Hi guys, i'm new to the forums and I am very familiar with the search tool which didn't help me much. I own a 2002 4Runner SE and one day I went 4wheelin in Frank Raines park here in CA. So I was going up this steep rough hill and I kinda leaned alil too much on the skinny pedal. It climbed but then I hurd a "thonk". I backed off the gas, reveresed down the hill, and checked for anything odd. Nothing, everything was intact. So 1hr later, i decide im finished and as I pull out onto the black stuff, I drive about a mile then 4 jolts comming from the left front CV Axle and the truck is trying to pull to the left....im like WTF? Now I thought about calling a tow truck to tow this baby home, but do to me owning a NEXTEL| no signal. So I drove it home being careful on sharp turns and I parked it in my garage. I ordered CV axles and I get replys saying by the 28th in 4 days, u no, all that trash. So I called a friend of mine who owns Jiro Tires and auto repair, and I told him i needed a cv axle before Dec 3. He gets the wrong part, then he requests another axle. Dec 3, we got the axle installed by 9am. I drive away from the shop heading to Hollister Hills to meet up with Bulldog from Toyota120.com to have some fun. I barely elapse a block, and next thing i now, shudder, and a huge clunk. The truck pulls towards the left. I turn around punching the gas defeating the crappy TRAC, VSC burning my Coopers. I get there, he gets the truck back on the lift and checks for damages. We came to a conclusion that the front differential is bad.

How? Well we put the truck on the rack and lifted the front tires. The truck is in 2wd, so as we were rotating the left front tire, it moves freely, then it suddenly stops, and we force it to turn and the drive shaft suddenly rotates too. We rotated the right tire and the driveshaft doesn't rotate. No from my understanding, the front driveshaft shouldn't rotate if the transfer case is in Nuetral.

Something about ADD was mentioned, so now i'm thinking maybe my 02 4Runner has ADD??? I don't know, but help is very appreciated, and I just hope something minor is the problem. Monday is when I start searching for a front differential.

Open to suggestions, and if somebody has a front differential for a 02 4Runner, i'll make an offer.

 

Your truck does have ADD I believe. Stands for Automatically Disconnecting Differential iirc. Dont know too much aboot it though.

Try posting in Tech

 

I have an 01 4Runner, and it has ADD, should be the same in an 02. The left front axle is permantly connected to the diff, the right is disconnected in 2wd. I know rotating the left front wheel will rotate the diff, which coud make the front drive shaft turn. As for all the noise and pulling, I don't know.

 

The truck has ADD.
Rotating the left axle should not rotate the driveshaft. It should only turn the spider gears. Sometimes the shaft will turned do to the characteristics of the oil moving other parts. But a person should easily be able to turn the left tire and hold the shaft to prevent it from turning w/ very little effort. If there is clanking, I would definitely open up the diff.

 

Install the AndyMod® and turn that crap off at will. No need to beat on the truck then...


Andreas

 

I'm not worried about the TRAC and VSC, I just yank the relays. I'm worried about the differential. I think i'm screwed and im going to have to buy another diff. I do alot of hard offin for a stock truck, my skidplates and front bumper have scars... so how does this ADD work?

I raised the 4runner on the rack and disconnected the front driveshaft to try to prevent any damages to the transfer case. As from the front area, when I drove it home from the shop, I broke my left CV axle, but i aint worried about that cuz its under warranty, i'm worried because I think I just grinded the gears in the differential or something. Lemme tell you, it didn't sound pretty....

 

i grenaded the front diff in my 02 4runner once. :pat: it happened while climbing a steep, loose dirt hill. heard a big ol nasty clunk. drove it home, and for the next few days till i could get it fixed, i'd every so often hear a nasty grinding noise when backing up. the spider gears and carrier were toast.

 

OT. Sorry.

I read somewhere that the front diff of the 4th gen is 8". Can it be retrofitted into a third gen?

Thanks.

 

Same here. I found a differential for 300bux. I was just wonereing, is the front differential gear ratio of the 02 4R Sport Edition a 4.10?

 

If your truck is still under warranty, take it back to the dealer and tell them what's wrong. I did that for my rear diff a few years ago (pre-regear and locker) and they replaced the entire diff with a new one. Check on that before you go around dumping your own money on a used diff.

 

LOL, I purchased the truck brand new 0 miles and its no longer under warranty. It's just a tad bit over. It currently has 200,000 proud miles of trouble free motoring, up untill my skinny pedal rage offroad lol.

 

Roy, start a separate thread for your question.

Bob

 

Sorry...the "under warranty" comment led me to believe you had some left.

 

lol, nope, it expired and i never had a chance to use it. Well last nite I ripped off the skid plates and I sat under the truck starring at it. I noticed an actuator on the passenger side of the diff. Then I thought...this is ADD? So I lifed the truck from the middle and spun the left tire. It would spin about 300degrees and stop. I spun it in reverese, it would spin about 20degs and bounce forward....eww, something is jammed in the diff. So I spun the right tire and it moves freely. I then had a friend put the ignition in the ON position and engage 4wd. I heared the actuator. I tried to spin the right tire, it did exactly what the left tire did. So now that I figured out what ADD is, is it possible to use a pumpkin off a tacoma or other year 4runner and hook the add onto that? Cuz as I see it, the pumpkin is its own part. I have to find an allen wrench so I can test the diff fluid and see if i find any metal shavings or something.