Stronger Front Diff?

Aside from a SAS, is there a way to make the front diff stronger?

I'm just curious, in case mine were to crap out after I'm out of warranty.

 

I vote for Toyota to make a driver's side needle roller bearing in the front diff that lasts.

 

I'm specifically referring to the clunky noise that is related to the needle bearings as indicated above, which is NOT pretty strong, it's pretty crappy!

 

I know, but I also wanted to watch the thread to see if there are any alternatives out there (aside from SAS). We're up to 2 or 3 dozen people with the bad bearing problems.

 

Well yeah, agreed, that's why I started the thread.

I guess a front diff isn't something a company is going to just machine and sell though...

 

I have aftermarket gears and an ARB - I wheel my truck a lot and use the front locker when I need - never had any issues with 42K on her...

 

If the bearing is your only problem why not just replace that instead of the whole differential? You can swap in any differential you want but it's going to cost you more money than a bearing. You can swap one in from a newer Tundra and have some new axles machined.

 

Have you actually been keeping any kind of record? I was under the impression that it was well over a hundred people scattered around the various forums who have complained of the problem but I could be way overexaggerating.

 

I started keeping track and then it got too distracting. The earliest failure of the bearing was at 11K miles (stock tacoma). The next earliest was 19K miles. Then several in the 28K-50K mile range. They're popping up again around 100K miles as people upgrade shocks only to find that they have bad bearings too. That number is closer to those that truly confirmed the front diff bearing as the problem (rather than just generally complaining about a vibration after lifting).

 

these front diff threads are brutal. i feel for you guys that have issues.

on a whim, i grabbed my front axles and jiggled them. my driver's side is pretty tight. the tiniest of movement. my passenger side is more loose, but still tight. i've lifted my truck a mere 2" in front. i am at almost 60k miles. i wheel hard during hunting trips.

i had a leak at the driver's seal, and my dealership fixed it under warranty. it got me thinking; if you can get to the seal, getting to the bearing is just another layer of hell away, right?

why do dealerships change out entire front diffs, when they can simply replace $60 bucks in parts?

 

Toyota needs to take some responsibility and issue a TSB with an updated reliable part.

EDIT: According to this it's a ~$45.00 part. But the labor to get the part in there is the killer.