Help! One wheel not spinning in 4 wheel drive!

This happened to me, except with the rear end.

I didn't know the previous owner had regeared the truck. I blew my rear ring and pinion, and when I put in a new one with the factory gear ratio everything bound up when I put the truck in 4wd. I had to pull the front end and put one with a factory ratio back in for now until I can regear it again. I wish the dude had let me know the truck was regeared.

It bound up both tires though. Only one tire binding up is weird

 

Also beware that manual transmission trucks have different axle ratios then Auto trucks.

 

I might just take out the diff that I have in right now and put my old diffs gears in it, the gears in it were fine, it was just the cv housing that got messed up. Just because I am clueless in what gears are in the rear end

 

Swapping gearsets inside the diff is a delicate and very precise process. I'd not attempt it without the knowledge, tools, and setup bearings.

Swapping the entire 3rd is just parts swapping, gears are a different matter.

 

I have someone with a little more knowledge than me, but I want to take part the old diff just to find out what ratio was in there

 

Thats a good plan. You can count the teeth on the pinion and the ring gear and do the math. It's also usually embossed on the ring gear.

 

This ,everyone thinks they have 4 wd drive,lol

 

Passenger wheel is completely locked in 4 wheel

 

Did you just randomly buy a Tacoma front diff without checking what gearing it had in it? The front diff gear ratio needs to match the rear otherwise it won't work...I don't know how many different gear ratios 2nd gens had but it sounds like your front and rear are completely different

If the gears are good in your original diff then I would swap those in for sure

 

I vaguely remember another thread on here where someone bought a truck that had the front diff replaced and when they put it in 4wd the truck just wouldn't move, turned out the previous owner put a front diff with mismatched gearing in it.

 

So to clarify, it (the passenger side front wheel) will not move at all when the Transfer Case is engaged, but when you disengage it, the wheel spins freely?

 

I checked the gearing in the diff I bought, just assuming that my diffs were both stock because I didn't have info from previous owner

 

Yes when it's in 2h it moves freely, but in 4h not at all

 

I know with 1st gen Tacomas there are at least 3 or 4 different gear ratios they can have depending on year, powertrain and trim level. I'm sure 2nd gens are the same, you can determine what your rear gear ratio is via the sticker on the inside of the door jamb.

This thread helps explain what I mean

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-gear-ratio-chart.365138/

Once you know your rear diff gear ratio you'll know which front diff ratio you need

 

I know that mine comes with 3.73's but I'm just starting to thinks that's not what I actually have, after putting the 3.73 front diff in

 

no need to remove the diff to see if gears match. Jack up all 4 corners, put it in 4wd and N, and see if the wheels spin by hand. If they do, make marks at the 12 o’clock on the tires, spin the rear, and see if the front rotates the same as the rear was rotated. May take a few revolutions to see the difference.

 

Hmmm, so it moves when you turn the wheel, but not when you turn the pinion gear. Broken spider gear? Let's see what @Muddinfun thinks.

 

Ah I see what you mean, yeah you'll probably need to check it manually then by turning the wheels and counting the driveshaft turns. Someone in a previous post on here mentioned it I think, anyway that will tell you what the rear ratio really is

 

Also, if you’re trying to find out gear ratio, you can do some math and count the revolutions of the tires per one rotation of the driveshaft and figure it out that way

 

your front diff is mostly likely FUBAR, you will have to R&R. If you think it's binding caused by different ratios you can disconnect the rear differential and put it in 4wd and see if the binding still occurs.