Rear Axle Replacement 2000 Tacoma

Hello all, I own a 2000 Tacoma sst (2wd, not the PreRunner) and this morning I snapped my rear axle on the passenger side (Slid into the curb taking a turn on a wet road with no weight in my bed @ abt 30mph, ik ik it's stupid).
From all the research I've done, (Called a few dealerships & mechanics, as well as looked on here a bunch) I should be able to replace my rear axle relatively easily, but my issue is with the differential ratio.
According to the dealership mine is a 3:42, and I'm having a hard time finding that ratio anywhere. There's a 2002 2wd at a pick-n-save near me, and it has a ratio of 3:72 according to the dealership and I was wondering if that would be usable in my truck?
The VIN on mine is
5TENL42N8YZ708389

The VIN on the one I'm looking to pull from is
5TENL42N72Z887368

If that axle is not usable, where/how can I find one that is? I've never replaced/swapped a rear axle before, is there anything important I need to know before I start working/taking stuff apart?

If I have to wait on shipping I can, but I live abt a half hour away from my college and my job, and this is my only vehicle so getting this fixed ASAP & on as much of a budget as possible is important.

 

I'm speaking from 6-lug (4wd/Prerunner) experience, but I'd expect 5-lug (2wd) to be similar. There is another subforum dedicated to 5-lug trucks. You might find help there too: https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/5-lug.114/

In the 6-lug world, some axles are built for ABS and some are not. You can put an ABS axle in a non-ABS truck, but not the other way around (unless you're okay deactivating ABS). I'm not sure if it's the same for 5-lugs (I'm not sure if ABS was even an option for 5-lugs), but that's the first thing I'd check on.

Apart from the possible ABS issue, I'd expect all 5-lug Tacoma axles to be interchangeable.

The different ratios are because your truck has a 5-speed manual transmission and the donor truck has a 4-speed auto. The different rear end ratios were chosen to balance out the different ratios within the transmission. They are mechanically interchangeable, but a different ratio will change out the truck drives. You might like the change. The 3.72:1 ratio will improve acceleration a bit but will cause the engine to run at higher RPMs on the highway, which could hurt your fuel economy.

Judging by the photo of the damage, it looks like you could also replace just the axle shaft and keep your existing diff and axle housing. That would be easier and probably cheaper than replacing the whole axle. You could also have your existing 3.4 differential swapped into the new axle to keep your current rear end ratio, but that's probably more labor-intensive than it's worth.

 

It's a non-ABS truck and I believe the truck I'd be pulling from is also a non-ABS so that shouldn't be an issue. I do a fair amount of highway driving but currently since I need a swap as fast as possible I could live with the lower fuel mileage. Would it affect my speedometer at all?
I'm hoping I can just do the axle shaft but in case I need to do more I'm just learning as much as possible. Would pulling the axle shaft from the tacoma I'm looking at pulling from work? or would I need anything different? From what I can find they're both the same length and all

 

I can't say with 100% certainty, but I'd expect the shaft from the donor truck to work.

The different gear ratio will affect your speedometer, and also odometer.

In 6-lug trucks the speedometer is driven by a small gear in the transfer case. That gear can be replaced to correct for different gearing or tire sizes. Here's a good explanation: https://adventuretaco.com/replacing-the-speedo-gear

I'm not sure how this works in 5-lug trucks. Best guess is there's a gear somewhere near the output of the transmission. If so, grab it from the donor truck. Hopefully they're interchangeable between manuals and autos and you can just swap the gear in your truck.

 

Was it at least a nice drift? Before hitting the curb of course

 

Did the 3rd member (ring & pinion) self destruct as a result of the axle shaft breaking? If it didn't... just find whatever 5 lug axle housing and shafts you can, and swap your 3rd member into it. I think that's all a little overkill for just a broken axle shaft though- surely you can just find a new axle shaft?

 

This is probably all you need.....





Buy new for $600.....or salvage $200+....

TOYOTA TACOMA 2000 Rear Axle, 4x2 for sale | eBay

Rear Axle 2000 Toyota Tacoma for sale | eBay

Just make sure its a 5 lug non abs.....


If you email this guy......he says he has every part in the world for em....cheap
he sells axles about as fast as some sell candy bars......

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375029705004?itmmeta=01HT867PZ8DMS8KJRCGQ3GJ1CY&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0Nyr5IgottzY2jbaSV+encfPBjzPvCf7xKuB+4ns9pwVJZ+10ks6vK5epQF7UrGfuoA3mb%2F0NGUNTu+1ixLXsr4HSWwPm+Mb5Xp%2F4jszaylNri+vlPM3YBGitHm1PvMD6AJedXE4Mam3R%2Fc40ToIUjFqDjck91%2F+N0Bq8mVpZbuaWz7yQ4zZvqQvTRZwK%2FTHLDFaxdnjUk82599kOmnPHGZ4pIGSyloNOrRRKJoyw%2FqTebrd1qFq2u4LPidlC8EIo2%2F4yoxe9PdC9nIjfMkamSQ%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_DvnobSYw

 

Yes lol, did a full 180. It's mostly fixed now, found a shaft and got it on over the weekend, just looking for a rim now cause the one that's popped off in the pic is broken.