just thought i would update... i finally had a chance to take my truck to a shop for the rear pinion just because i was afraid to work on that with my very limited experience. they said the pole thing that turns (my term im not sure what its called)and plugs into the rear axle is loose and im looking at about 700 to fix it and they cant do the work i guess because the are a honda shop (my girlfriend sent me there because she is friends with owner) has anyone had any experience with this? as i was leaving one of the guys in the shop said i should just find a new rear end because that would be cheaper. i guess im just looking for some advice could that thing just need to come off and tightened up? i don't want to spend to much only because i want to put a new engine next month... the pull a part place by me has a 1988 sr5 4runner that might have a rear end if i need it. thanks

 

They are probably referring to the pinion gear being loose. If that is the case, it has most likely already caused irreversible damage and the ring and pinion gears should be replaced. To maintain a stock gear ratio, your cheapest bet would be replacing the entire third member with a used one. Be sure that the new third member has the same gears as the one that you are replacing. There are a few links below that will help you to determine the gear ratio. Good luck!

http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html
http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_TechInfo.shtml

 

What '87 said. A whole third member off an old truck can be had for like $100. No, it's not rebuilt, but hey - these are old vehicles!! Sounds like that is just what you need to call around for, bud! You can get that in on a weekend. There are a lot of posts about that....

I got an entire rear axle ass'y, with 3rd member that had a locker in it, for $150. My friend took the locker, and I got the housing and axles to replace my rotting housing. Put it in in a day.
That would have been a VERY big repair ($$$), but we did it at home for CHEEP!!!!

I wouldn't dream of going with a price anywhere CLOSE to $700. Just my 2 cents....

 

ok so i don't need a whole real axle? i found a guy that said he would sell me the rear axle for 300 and put it on for 100 = 400 bucks. i have tried to search for a third member but haven't had any luck finding one. i called a place in town and he said he could get me an axle for 800! then 300 to put it on. i think because i don't know crap about this stuff im going to get screwed. believe it or not i want to learn this but i learn by watching and helping. i really appreciate everyone's help on this.

 

most the stuff being talked about is completely doable by someone with some experience. My suggestion would be to stay on this board and try to find people in your area to tag along with. Get in with someone working on a project truck that doesn't mind some questions and extra hands. Your right about getting the shaft from shops that can tell you don't really know much about your vehicle. Spend a few days on here reading and searching, Most of the guys and gals here are very helpful in their own way!

 

It looks like my gear ratio is 4.30 based on the sticker on my firewall G282 I found one that is 4.10 is there a way to make this work by switching gears with my old one to to the used one? Also again if if anyone is in the Memphis area I will let you borrow my girlfriend for you to teach me some stuff

 

Dude!

You simply need to either pull your third member and have the oil pinion seal replaced (it costs $6 at NAPA), or get a used or rebuilt third member and pop it in. Like 12 nuts to remove, and some new gear oil. RTV sealant, too. Could do the oil seals on the outboard ends of the axle while you're in there, too. There are posts on how to do this on this board, as well as one I made (a really nice tech writeup one guy did, that helped me tons!).

Now - some might shoot me for saying this - $400 and you have someone who will do it for you? You might just be better off paying him, if you think this is out of your league. I understand - there is a learning curve, for sure! I'm on here asking dumb questions, too. I had an experienced friend to help me put mine in. Now, I would do the whole thing in a day, including taking the old one out! But that first one - man, it can be hard.

NEVER EVER please don't EVER use that dude quoting you $800! What's he want to get, something right from Toyota? Up here in the rust belt, we use OLD parts and put new SEALS on them if needed. Sounds like you best hook up with the $400 guy, as long as he knows what he's doing.

This job means: draining the gear oil, safely putting the rear of the truck in the air, removing one end of driveshaft, taking off 4 frozen nuts holding your axles in place, sliding them out CAREFULLY (don't ruin the splines on the end!), taking off the 12 or whatever nuts holding the 3rd member in, and removing it. Then putting in the 'new' third member with RTV for a seal, sliding axles back in, and re-bolting them. Re attach driveshaft, lower vehicle, re-fill with new gear oil. Make sure all is tight and not leaking. Drive away.

Not hard, but you could have trouble (round off a nut on the axle removal part, or have frozen nuts on the 3rd member studs, etc). You'll want to soak those nuts with PB for days before! And have a cutting tool like a Dremel available (you'll have extra studs with the new 3rd member, I hope).

