I just spoke to a guy that said he would get me an elocked third and axle housing for 850$. Seems a bit high to me, but still cheaper than buying a new elocker and modifying the housing. And, I might be able to sell my old parts and get it down a bit.

Does anyone have an opinion on this price quote?

 

I had a guy want only $500 for an entire axle w/elocker. It was pretty rusty and we had not idea what gears it had in it. I ended up not getting it becuase of the condition of the axle. If it is in good shape it would be worth at least $750 IMO.

You should be able to sell your old axle.

Becuase of your year Runner it should be a total no mod swap. Can you also get the Locker computer, dash switch from him?

 

this guy is at mini trucks in logan heights SD. He seems like a knowledgable guy and not a scam artist. I don't know about the locker "computer" and dash switch...
I don't think there is a "computer" involved. Yes there is some electronics, but no computer, you just turn it on or off. I could prabably get everything if I wanted, but it looks like wiring and electronics is not too bad, also I am an electrical engineer and this part doesn't bother me. He said call on monday and remind him and then I can discuss the exact conditions. Sorry for the rant, I have been down at the mission bay all day enjoying the sun...

 

I know exactly where you are talking about. He does know his stuff but likes to high ball his prices. He will go down if you show him cash as I am sure you noticed by the condition of his shop.

Okay maybe not a full computer but it does take an ECU to fully swap it in on yours like it was factory.

If you want any help putting it in I would be glad to lend a hand. Never done it before but would be interested in helping out and learning something new.

 

Eric,
I will pick up the parts in a few weeks hopefully, and I will invite you over when I do the swap...

 

one more interesting thing is, he marked my tire with pink paint and had his grunt crawl under the truck and count the number of times that the drive shaft rotated while he rotated one tire twice. I have 4.10 gear ratio. Nice method!

 

Yup I have the same gears in mine. That is the fastest way to check if you don't want to trust the door label and read the ratio code. Mine said 3.90 gears but that is for a non 4x4 and with 225/70R16 factory tires. Mine still had the factory Goodyears on when I bought it and were the 265/70R16 GSA's.

I wonder if he would take $650 from you? You could take your taco over and just disconnect the wiring and chech to make sure it works.

Did he say which gears the donor vehicle has?

 

what do you mean take the taco over and disconnnect the wiring to check to make sure it works? He will find donor with 4.1

 

I just picked one up for around the same price. It's a little rusty but it's out of a 4 cylinder 4Runner with 4:56 gears. This is what I wanted because I also have 4:10's and want to get back some of the acceleration it once had when the tires were smaller. This is something you might want to consider. The only problem is the front needs to be swapped too. I did that yesterday. what a pain in the ass that was.

 

Don't you have a TRD Taco? IF so you can disconnect the wiring harness from the Taco and plug in the donor 3rd member just laying on the ground to see if it actualtes. Never done this myself but some guys on here have said they did it to make sure it worked.

Am I making sense or no?

 

yes sir, you are making perfect sense, I was a little zonked yesterday and didn't get ya the first time. That sounds like a good idea, although Im not too worried about it working, if it doesn't work he will have to get me one that does. There is a schematic floating around this board and another site, I can look at it and see what kind of signal is going to the locker. my guess is it is simply 12v dc signal. Maybe I should look for 4.56 so that I can go for 33" but I was planning on going for 315's in the future which would prabably take more than 4.56 ratio. I think I will have to regear no matter what. Wouldn't it be nice if you could get 4.88 or 5.2 salvaged part.

 

I'm interested in lending a hand with the swap if you want. Always eager to learn new stuff first hand.

Other than that though, I have nothing but a pair of reliable hands to contribute to your effort.

 

Ill let both of you guys know when I am going to do the work. I will know more details tomorrow. I was advised by the junk yard dude to replace the axle bearing when I do the diff/axle housing swap. I think this is a good idea, but I will have to pay soemone with the proper equipment to press the bearings off of the axles...

 

DId you come up with any parts?

 

not yet, not so easy to find. Mike at mini truck is still keeping an eye out for me. Do you know of anywhere else to look?

 

There is the one that I turned down due to poor condition. He may still have it. It was in Chula Vista. I took some pics of it.

 

The rear swap isn't too bad, it's the front that really sucks (if you have to do the front like me). A couple of us have done this swap on here, so don't hesitate to ask if you need some pointers.

The hardest part on the rear for me was disconnecting the hard brake line "T" (I stripped it), aligning the panhard bar, and hooking up the electrical stuff. I did everything myself in my garage.

The new rear brake line T was $30 at the dealer. Don't forget to bleed the brakes.