I just added 2 bottles of 75-90 to my rear, and now it's spitting all over the muffer out of that flange where connects to the drive-shaft. Who knows how long that seal has been busted, or the gearbox has run dry. Assuming after 160k miles, the rear probably is going to need some repairs. I could do each axel, bearing, and one thing at a time every other day. Or just go buy a whole new rear at junkyard or anywhere, and rebuilding in the comfy metal shop on the bench at my leisure.

Looking at the list of stuff and cost for all the parts, it's a lot more then just lunch money (I think upwards of $400-$500 in bearings, seals + cost of whole junk rear). And if I was going to rebuild whole rear diff & axels entirely, I'd like to have one of those switch-on-demand locker systems. Is that possible in the stock Toyota rear? What else could I consider to make the stock rear more durable, easier to maintain / repair, upgrades/modifications?

 

it's not making any noise, no issues? i would replace the pinion seal, and run it, while you figure something else out... it should be sort of similar to replacing that rear trans seal that you did.

did you drain whatever fluid was left? that would tell you how much was in there... you could drain it all now, and inspect for metal particles.

for a rebuild, you could go with the usual chromoly axle shafts, for one thing.

i run an old-skool detroit locker, but it's not very well behaved on the street, marlin crawler has some auto-lock alternatives that might be more driveable.

 

I was planning to go with an air-actuated locker, that can be toggled on and off. I was concerned about the oil, which could probably be fixed with the seal. I think the rear outer bearings need to be replaced.

 

I'm with OSV, fix the seal and run it for a while to see if there really are any other problems. If it doesn't make any noises, it's probably OK for a while. 160K miles is certainly nowhere near enough to wear it out if it's been lubricated properly and no water has gotten in. Those things can run twice that long with very little maintenance.

There are two choices for switchable lockers. One is an air operated ARB locker, for about $1500 in parts by the time you buy the locker and compressor, plus labor to put it in. The other choice is finding an elocker from a 3rd gen and modifying your axle housing to accept it. You'll also have to figure out the control electrics. Last time I looked elockers were going for $400 or so, but you might also need to regear it.

 

Rjr: thanks for the information, that's what I was looking for. If I can just scout out for the Toyota e-locker, in the meantime it will work for me. As far as electronics go, I imagine it's a motor with a sensor that I'll probably end up hacking since I don't want to troubleshoot wires in an engine computer.

 

There are some articles on the internet on retrofitting the elocker, including how to do the wiring. Check the "Toyota Tech" section of 4x4wire.com

 

It seems really complicated, I don't really know too much about all the different types of rears and how to know what it can be pulled from or what to look for at a junkyard. This project might be too much for me.

 

Make sure you vent is not plugged. Change the seal and run it....

 

You have numerous "selectable locker" options

Yukon air locker........air.............. an imitation
arb..........air............... popular
tjm.........air.............. not as well advertised but a darn good air locker
harrop........electric............... going to be the number one ELECTRIC locker in the future. (associated with Eaton Corp. ....the aussie guys improved the overall design)


https://youtu.be/x40WGUtdaLI?t=10m31s

 

anything you pull from the boneyard is more than likely gonna need to be inspected well, a pro like Zuk could refresh it for you

 

X2 regarding Zuk's skills .

If you would like to avoid some of the rehab/mod effort and cost, we have a Harrop Eaton elocker that will drop in.

 

Ok. The Harrop Eaton elocker sounds like a good choice. I don't know what anyone would want to charge to inspect, rebuilt, + ship back and fourth for a junkyard pulled locker - but I'm sure that's probably around the same range after I added up the numbers.

 

I recently I had this seal problem too. The problem was the baffle under the breather, it was caked and clogged, plus my flange was scored pretty bad. Put in a new flange and seal from low range offroad, cleaned out the housing, and its working great now. The service manual says to replace the pinion crush sleeve. I didnt and just re torqued it to 100lbs using the original nut. Seems fine.

 

Uggh. I was hoping to cut back at work substantially too. Seeing how "they" take nearly half . . .
I've been a fan of Terrain Tamer for a while. Glad to see you're a vendor.