One question I have for any guru reading this: if you put in a new 3rd, how do you know which 'way' to put the drive shaft back on, since it's balanced??? With new oil pinion seal, at least you got to match-mark during removal.... I'm more inclined to suggest the OP get that seal done rather than change the whole thing!!

 

Pics...

just kidding man! No, the internals are what your really looking for at this point, for the fact that the internals of the thrid member (axle to you) are loose and possibly have chipped or broken teeth. So what you need is a differential with 4:30 gears so your front and rear match. Now with that being said, you could buy the internals of the third member (called a ring and pinion) new from a company like trail gear, yukon ect but your still going to have to have help setting them up. There are specs that have to be taken into account when doing this.

This is why there were suggestions to find a third member or whole axle with matching gears, then it is just a sway instead of a new set up internally.

If you go the route of new internals, consider setting up both front and rear with new matching internals (again ring and pinion). This will benifit you if you ever go to bigger tires say a 33" or 35" or bigger.

 

What ORRunner said. If you want to make a nice, lifted rig, go that route, esp if running them big tires. Then you do want the 'right' gear ratio! If you are running 31" or smaller tires, then a stock 3rd would be ok (and a whole lot cheaper).

If you want to just have it fixed, change to a used third member (provided it has the right gear ratio) and inspect the splines on your axles when you (or a friend, or a shop) pull them out. If you have the whole rear ass'y, you'll have new (used) axles and backers, etc. right there to use.

If you want to 'trick it out', go with ORRunner (and others') suggestions....

It's the old "$400 vs. over $1,000+" question!

And make sure your breathers are clear on the front diff, too, before THAT one blows! When I unclogged mine, it went "PFFFFFT!!!!!!", so I know I was close. The pressure that builds up in them blows out your oil seals if the breaters ain't open....just crack the 'test' plug to see if pressure comes out. If so, you need to unscrew bleeder at top and clean it up.

 

Just an update I have been searching for a rear end, axle, third member and whatever else I can find to fix this problem and it has been a nightmare to say the least.
Mostly because I'm a idiot when it comes to this stuff and Even though I have read every single suggestion you guys have offered its still very complicated to me. I decided today I will take it to one more shop and see if they can tell me exactly what the problem is and guess what... They said its the pinion seal. Why would 3 other shops try and rip me off! I don't even know what to think anymore the guy at this shop said he used a stethoscope and didn't hear anything and he didn't find any play in the drive shaft. So I guess time will tell. I did find about 12 83-95 yota trucks/4runners at the u pull it places i can get parts on so I guess it's time to move to the power steering leak.

 

Also the repair cost 200 bucks which seemed a little high to me but the fact that they didn't try to get 800 or more out of me is worth it I suppose.

 

Mike, yeah my breather vents made that same noise when I cleaned them. That guy that was going to do the work for 400 never called me again after I brought up how his part would make my front and rear ratio different. Looks like that ended up being a good thing.

 

one of the leaks in the front turns out to be the oil pump if anyone was wondering. this is probably something i can fix i reckon.

 

Check out the FSM, see if it's something you want to dive into...I'm doing my water pump soon (weeping a bit around the gasket)...so, while I'm in there, I may as well tackle the timing chain!

Not sure if you want to do more than just the oil pump, but keep in mind, maybe you should think about doing what I'm doing while the radiator is out and the truck is down....just sayin'....but there's nothing wrong with just fixing stuff that's bad and seeing what happens!

 

yeah I am going to give it a shot. I'm pretty sure what i thought was a bad battery is a timing issue so power steering will have to wait. thanks mike

 

Good deal....plan it out, though - looks like it's not 'impossible' or anything, but a rather large repair if you haven't dug around in there much!

And if you're going that far in, you might consider doing the timing chain & water pump at the same time.

Step 1 is like "remove oil pan...." Lots of tearing apart there.

 

well the battery was bad but the starting issue was.... the starter which i am extremely proud to say i replaced myself woot woot! the timing chain, oil pump, and water pump however i was not able to tackle myself but i did have replaced. i wanted to do those myself but i think that might have been something i needed help with. im pretty sure the only leak i have left is the power steering leak. I started replacing hoses today and i will finish tomorrow hopefully and see if that helps. thanks guys for all of your feed back

 

Congrats! Sounds like its coming along. Nothing wrong with working up to the bigger jobs.

 

thank you my daughter helped me it was a lot of fun.

 

Good deal, MP! Yeah, sometimes it's worth it to pay, and get the thing back on the road! Done wrong, you can destroy your engine, so....
A friend is going to help me with my WP/TC in the spring (certified Toyota tech!) - no shame there!
You can spend the time you'd have wasted fixing up other things