remove carrier pin without removing ring gear?

No they aren't exposed. It's just rotated so you can see them.

Front diff gears-8.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

I know i just meant they arent completly enclosed like one he pictured.



all i need to know is if i have threaded or shimmed bearing caps at this point.

 

You have shimmed. Only the elocker has the spool adjuster on it.

 

Just saying this part because I have been in it, but a friend of mine with a 1995.5 Tacoma had me install an ARB air locker in his truck, and it had threaded adjusters on it. When I look up the OPs truck as a 1996 4X4 with 3.4L engine, the Toyota service manual also shows he has a threaded adjuster on it. Of course I have seen manuals to be wrong in the past. Just going by what I have seen and read in the Toyota service manual, and on the trucks I have worked on. Really the only way for the OP to know for sure will of course be to pop out the 3rd member and look.

Below is what Toyota shows for a 1996 Tacoma 4X4 with 3.4L engine. If you look in the picture you an see the threaded caps for the adjusters just outboard of the bearings (Part #9). Again, I have seen service manuals be wrong, so this is only what I find on the Toyota end.

 

Installed locker today. It was the shimmed caps and there was no way that cross shaft was coming out with ring gear on.

 

Weird.

I did my own. Was not like that. 8.4s should all be just shims.

Unless it's a transition axle with the older v6/turbo 8" one.

 

Well there we go! He had shims like you had said BD! As far as I know the rear axle was the factory one. I know MY rear diff that I swapped out was one with adjustable screw caps, and it was a factory rear diff. Not sure really sure how they decide. Maybe manufacturing plant?

 

QUESTION. Does it come from factory with a bunch of markings on carrier and paint on ring gear?

 

To be honest I don't recall. But I will say that I have never seen any paint on the teeth of the ring gear.

 

I ask because i really dont think it has 3:91 gears. Previous owner may have regeared

 

The paint is usually when a diff is initially being set up, its used to check the contact pattern between the ring gear and pinion gear. It quickly wears off once the diff is installed.

 

Depends on where the paint is. lol. I have seen some gears with paint on the ring itself, not on the teeth. So I guess that would be an important bit of info. Where was the paint?

 

How many teeth?

 

On the teeth. 3-4. orange paint

 

On the teeth would def be marking compound to check pattern when setting up gears.

 

I was asking how many teeth are on the ring gear to determine if it had been regeared to a new ratio. The you would know if you had stock gearing or not. Can also count the number of driveshaft rotations it takes to rotate the wheel fully.