Hello all, I'm still in the process of getting my 2000 4Runner rear end issue resolved. (4.30, elocker, ABS). I don't have the freedom to spend a couple of hundred dollars to simply have a garage diagnose what's wrong with it so I'm now considering tackling the job on my own.

Somewhat brief background history: rusted shut breather. Gear oil leaching through the housing. Replaced breather. Still leaching oil. Me topping it off every few months. Eventually a humming sound for about 2 weeks (but was only driving it once or twice a week at the time so didn't think it was critical yet) that increased in pitch the faster I went. Something finally went while driving 50 mph on the highway: loud noise from the rear end area followed immediately by rapid thumping which slowed as I slowed down and pulled over. Added gear oil, hoping for a miracle. Sound continued when trying to drive the truck; roughly every revolution of the tire there's a thump sound with (I think) a scraping sound also, if I remember right. Had it towed to a garage. From what I've read, it's most likely either the rear differential or possibly a bad bearing, so I was looking to replace the entire rear end to keep labor costs low. Mechanic said he'd swap rear ends if I found a replacement. No success finding replacements (even non-lockers); yards that claim to have the right diff ratio are often wrong once I get there, and others want too much for a hunk of rust that's in worse shape than mine. Others have fair prices but insist I buy sight-unseen and pay shipping both ways ($200-250 each way) even if it's damaged or the wrong part (which I'm not willing to cover, given that my confidence level in yards is now at ground level).

After further research, it seems possible it's a bearing issue, but I haven't seen the truck since last September and at the time didn't think to look at the inside rear wheels to see if there's noticeable grease or gear oil indicating that's the problem.
I plan on having the truck towed home next weekend. Clearly I haven't taken the axles out to see if it's a bearings issue yet, and won't be able to look at anything until I get it home. I can't test the bearings with the drive-in-a-circle test -- something is already very damaged.

Unfortunately I will only have a rental vehicle for a couple of days next weekend to do all the running around that I'll have to do, that's why I need to be prepared with a plan well before I rent the car. Otherwise I have to wait another month before the next time I can rent one, due to severe financial issues.

I'm considering getting two axles ($100 or less each) and possibly a mismatched 4.10 rear diff ($200) from a yard, with the intent on returning what I don't use for a full refund. Note; the only reason I want the 4.10 diff is to potentially get the side gears or other internal parts that I may be able to swap into mine, assuming that they're compatible. I'm assuming that if the side gears look identical and have the same teeth count and I can swap them simply by removing a few bolts, then that would be a possible solution. I'm not talking about the ring gear, I know it's the wrong ratio; I'm talking about the pinion gears (?) or the collar-type thing where the end of the axle is inserted into the differential, held on by two bolts. First question: is this possible? If this is impossible or not a good solution, please tell me now and I won't even think about getting the 4.10 diff for internal parts.

My other question is in regards to replacing a rear axle. From all of the other threads I've read and the detailed explanation of replacing the inner seals, etc, from this thread

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...d-3rd-gen.html

I'm praying that it's not an expensive repair: I'm hoping to swap an entire used axle from a junkyard, including the bearings, retainers, ABS ring, etc. I was given quotes of between $35 and $100 for an axle with the bearings and ABS ring on it, and some of the quotes included the backing plate if I'm not mistaken.

My current plan is to get the truck home, remove the rear tires and brake drums, and pull the axles to see if either of them are clearly wobbly or have gear oil all over the brakes. I may even replace each axle anyway, one at a time, to see if the problem goes away. If the source of the problem doesn't appear to be either axle, then I'll have to drop the 2nd member and pull the differential out to inspect it. I figure it'll be easier to first swap an axle and check for noise than to open the diff unnecessarily. I have no idea how heavy the diff is once you take the 10 bolts out, given the rear end will stay on the truck while I'm doing all this.

From this picture from the above post on axles I can't tell how easy it is (or even if it's possible) to take the backing plate off of the axle.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...y/P6040722.jpg

Once I remove the drum and brake shoes, and then the four nuts holding the axle and backing plate to the housing, and take the entire axle unit out, is it even possible to remove the backing plate from the copper-colored squarish flange of the axle?

If I understand and visualize it correctly, on the inner side of the backing plate is the squareish axle flange (that's visibly adjacent to the backing plate), and on the other side will be the wheel hub that the tire attaches to. To me this implies that the backing plate is not easily transferable from one axle to another. This means I'd have to find a used axle with an undamaged, clean backing plate. Given that the junkyards all sit the vehicles on their drums and backing plates after removing the tires, it seems as though it might be difficult to find a perfectly good axle and backing plate to swap into my truck.

I don't have the money to pay a machine shop to press on bearings, retainers, etc, so cannot go that route. I'm trying to keep the entire repair to less than $200 if at all possible. I'll repair the leaky housing (with epoxy, most likely, as described on a few forums) to keep it from happening again.

Any pictures and/or explanations of how to reuse my own backing plate, as well an answer to my question about the option of swapping the spider gears and/or collars from a 4.10 to a 4.30, if it turns out that that's where the damage is would be greatly appreciated. If that's not possible and someone has a 4.30 diff they don't want, I may be willing to buy it for a replacement or replacement parts if you're not far away (I'm in MA).

Thanks in advance for any advice or explanation help anyone is willing to offer. I need to have a plan in place within a week!

 

I've discovered since my post that the backing plate on the axle cannot be removed without removing the ABS ring, retainers, etc, so once again yard staff are shown to be unreliable. That shouldn't be a shock the more I think about it. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/imag...s/banghead.gif The good news is that I believe I found someone who can press the parts onto my axle for me. The bad news is I think the replacement ABS ring, etc, are probably more than I can spend right now and I've been told it's difficult or impossible to reuse what I have if they're still good.

I'm keeping with the original plan of having it towed home this week and pulling the axles on the weekend. If it turns out I have to pull the diff out to check it, and I find that the inner bearings are damaged, does anyone know where I can get the micro-measuring tool to get the final minor adjustments to within spec, as well as what the actual spec is?

Also, assuming that the inner bearing or one of the other inner components is the part that needs replacing, would I save significant money by trying to buy that single part from someone with an already-trashed rear diff, or should I simply order a replacement from a stealership?

 

Would it be easier to swap a third member or swap a complete axle into another truck because I want to keep my third. I would also end up swapping the 6lug wheel axles out for the five (all around), since the IFS front is stronger than a 5lug. My truck has a eaton trutrac that I want to keep, I want an ext cab, someone is selling it for 2k I want to see if he might go 1.5 for it. It's a 92 ext cab IFS 6lug power windows / locks. The whole idea behind this though is more space / comfort, but I also want to place a 3rz in it, and convert it to 2wd. I figured if I knew how to cut and weld things I'd do a lot of it myself but I don't. I don't know any yotatech or desert rangers people in the area who are dependable either...thought's and opinions welcome.

 

I think you mistakenly posted a question as a reply to my question instead of as a new thread. Good luck with your swap or extended cab issue, and I'm sorry I can't help answer your questions.

 

Sorry if it felt like I was taking over...I just don't like starting new threads for a some what simple question. So I find a related topic or some what related and post in there...don't mean to hijack either...

 

Certainly no harm done, I just think that you'll have much better response to your question in its own thread. Good luck!