Hi guys...

I am trying to figure out what I want to do about a complete rear assembly swap on my truck.

First, I presently have a 7.5" housing with 2 pinions and open diff. In other words, the weakest assembly possible in my 1995 pickup.

I am in prep to install a 7mgte with an R154 transmission... which means I will grenade my rear end if I apply much power to it. To get around this I want to swap to a toyota 8" rear housing with 4 pinions and a LSD. Problem is, most of them are 6 lug pattern and I need to have 5 lugs. I am unsure if you can swap around axle shafts or parts between these housings.


So I am not sure what to do here... I am ok with cutting and welding to get things to fit correctly, but I have never shortened axles or anything along those lines.

Anyone ever seen this option?
http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/sus...-install-5308/

I also know where I can get a 7mge non turbo supra rear end. I could put correct mounts on it to bolt up to my truck, but I think the non turbo units were 7.5" open diffs also... so not an improvement.

I want reliable 250whp.

Opinions?

 

you might call the guys at total chaos to find out if you can swap 5 lug axles for 6 lug axles in a 8" diff.

they do long travel suspension desert racing stuff for both 2wd and 4wd.

ford diff swap looks good too, with discs, probably cheaper...

 

Can you adapt the front-end to 6-lug? Or if that's doable, does that limit your wheel options?

 

Yea, I already have some 5 lug 18x~7 black aluminum 10 spoke rims I am going to use. I traded an engine for them about 4 years ago... figure I might as well use them on my truck.

After doing some looking around, I think I agree that the ford rear end is the best way to go. they are available and you can get a nearly new one for $3-400. Found an older one that looks its age locally for $200.

I think the ford 8.8 is the smart choice.

 

As long as the Ford is easily installable (springs, driveshaft, etc), that seems like a really inexpensive solution. Personally, I'm more of a purity-person, yet $300-$400 seems like an inexpensive fix for a torque problem (yet that's a great torque problem to have).

 

Do you only want 5 lug because thats the rims you have? Because a toyota 8'' diff from a v6 rear end with chromo shafts is pretty strong....

 

Well, I am interested in the swap for a few reasons. In prep for my engine swap I want to get as many things done as I can without touching the engine currently in the truck. that would include a few gauges added, maybe some sport seats to replace my bench, walbro fuel pump, and possibly a rear end. That being said, yes, 5lug hubs are a must. It would be such a total waste of time, effort, and money trying to swap the front to 6 lug... KISS if you know what I mean. For $300 I could have a rear end that I'd not be able to break AND it would have rear disks... Not to mention my current rear end is around 3.6 in terms of gearing, and the ford rear is 3.7. In other words, For a while my speedo would be off, but not SUPER off. Price, availability, and similar ratio make the ford rear a good idea from my perspective.