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Remove the differential drop on your 05+ Tacoma

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by mjp2, Oct 15, 2010.

  1. Jun 20, 2013 at 5:49 PM
    #181
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    Mericuhn
     
  2. Jun 20, 2013 at 6:28 PM
    #182
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    He isnt on here as much as some. And his posts are Canadian....so there isnt as much value to them as an American post.
     
  3. Jun 20, 2013 at 8:01 PM
    #183
    jandrews

    jandrews Hootin' and Hollerin'

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  4. Jun 20, 2013 at 8:18 PM
    #184
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    Ahoy there Kettle , this is Pot

    You're Black
     
  5. Jun 20, 2013 at 8:37 PM
    #185
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    The diff drop does make a difference. It decreases the CV angles at the cost of clearance. I don't know where the folks that say it makes no difference are getting their information but maybe they will post up how they are able to drop the differential 1" without it affecting anything.

    You're going to be fine either way. Lots of people have the diff drop and lots of people don't. Let's be clear about the OP. The problem isn't just the diff drop. It's the combination of the diff drop, the interesting choice of skid plate design, along with preference on wheeling style that caused the problem.

    If the convolutions on the boots are still rubbing after you put the diff drop kit on then your CV boots are still going to wear out quickly. Regardless of the faster wear on the boots, reducing the cv angle will allow you to put more torque on the CV joint before joint failure.

    To the best of my knowledge there's only one rig that's suffered a smashed differential with the grandeur like mjp2 did. That's some pretty serious off roading going on there. Few people have that kind of need for envelope pushing or the brass between the legs to do that kind of damage.

    One final note. Take everything I write with a grain of salt. I have practically no credibility because I only have one post and it's commonly known that the more posts one has the more knowledge they have. I'll work on that though as soon as I can get myself to stop going on these mountain trails :D

    Like I said, either way is fine. It's up to you what you prefer. More clearance or less angles on the CV joints.


    Photos thanks to Neubs. See for yourself the difference in CV angles.
    Before the diff drop.
    CVJoint-Before_14a57e2c1a97d35a61a86d3efadf05c98c46d253.jpg


    After the diff drop kit was installed.
    CVJoint-After_68358c588e303369483672718abc8020ce62b4ff.jpg
     
    Dean2016 likes this.
  6. Jun 20, 2013 at 8:53 PM
    #186
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    :wave:.....wait...Wha?
     
  7. Jun 20, 2013 at 8:55 PM
    #187
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    Those pics are taken at different angles. Truthfully, given the different angle of the shots, the axel angles look the same. the diff drop, drops the front of the diff 1", and lowers the axels just over 1/4". hardly enough to make a difference.
     
  8. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:08 PM
    #188
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    Yep, notice I didn't make any claims of a radical difference. My drop lowered my differential about 3/8".

    The photos might look the same to you by your best estimation but your not saying that it makes no difference right?
     
  9. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:10 PM
    #189
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    it doesnt make enough of a difference. The angles look the same to me. If your rubbing the fins without a diff drop, adding one isnt gonna help. The only thing that is effective, is not lifting so high. 3" is max for the fronts. 2.5" is better.
     
  10. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:11 PM
    #190
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    This is the point you are missing ^^
     
  11. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:28 PM
    #191
    AFtweed87

    AFtweed87 Well-Known Member

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    im running a 1" drop on mine, i didnt cut out the plate to compensate. i had the guys at 4x innovations make one to comp for the drop. making those cut outs compromises integrity of the plate. Like uood8 said in the quote, you are asking to get hung up. its totally not the spacers fault. ive run mine over logs and all kinds of stuff since i put the plate on. no issues because i compensated for the drop with the custom plate that is smooth.
    [​IMG]
     
    lo2hi likes this.
  12. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:31 PM
    #192
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    Those two pics are completely different , just look at how much flatter the LCA is in the second pic
     
  13. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:48 PM
    #193
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    Yes, those are different photos. It's the camera angle that is different though, the LCA angles are the same. Dropping the differential has nothing to do with the LCA angle.
     
  14. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:50 PM
    #194
    OZ-T

    OZ-T You are going backwards

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    Yes , I agree dropping the diff has nothing to do with the LCA angle , but the LCA angle looks a lot flatter in the second pic , did the truck move position between pics ?
     
