OneTrickToy

My third member is out of the rear diff. 7 broken teeth in all!!! Kind of amazing. 2 broken, then one good tooth, then 4 broken, 2 good, then one more broken.

Anyways, I was reading some of the tech writeups on Randy's Ring and Pinion website and it seems like there is a lot involved in replacing the ring gear. Lots of little adjustments, shimming, and other things. Is it all that hard to do? I'm trying to save money and learn by doing it myself... But I don't want to screw it up and ruin another ring gear.

BTW, I just bought some air tools for CHEAP at a pawnshop. $18 for an impact wrench, $12 for a cuttoff tool(wheel), and $12 for a 3/8 ratchet. I don't know what I did before.....

Yoda

It's not easy, esp if you don't a dial indicator, and some way to set the pinion gear depth.
If it is not set up correctly you will get noise, excess wear, and ruin the new ring and pinion. I would try to find the best deal on a used one at a wrecking yard. They are easy to change the whole thing. I called Randy's R&P and they had a used 3 rd member all set up and ready to install for only $475 when I was looking for one (it was for a 4 cylinder).

jjdeneen

if tou dont have the tools or knowledge to do it , DONT !

never done it or had it done but i hear it is best left to the professionals, very hard to do if you dont know what your doing

OneTrickToy

I'd only be changing the ring gear, so the pinion depth should change(I think). I'm not going to buy a new/used 3rd member, I've got a locker in mine. I've heard of people doing it themselves and just having the backlash adjusted by a professional. I guess I'll call my mech and ask what he suggests. I really want to get to the point where I can do everything myself.

flecker

If all your swaping out is the ring gear it's really not to hard. I would however replace the pinion too, due to wear and whatnot. If your pretty confident that the pinion is ok and the ring gear is the only defect then here's what to do:

1: remove third member
2: Remove both the carrier/ ring setup
3: remove ring gear from carrier
4: gently tap new ring in place with rubber mallet
5: reassemble bolts/ reinstall carrier setup back in third member
6: only hard part here is determining backlash
I believe between 6 and 10/ 1000's is within spec.

You would do better to have a dial gauge for that, or just head to the local shop and have him dial it for you. then reassemble the whole works.

Yoda

All the above

BUT:
If you heat the ring gear in boiling water, it will fit right onto the carrier (no tapping it into place)

You need to set the backlash, and the bearing preload on the carrier bearings.

ALSO NOTE!
When my son's diff blew up the ring gear, the nose of the diff (where the pinion goes) was full of little chips and shavings. They will destroy the bearings if they are not all cleaned out (if they are not already damaged anyway). Ring gears are not usually sold separately as they are a matched set.

flecker

Yeah, Yoda is right there.... one more thing, you may want to put a smudge of red grease on pinion and ring to test smear pattern just to be sure it's close. All in all getting the third member out is the hardest and don't forget to bleed the brakes when you get it all back together! Use all factory torque settings as well

OneTrickToy

Well, it looks like I HAVE to do it myself. A local shop wants $550 just to rebuild it, and Randy's R&P wants $500 to do it. Only $200 for parts and misc stuff. I guess I'll start disassemblying the 3rd member tonight. I'm sure I'll have more questions then!

Thanks!

flecker

Hey, if you get stuck anywhere... just post and i'll try to help as best I can. Ive done a few so I know the scenario. Sounds like Yoda knows his way around as well... Don't hesitate to ask for And good Luck, let us know how it goes!

4runner4ever

For your information (from someone who has set up dozens of toyota diffs): You CANNOT 'only' swap the ring gear. They are a matched set and cannot in any way be swapped, even if its the same ratio and model year.
Ask anybody with some experience in diff setups. I learned the hard way
12 miles and broken teeth again.
I messe dup two sets of R&P's from Reider racing before I really knew what I was doing. So my advice is not to try this yourself if you never did it or have the tools for it. It will only cost you money and you have to do the job twice.

