I just bought this rig, its my first Yota, and I love it! I paid $3,200 which I felt was a decent deal, and I drove over 33 miles to get it!
The previous owner had it set up as a "woods truck", and I plan to use it as my daily driver. Therefore, I am going to have to make a few changes to the current setup, and thats where the questions begin. Some (or maybe all) are newb questions, but they are kinda specific, and I didn't find the answers I needed through a search.
First, a few pics. Sorry, I will take a lot more, these are all I have snapped so far.





The front needs a little paint but overall she's in nice shape! The guy i bought it from didn't build it, and didn't seem to know much at all, which left me wondering a lot.
Its a 2.7l manual with 4x4
Right now, shes sitting on 37" Open countrys with approx 10" of lift and 4.56 gears.
First off, he seemed to think the running gear wasnt all original. The front axle he said is from an 88 (straight axle)
The rear may or may not the the original 97.
Either way, the spider gears are welded, it hope bad on corners, and the turn radius is AWFUL! Also, the rear drum brakes were removed...so it only has fronts right now. Neither of those things are going to work for DD needs.
I considered doing rear disks, but did some reading, and I think im just going to put drums back on.

I will be using this truck for 95% on road. I do fiberglass repair and I live in southwest florida and spend almost all of my free time using my 17' boat, or my jetskis. Our boat ramps are SLICK. It is important for my E-brake to work, and to have good traction on slick ramps. 5% offroading, but not really in mud. More like sugar sand, etc.

My main question at the moment is is the rear axle from a 97? Does the picture show enough detail to be able to tell?
If I just find an OEM open diff at a junkyard, and have a shop swap the 4.56 gears into it, will I get good enough traction at boat ramps, and for mild offroading?
Or should I be looking into a locker? Aussie locker, detroit locker, etc?
I know the locker is the preffered option for most offroad guys, but is it necessary for my needs? I would rather not dump a bunch of money right now if I dont have to. I will be building this thing up more over time....
So....please throw some input.
Also if a locker is best, which?
OEM e locker? Will that even fit my rear end?
Aussie?
Detroit?

Thanks so much

 

Might look into a t case e-brake so you can lock all 4 wheels
As far as lockers aussie for a elocker Detroit for a auto will be the strongest. Your front axle is definitely not stock if its toyota and a 88 its outta landcruiser if you have Manuel hubs you won't need a elocker up front

There is a way to date the rear end give me a few minutes and ill find ithttp://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/

 

Awesome thanks so much. It may not be 88. Its straight axle for sure though.

 

Right now I really just need to figure out the diff situation so i can get this truck driveable and sell my current DD.....

 

If its a tacoma diff you can pull a diff out of a tacoma tundra or t100 as long as the gear ratio matches the front-end that site I posted tells you the specifics the year doesn't really matter if its coming from a t100 or Tacoma it dose tho if you plan on pullin it from a tundra

 

Stetson, that link was extremely helpful. Thanks a lot.

 

i would check your rear blocks, from what little I can see in the pic, it looks a little sketchy. Personally I would spend the money for new rear springs with the proper arch and get rid of the blocks.

the long bar on the rear end (traction bar?) looks like it will need some work to be functional, looks bent already.

I would like to see more/better pics of the front axle. It might be an '88 but hard to tell from what (maybe a land cruiser) thought those were passenger side diff, not d/s diff like you have. So I am kind of doubtful it is a Toyota Axle, probably a wagoneer axle

 

in an ideal world you will have a 5.29 or 5.71 diff gear with that size of a tire. You'll have limited accessible power while towing anything with a 4.56. Since the PO was unsure about many things, its easy to check the gearing. A quick search will show a few how to threads. As for the loading ramps, traction shouldn't be an issue and put it in low range and you can climb out of the water no problem. You'll want to replace those welded diffs though. The strain of turning a tight corner while towing a boat on 37s might be enough to break an axle. Once you figure out what the axles are from, check online forums for built 3rd members with the gearing you want. It will keep the cost down and you might be able to get a locker already installed that way.

If you can lower it, it will make it more comfortable to tow with and it will become much more safe to drive due to the lower center of gravity.

On a side note. Is 33 miles a long way to go in your part of the world? Its 53 kilometers. Up here in my part of the great white north I drove 200km to pick up a set of super swampers. Heck, I drive 250km one way every few weekends to see my girlfriend in university.

 

That was supposed to be 330 miles. And I drove it home. Lol.
I will post more.pics asap so you pros can Gove more input. Thanks!

 

Is is likely that the front diff is welded too. Would that affect my turning even when using RWD?

 

Rear:




Front:

 

If you've got Manuel hubs it won't give you any problems
Your rear end dose have alot of block though like what 6-8"