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puulboy

puulboy

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Threads
84
Messages
721
After grenading my rear dif last weekend, this may have been the culprit hill, but it just started making a funny noise on the way home

I took wikid to Toyota.
I have 79000+ on the odometer but I have the extended 100,000 mile warranty. Unlike Toyota, after the warranty company saw all of my mods, they wanted it torn down before authorizing my repair. The feeling was, they would deny it. The rub is, the tear down cost was about 400 bones. then the new dif from Toyota would have been about 1800
So here's what I decided to do. I limped my truck back from the dealership, got on the phone with East Coast Gear Supply Drivetrain Specialists East Coast Gear Supply and ordered 2 built 3rd members front and back with 4,56 Nitro Gears. I think I will just do the install myself and try to do a little write up. For less than the cost of 1 dif from Toyota.
My thinking was, even if they warrantied it, I would still be stuck with factory weak 3.73 gears. I needed the upgrade with 35's anyway, so why not kill another birdie while I got greasy?
I couldn't swing the locker, it just wasn't in the cards, bank cards that is:crybaby:
Unless of course one of you fine forum friends could help a me out:grinpimp:
I should get the difs later next week, but I will begin the tear down now, to be ahead of the game
More to follow
 
Simple question, complicated answer.
1. I have never set up a dif
2. I have 20 days till overland expo
3. I figured if I want to learn trail repair skills, just pulling and installing 3rd members , front and back would give me good practice with cv joints and major trail fixes I could actually apply. I really didn't have the money for the whole install but saved some by getting the 3rds set up and doing the grunt work myself. Besides, I won't practice setting up gears on a truck I will be taking to Moab in 30 days. Plus east coast warranties their work and will send out s new one on their dime if it failed. They do have a great reputation and build lots of race stuff including several that ran at the hammers
thanks
don
 
Bummer, but you will probably be happy with the lower gear improvement?

Other than the original improperly heat treated gears, has there continued to be a problem with the later Toyota gears? I have always heard that stock Toyota gears are top quality, just not available in lower ratios.
 
There have always been issues with fj's 35's and gears. The nitro gears they are building my difs with are a thick cut and high quality. They are suppose to be stronger than stock. In the long run I am much better off wihh the forced decision, I just wish a locker could have been added now bs later. I am fortunate to be able to pull of getting this done before Moab
thanks
don
 
Nice video Yep you get some wheel lift on that hill.

So, with all the mechanical crap I have done in my life, I have never done a 3rd member replacement. Does anyone have a tech article or some direction in doing one? I found a tech article on the front on the east coast gear supply site. I'm not sure it's clear. but it probably is, once I start tearing into it
thanks
Don
 
flycast said:
Hey I played there on Sunday. Smashed my cat and killed an o2 sensor later in the day. I had never tried going down this so I figured I'd give it a schotts.

heres a vid

YouTube - FZJ80
Click to expand...
Shoot, I cam down that last month without lifting a wheel. Shotts even has a video of me on his Smug Mug page. John
 
puulboy said:
Nice video Yep you get some wheel lift on that hill.

So, with all the mechanical crap I have done in my life, I have never done a 3rd member replacement. Does anyone have a tech article or some direction in doing one? I found a tech article on the front on the east coast gear supply site. I'm not sure it's clear. but it probably is, once I start tearing into it
thanks
Don
Click to expand...

The rear is pretty easy, the front more fun. I haven't done a late model IFS, but they are more work than the rear. Here is Zuk's page on removing the rear third on his Taco. Yours will be close, except disk brakes, etc. One of the things to be careful with is sensors, ABS, etc, if not removed correctly can be broken, $$$.

gear install
 
Wow sorry to hear about the gears Don! I have been a little short on time recently, but if there is anything that I can do to help out let me know.
 
puulboy said:
Nice video Yep you get some wheel lift on that hill.

So, with all the mechanical **** I have done in my life, I have never done a 3rd member replacement. Does anyone have a tech article or some direction in doing one? I found a tech article on the front on the east coast gear supply site. I'm not sure it's clear. but it probably is, once I start tearing into it
thanks
Don
Click to expand...

1. Remove old third member
2. Install new third member

Done deal.
 
coolotisdog said:
1. Remove old third member
2. Install new third member

Done deal.
Click to expand...

Nice
From your direction it sounds like a 5 minute job. I did tear down the rear today and found the troubled spot
DSCN3224.jpg

DSCN3225.jpg

I may have the front torn down by the time the difs come, later this week
 
No wheel hop at all. It was a gradual break. It may have started on the middle line at red hill, but never noticed anything to give it away. that is really the only stress at all, from the day. Rose noticed a slight noise, when we came out of the canyon going faster. At first I didn't hear it . then it got a little louder, so I drove it steady and slower on the 60 . I even put it in 4 wheel, to keep the pressure off it. when I got it home I put it in reverse and hit the gas just a bit harder and I heard a small clunk, then I knew it was the dif. When we were on the 60 it almost sounded like a wheel bearing. I actually drove it the next Monday to Toyota, then drove it home when they said, it was 400 to tear it down. So it never really gave up all the way but it was close .
 
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