 4.30's. The V6 diff I just pulled out of the turbo parts truck has 4.10's in it.

Besides the bearings, the other difference is the 4 cyl diffs only have 2 spider gears in the carrier. V6/turbo diffs have 4 spiders. The cast housing is different too, the V6 one has extra stiffening ribs on it.

Good reading: http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/

 

[jhama78]

And to awswer your question, yes they fit front and rear in straight axle trucks...