Red Wagon

My ADD has been broken and today I went to eliminate it. I opened the fill cap then went to drain it and a bit of gear fell out and the diff lube sparkled with lots of fine metal particles.

I looked on the internet and it looks like one of the teeth has broken off. What should I do?

My buddy says it looks like a tooth off the ring which I agree with.

According to my VIN I have 4:30 gearing and I'm on 33's.

When I bought it I had to have the rear gears replaced with some used ones. I'm guessing my tyre size is causing some stress. Any ideas?

Is there a way of knowing if it's my ring or pinion without pulling it apart or would it be wise to replace both and take the opportunity to regear?


What should I do now?

Please be clear in your advice because I'm new at doing my own work and 4x4's in general.


Thanks.

Red Wagon

Bump for advice. No idea where to start and I don't have the cash for a mechanic so I need to figure this out and repair it myself.


Thanks again.

dntsdad

Pull the front cover off the diff and have a look at the gears. Assuming it broken, you would be better off finding a complete diff with the gears already installed and swapping that out I would think.

Your tires are not causing your gears to fail. Thousands of trucks out there with 33" tire including my own. I have 4.56 in mine but there are lot with 4.11 and the sort.

My guess would be someone changed the gears and didn't set them up properly if the rear blew and now the front grenaded.

Red Wagon

If I took this time to regear what exactly do I need to get. Finding a front diff up here near the arctic is not easy or cheap. Getting new gears looked to be the same cost to me replacing front and back over finding stock Toyota parts.

I don't even have the option of going to the wrecker for at least four months to look at the one 2nd Gen 4Runner I know is there. It's all buried under snow and ice and it's -25C today and getting colder.

Not to mention with all the gearing options these trucks came with it might not even match.

Red Wagon

bump for a question


What are good reliable gears to get? At most I will only go up to 35's and I do not want it ruined for highway travel as this is my DD and I plan on using it to roadtrip around North America if I keep it. Even if I do sell it I still need gears and the knowledge will be useful for my next 4Runner.

I'm not sure where to start. I'm assuming that what regearing is is to get different ratio drive pinion and ring gear. Is it both pinion and ring that gets replaced or just the drive pinion? I see all kinds of other parts like washers and seals in the diagram. Do they also get replaced? I figure also that while I'm in the rear diff I'll get a mechanical locker while I'm at it. Are they easy to instal and what would you all recommend?

I've got my Haynes manual in front of me trying to figure you how this works. The diagrams seem to be for a solid axle and not IFS. Actually the Haynes manual seems a bit lacking...... Are there better out there?

dntsdad, when you say someone didn't set my gear up properly can you give me an idea of what can go wrong? I'd like to troubleshoot the cause of my issue so I don't flush money down the toilet having this issue come up again and again.

Sorry to be a pain everyone I went to go ask at pirate4x4 but after using the search feature and seeing the responses to people seeking help I didn't even create an account.

OrRunner

iTrader: (1)

as far as gears, search "gears or ring and pinion" in the search bar to read plenty of reviews.

Trail gear, yukon seem to be the most common, search and find out why.

when you buy gears your getting just the ring and pinion gear. So you will need an install kit for each diff. and that will include, grease, bearings, marker paint and a few other small things.

To get a better understanding of what your getting into check out zuk's site:

http://www.gearinstalls.com/

OrRunner

iTrader: (1)

The gears need a certain "mesh patter" that is measured in thousandths of and inch, so they are pretty percise to get them to mesh and not shave of metal from the ring and pinion. I would assume the mesh pattern from your old ones were off just enough, that over time, they chipped away at the teeth until one tooth finally let loose, thats like setting of a grenade in your diff.

BMcEL

^ This. Gear setups are not for the faint of heart.

Red Wagon

This is starting to look like an expensive problem.....

Thanks for that link, I'll be reading through it. Perhaps I can do the removal of my diffs on my own and take them into a shop to be regeared.

Red Wagon

This is starting to look like an expensive problem.....

Thanks for that link, I'll be reading through it. Perhaps I can do the removal of my diffs on my own and take them into a shop to be regeared.

Not great news.


Thanks guys.

Maybe another option is what I got in the first replay. Maybe I can find s hop that will ship me regeared diffs and I can install those myself?

scuba

ECGS can send you built diffs.

But, sometimes gear oil can have some fine metal and the gears will be just fine. Before doing anything, you need to pull the front diff cover and make sure of the exact problem.

Red Wagon

I have a half inch long piece of ring tooth that fell out of the drain plug. It doesn't curve like the pinion so that's what I assume.

I'll go pull it this weekend though to be sure and I might as well inspect the rear too.

Is there a way that I can visually inspect and tell what gear ratio I have without pulling them completely out? I'm wondering if when the shop redid the rear diff they installed the wrong once and that's what screwed the front.


ECGS is East Coast Gear Supply? Obviously it's not Electrocardiogram like I found in google for the first page.


You guys have been great though so thanks very much. Perhaps after I dig through gear supply I might find that the safest cheapest option.


One common thing in my searches have been parts for 7.5 or 8.0 like this example.

http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-132...-56-thick.html


Just trying to narrow down what parts I'll need so I get it right the first go.


My truck is a 92 4Runner SR5 3.0 V6


Edit///

http://www.gearinstalls.com/

This link is simply amazing! I've just learnt loads from just this. Mostly I learnt that I'm in over my head a bit.

Before I send this guy an email does he do regular paid work?

peow130

I'll add this
You have 4.30 gears, you cant buy a R/P set for that gear ratio.
You'll need to regear both front and rear. I'd pull the cover and inspect whats wrong before i dropped that kind of cash.

Red Wagon

I planned on regearing anyway, just not so soon. I am on 33's now so it really should have been done by the last owner who threw on big tyres.

I certainly will be taking your advice though. I want to make sure of the cause before I go spending the kind of money this is going to cost.

Red Wagon

http://www.4wheelparts.com/AxleBuilder.aspx


Still looking for an answer to this.

I don't know for sure what axle size or spline count I have. Recommendations on brands would also be great so I can start researching cost and where I can get the best deal.

The gears themselves, if I do an SAS at a later date will these gears fit in a new axle?

scuba

You have 7.5" front ring gear and 8" rear ring gear. As for testing ratio, google "testing axle ratio spin test."

And yes, zuk does still setup diffs. You'll probably have to wait in line because he is one of the best when it comes to Toyota gear installers.
Ecgs is great also and you can't beat their 5 year warranty on setup.
Seriously, call ecgs, tell them what vehicle you have, what ratio you want, and tell them you want solid pinion spacers, they'll have your new built differentials to you in about a week.

Red Wagon

Thanks for that reply.

I think I saw solid pinion spacers on a website before. Not sure what they are though.

I contacted Zuk and have been trading emails. He has been very helpful with great advice. He also recommended ecgs and I'm waiting on a quote from them. I'll ask them to throw solid spacers in for the quote.

Cheers buddy.