4runner4ever

If that doesn't scare you, I have the Toyota manual somewere with a very good write up, if you are interested. I can scan and email it to ya......

gwhayduke

When I was a kid, Dad and I rebuilt the rear end in an old Pontiac. We had access to dial indicators, used template dye instead of white lead and a friend machined new adjustment castle nuts (old antique ones were cast and broke). Buttoned it all up and drove it....it HOWLED LIKE A BANSHEE!

Found an old Oldsmobile mechanic, he cut off the head of a chicken, recited an incantation or two, painted the teeth with white lead and made an adjustment or two. It was great after that. And he did it for free.

Trick Toy...do it yourself if you have to, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work well first time out. Even better, ask around and I'll bet some kind-hearted soul with experience will help you poor-boy it.

flecker

Um, 4runner4ever, way to boost confidence! You tried yourself the first time right??? If One Trick is confident he can do it. And maybe not go through (2) R&P setupsI say let him try . He already said he doesn't have the cash for major repair, wich is a state I have found myself in a time or two. No need to instill the fear of wrath in him! One trick like I said before you may want to trade both r&p out and get everything set up...then if your not confident or don't have the mic and dial gauge take it to a shop. The charge for that won't be anywhere near as severe as doing the whole job, put it all back together and have a big

4runner4ever

Yep. I also have to try everything myself. And sometimes destroy something in the process.
And I hate taking money to the stealer or any other shop for something I can most likely do myself.
Just make sure you do it carefully. If you'r not a complete moron and use you brain and common sense you'll most likely succeed.
Even I did.:pig:

O, and you will need some marking compound for reading the teeth contact pattern. Or a thick paint will do if you can't get any.

OneTrickToy

Sounds good. I've got mechanical sense... so if I see that something just doesn't seem right, I'll take it somewhere to have them look at it before I install it. I'm thinking that I might put it all together then take it to a mech. to have them set the micro adjustments. I know Schucks rents out specialty tools. So I'll probably just rent a dial for the backlash. And I've already read up on all the procedures for breaking in the ring gear.

Again, I don't want to swap for another 3rd member because I have a locker installed. I'll borrow the digital cam from work so I can post a few pics of my demolished ring gear. You guys will be utterly amazed.

gwhayduke

Since I've never broken a ring gear, it's kinda hard for me to imagine exactly what you did to do that kind of damage.

OneTrick:
Just sit right down and tell us a story
A story of a fateful trip.
That started from some tropic port....

flecker

Yeah??? What exactly were you doing when the ring broke??? Something Offroad I bet! Damned offroaders Hey seriously though... just take your time and let's get'er back on the road!!! And yes...pics...pics!!! By the way what kind of Locker is it????

OneTrickToy

Sorry guys.... I forgot the camera... I'll try and remember it tomorrow. As for the story.... there isn't one....

When My dad bought the truck from my cousin, the rearend would bang(VERY LOUDLY, but very rarely) on occasion when you leave a red light. When I bought it from my dad.... even less often. I went offroading with Gibby and a few other guys from his group. But the only thing that really happened(to the rearend anyways) was I lost the breather and sucked in a little mud. Got it home, saw what had happened and I cleaned it up big time. Drained it, flushed it, filled it back up with synthetic and put an extended breather on. Nothing wrong after that. Never banged, felt really good. Then one day(2 months after) I noticed a little bit of a whir or something, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Couple days later, a little bit of a clicking noise or something. Next day, BANG BANG BANG. Then I knew what it was.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

gwhayduke

Bummer. You get the bill and no juicy story.

OneTrickToy

Don't know what kind of locker. Second hand you know the drill.

Okay... need some help. I've taken the 4 bolts out that hold the bearings and the ring gear inside the third member.

1. How do I get the bearings out?
2. How do I pull the ring gear off? I pulled all the bolts off from the backside. There are several bolts(threaded side) sticking out from underneath the covers that came off with the bolts. But I can't figure out how to get it seperated. I put a screwdriver down inside the holes where the bolts were and tried to tap out the ring gear but it didn't work. Only questions I have right now...