Dude that really sucks a big one man!! Wow, well at least you had some nice scenery to gaze at while you were down. Hope everything works out for the best, I know whats it's like breaking down far away from home and out on the trail..... within the first 6 months of having the Runner, I sunk it :cry: and hydrolocked my motor. Blew a conrod through the block!!! Ahh the wonders of off roading eh? Best of luck to ya man!!!

Cheers, Lee Hathaway

 

the latest: just when you think it cannot get any worse...
got in to town yesterday (grand junction) and to the dealer at the appointment time -- mind you, the "service technician" knew exactly what we were doing, installing ring and pinion gears -- and after waiting around for two hours was informed the job is, are you all sitting down?, a 9.5 HOUR JOB!!! this according to their little book which holds their hand through a friggin' oil change (4 days according to the book i think ). and get this: this is the labor they have to charge no matter if it takes them the more probable 4 hours to complete the job.... now this is just getting started because the "service technician" starts saying things like "you will be charged...," "your cost will be..." etc. you guessed it: no warranty coverage. after spending about an hour on the phone with my dealer at home and the toyota "customer care" center -- where i opened two cases, pending... -- basically we arrived at the fact that warranty claims are "at the discretion of the service center." hmm, wonder what conclusion the service center arrived at?

to be continued...

 

Michael, have you tried finding a complete third with the same gears from a junkyard? You could swap it in and drive home so you can sort it out with the shop that did the install...

What is your gear ratio? I have an open 8" rear third with 4.56's here I can ship you (to borrow) if it would help.

Try this link:

http://www.4x4support.com

This site is setup to help people in situations like this.

 

good site, did not know about it, but will keep it in mind for future traumas -- hope i never have to use it! (except to help others out)

i got a quote for a a 3rd - ~$1100. did not try the junkyards, had enough trouble just with new parts.

the 4th gens have 3.73s stock. the shop is doing the marathon install as we speak (and just found out they cannot warranty their work because of the mods i have done... ), but thanx for the kind offer of your 3rd.

 

oh man this sucks. hope your truck get back in one piece though.

Are they going to keep the locker in?

 

getting back in one piece is not a concern, it is the WHEN that is a large question.

the locker is staying in, though is a large concern because the techs at toyota are unfamiliar w/them...

 

Damn AWD transfer case, otherwise any gear ratio would work...

 

The 3.73 ratio is not very common.

Be sure to get the ring and pinion back so you can take a look at it and see if the place who set up the locker screwed up.

 

well you can always remove the front drive shaft and then just lock the center diff, that's what they recommend you do if you dyno on a 2wd platform.

 

The only thing unusual for the ARB would be to lube the o-rings and be gentle with them on reinstallation. If they pay close attention, they should be able to reuse all the ferules for air line. The internal ones are more critical since they are tougher to swap out.

 

You need to read this, print off a copy, take it with you and request that the Dealer PROVE to you that the ARB Locker CAUSED the ring gear to break. If they can't PROVE that the mods caused the failure, and they STILL deny you warranty coverage, then they are in violation of Federal Statutes.

http://www.magnusonproducts.com/magnusonmoss.htm

 

Great info. I'll have to keep a copy of that when I go to the stealer next.

 

That is useful but not applicable if the axle was not reassembled properly. That would point to negligence of the installer.

 

thanx andy! i thought i was dead in the water, now i have another avenue to explore!

ok, so i am back home now and the rig was fine on the return trip. i basically went w/o tunes the whole way back because i wanted to listen for any weirdness -- i am so paranoid.... whattan odyssey...

 

True, but ONLY if the dealer can PROVE that the ARB was installed incorrectly or that it in itself was the cause or contributed to the problem. They admitted that they had never worked on a rear third w/ an ARB installed, so I seriously doubt that they could be considered experts on whether or not it was properly done. If they can't PROVE it, then they can't deny coverage.

 

glad to hear you're back home michael.

 

Michael, I would do that maybe you can get your money back on the install from that dealer.

 

You can also argue that they offered a e-locker for the toyota 8" rear end for years in the taco's and 3rd gens and therefore their argument of "the rear end wasn't made for a locker" becomes invalid on principle.

 

Glad to here that you made it home in one peice. I am glad that we got to meet up with you guys at the "crack" so we could see it in action. Did they say that it was caused by the shimming (or lack there of)?

 

Good to hear you are back home, no go sort out the guys who installed your locker and the dealer. Let us know what happened.