skouba

I have an issue (I think), that would be great to hear a bit more about.
So I have a 1986 4runner, the previous owner installed a locking diff in the rear, I believe it is an Aussie. At first it freaked me out, cause I didn't know how it should be behaving. Anyways, I'm used to the clicking and the issues with sharp turns of pavement. However there is one thing. I have the diff out right now cause I am doing some work on it, and it seems like there is a lot of play within the locker mechanism itself. Is this normal? If I stick one axle shaft in and rotate it I can feel a pretty definite amount of play before it catches. Anyways, just wondering if this is normal behavior, or something I should worry about.

Thanks,
Shane

DaveMu

Originally posted in the newbie tech section, but not response there, so:

Hello all. I'm fairly new to the off road world, although we've had an FJ in the family for 10 years and I used to wrench on hot rods. Thanks for the newbie section and the stickies.

I just got a '93 SR5. It is completely stock still. Decoding the VIN tells me it is a 4 pinion 8" V6 carrier with 4.56 gears. The pumpkin has four external "struts" on it. It still has the factory 31" tire size and a 5MT (0.84) overdrive ratio. This is more of a daily driver than a backcountry rig for me, at least for now and the high rpms on the highway are wearing on me. It feels like the engine is screaming to drive 70 mph. Having a low speed transfer case, I'm not worried about having enough gear when going off road. So I'm thinking about a new gear set for the rear to get the engine speed down on the highway. It appears that the tallest gear I can install without changing the diff. is a 4.10.

So I figured while I'm having surgery done on the rear diff, why not have a LSD installed at the same time, improve off road chops and let me have a slightly taller gear. My understanding is that these trucks did not get limited slip from the factory until much later into the Tacoma years. Using the Diff Wizard app, I found a 3.73 gear set and a LSD from Yukon (see screen shot below). Would this swap work for me? Do I need replacement axles or are the stock axles 30 spline? What other questions do I need to ask?

Two diffs and gear set from Yukon


Thanks for your help! Dave