terrybo3

Hey guys...I searched on this, but didn't find anything that looks like it could be what my truck is doing.

At 50 MPH +, it sounds like there's a motorcycle following me! Kind of a buzzing noise coming from the rear axle. I don't see any oil coming out of the back of the wheels, and I just changed out the gear oil because it had some water in it from the beach. I put synthetic gear oil in it. Now, I'm hearing synthetic isn't so good. The axle gets hot enough it's not easy to touch.

Also, do you guys know if the 2nd gen 4Runners had a limited slip rear axle, or an open diff? If limited slip, are there clutches in there? Does the gear oil have to be a specific kind?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

2nd gen runners only came with open rear difs...

how much water was in there? im willing to bet that you toasted the pinion bearings and the pinion gear is rubbing on the carrier...

only way to know for sure is to drop the dif which takes about 2-3 hours (including reinstall).

shoot ZUK (gearinstalls@gmail.com) an email... he can sort you out...

toy89yota

i second the pinion bearing theory, mine did the same thing after i swamped her in the river.

terrybo3

Cool. Thanks, guys! Another question...I heard something about being able to put the gears out of a '98 taco (with the factory e-locker) in my truck. Will it fit?

InternetRoadkill

Does anyone know if the pinion gear can cause noise when coasting at highway speeds? I'm thinking that when I set my diff up that I didn't put enough preload on the pinion bearings. It sounds like running knobby tires on rough pavement.

terrybo3

Update: Noise has started to go away. Very strange...but, I'm not gonna argue with it!

anthony1

iTrader: (1)

Yes you can with a little modification to the diff housing. Make sure the gear match the front or you have to swap the ring and pinion from your old diff.