I swapped the rear axle with a yard donor on my '97 when it blew. You don't have to worry too much about expense in hardware doing the swap. The only thing that might break is the brake lines.


Don't forget Wyoming, 4Runners sit on coils.


So pop the sway bar links, the panhard, the 2 shocks, the driveshaft, the brake lines, and the parking brake cable.


Soak everything down in PB Blaster for a few days and you should be able to pull that rear axle assembly as a unit in about an hour.


Until then, make sure you keep that rear full of fluid and it should last for quite some time. Forget about it, run low and dry, and you'll overheat the bearings and blow up the rear end.

 

Good to hear that the overall process isn't too bad if I can find a good donor.

It makes sense that the brake lines will need replaced. Since I'm in the rust belt it's going to be a good thing to do regardless.

I'm in college right now so nothing of that magnitude is going to be done until next summer most likely. However, I am fully aware of the consequences that would come with running out of gear oil. I check it frequently and hopefully I can get it sealed completely in the near future. I have new fill and drain plugs as well from Toyota already so no worries of rounding those off.

 

If your able, you can always just replace the pinion seal when you add more diff fluid which is the cause of it leaking.