  15. Jun 20, 2013 at 9:58 PM
    #195
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    Not sure I understand this. What has been shown to indicate that diff drops will do nothing to help? Is this hear say and anecdotal? Reducing (slightly) the CV angles, the front drive shaft angles is a beneficial for higher torque loads. It comes at the price of clearance but that's the trade off some people are looking for.

    I must be misunderstanding about the the diff drop tilting the wrong way? By dropping the diff it helps reduce the angle on the driveshaft going to the differential right? Am I misunderstanding what your trying to say?

    Dont' know if he moved the rig or not. Maybe the photographer will post up and let us know. Shouldn't matter though unless he's got a crazy uneven driveway.
     
  16. Jun 21, 2013 at 4:41 AM
    #196
    jandrews

    jandrews Hootin' and Hollerin'

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    Dropping the diff helps tilt the diff so lubrication moves away from the pinion bearings. Front driveshaft is a one-piece and is designed for parallel pinion angle <---> transfer case output flange/shaft. Tilting the pinion angle puts the driveshaft geometry OFF in this case.

    And of course, you lose clearance.

    Once again: Diff drops don't do shit on 2nd gens. High CV angles on 2gens don't matter anyway, except for boot wear, and that's easily solvable with the clamp mod. These are not 1st gen CV axles. Toyota screwed some things up on the 2gen, but they did their homework with the front end. It's a rather robust setup for an independent axle. Telling that you see WAY more busted rear e-locker diffs on these trucks than any front end problems.
     
  17. Jun 21, 2013 at 8:58 PM
    #197
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    Thanks for clarifying. I thought you might have been implying that the joint angle on the drive shaft was more severe with a diff drop.

    For those of you that are more confused than ever, the bottom line is that going with or without a diff drop doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It's up to you if you prefer a lesser cv angle or the greater clearance under your front differential. It's not going to cause your front diff to blow up if you use a diff drop kit nor will it stop your boots from wearing through.

    Go either way and enjoy it. It's six of one or half dozen of the other. Lots of people have both and as you've probably noticed there isn't a clear cut path for either choice. That ought to be a good indicator of what difference it actually makes. As for the strong opinions. It might as well be an argument of which color is better, Red or Blue. Seems like people will find a way to get a strong opinion about just about anything. I'll prove that point...

    Red is way better than blue!
     
  18. Jun 22, 2013 at 8:05 AM
    #198
    GlenYoshida

    GlenYoshida Member

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    That's just silly. The diff drop isn't a magic elixir that is supposed to cure all and make everything better. Toyota didn't include a diff drop because if a lower diff would have been better (for stock height) they would have just designed the differential to be lower in the first place. Toyota already put the differential at the optimal place for a stock suspension. No seller or producer of a diff drop has (to the best of my knowledge) ever made a claim that it makes a change that one should expect to be "great". If one had that expectation then it was unrealistic. When we lift our rigs it changes the geometry. Small changes can make a difference as the miles and trails tick by.

    I'm guessing that when you said it made "absolutely no difference" you were exaggerating a bit to try and make a point. If you meant to say it doesn't make a huge change in CV angle then I'd have to agree but if you truly think it made no difference then you were not paying much attention and were sleeping in your high school geometry class. Maybe the cute girl in class was wearing her magic sweater that day ;) No man is immune to those kinds of distractive powers ha!
    Through basic trig you could measure the difference the diff dropped and how much that reduced the CV angle.

    You would be more right if you said math doesn't lie. Post up some numbers to show that the differential drop made absolutely no difference and let your peers review your numbers to verify them. You will be vindicated if you are right or will have learned something if you are mistaken. Either way it's a good thing.
     
  19. Jun 22, 2013 at 10:22 AM
    #199
    Infra

    Infra Well-Known Member

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    hmmm....should I remove it or leave it be?
     
  20. Dec 8, 2013 at 4:13 PM
    #200
    outdeh

    outdeh Active Member

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    I removed my diff drop earlier today. I feel a lot better without it, thanks to the OP and all those that contributed useful info to this thread.

    In case anyone is wondering what the difference on the angle of the CV boots looks like, here are before (with diff drop) and after (without diff drop) photos.

    Unlike other photos I've seen that were taken from different angles, which skews the perspective and doesn't reflect the actual difference in CV angles, I ensured these photos were taken from the exact same position and angle. As you can see, there is a slight difference in the angle of the CVs, but not so much that I would consider it significant. As others have stated, I'd much rather have to replace my CVs a touch sooner and not face all the potential problems discussed in this thread.

    [​IMG]
    with diff drop

    [​IMG]
    without diff drop
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2014

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