I am looking to buy new pinion&ring very soon becuase I just got bigger tires. I'm going to install them in couple days. I was thinking either Yukon or Precision Gear. I want good quailty. How hard is it to change the pinion&gear? I know a shop that I would be able to borrow tools.

Thanks in advance.

 

Changing those is very specialized, unless you really know what you're doing, pay a shop to do it for you.

 

If you've read around on hear, most prefer not to use Yukon. Also, you need a press. Do you watch Xtreme4X4 on Spike? Ian, on there, shows exactly how it's done and you have to measure backlash with expensive tools and you can easily mess up the crush sleeve or shims which ruins the diff. Your best bet is to take the entire third member out and carry it to a trusted builder. It saves some money to have it done when you can carry your chunk in to have it built. Look for an expert online named Zuk. He does gears and his website shows all of the steps involved for any kind of third member/locker setup that you can possibly dream of- Good Luck ::magnifying glass smiley:: (for those who aren't familiar with Search\/ )

 

http://www.gearinstalls.com/index.htm

This should give you an idea.

 

the hardest/ most annoying part is seting the pinion depth/ pre load. Once you have pulled the pinion out in put it back in 4 times you will know why most pay to have it done. I did mine in my fj40 and was too cheep to buy a dial indicator so i set the backlash by feel. 4 years and 40,000 mi later they still are quite and feel great.

 

I've done three gear setups on Toyota trucks. Two rears and one front. The rear Toyota axles aren't too bad if you have patience and the right tools. If you aren't meticulous and precise when you do work, then this isn't a job for you. You need a dial indicator with magnetic base and a torque wrench (not a click type) that reads less than 15 in-lb to do the job right.

 

Done it a few times. It takes a while. You need speciality tools.

It requires patience more than anything else. Expect to spend anywhere from 3 hrs to several days or possibly a week to do one diff, depending your your level of experience and how much time you have to dedicate to working on it. The rear isn't bad, the front is a PITA.

Good luck

 

If you have to ask, you should not be doing it. A lot of things can go wrong if you don't do it just right.

 

you can take the 3rds out yourself but it would be best to take them to a shop that can set them up.

 

The easiest way is to order the third members online at a web site like TRail Gear or Marlin Crawler when they have a deal on shipping. I bought mine when Trail Gear had free shipping on any order over $100. Just save up until you have enough to get the locker you've always wanted and shwing!!
Most of the time a new third member is cheaper then paying for the labor for a gear install.

 

How big of tires? What tires did your truck come with? Manual or auto? V6 or 4cy?

 

I guess I would have to get it done by professional then. Just to be safe cause I will drive the 4Runner for a long, long time. Thanks yotatech!