Can I replace my elocker with a Truetrac?

Can I replace my elocker in my 2004 DCSB 4x4 with a Detroit Truetrac? Or do I have to replace the entire 3rd member as well?

Related questions, assuming everything is stock:

1. Is my rear 3rd member considered the Toyota 8" or 8.4"?
2. Is my front diff a Toyota 8" or 7.5"?
3. If I keep the elocker, can I swap my transfer case for a
   
   • '00-'02 4Runner locking center diff?
   • '03+ 4Runner locking Torsen center diff?
4. Is the rear axle from an '03+ 4Runner compatible with my 1st Gen Taco? E.g. could I swap my rear axle with one from an '05 4Runner V6 Limited Sport?

Thanks in advance.

 

Elocker = 8"
Front diff 7.5"


Rear axle from 4runner could be modified to fit but it's not just a bolt on swap

 

Thanks!

OK, good to know. Is that for all 4runners? I asked specifically about '03+ (4th gen 4runners); are the rear axles between 3rd gen 4runners ('96-'02) interchangeable with 1st gen Tacos ('96.5-04)?

 

You have a slectable locker.... that better than a full time locker.

 

I believe 1990+ are all linked in the rear. (Coil springs). Not hard to modify it but would involve cutting all the mounts off the axle and weld on spring perches.


Is there a reason why you are thinking about 4runner parts?

Reason for wanting a center transfercase lock?

 

Maybe for some things. Depends on your intended usage.

4runner parts -- rear 8" axle w/o elocker into which I could put a Truetrac. I've found tons of 4runner parts getting parted out on CL, not as many Taco parts. (If I go this route, I'm probably better off looking for a Taco 2WD opendiff rear axle.) But better yet might be looking into a vendor such as East Coast Gear Supply and see if I could purchase a Truetrac already installed in a 3rd member. I think that would simply mean swapping out the third member in the rear end, right?

Why a locking center differential? With Truetracs front and rear, an open center would let me run basically fulltime 4WD / AWD without worrying about binding up my transfer case. We don't plow the sidestreets here in the Denver area. Usually it snows and then melts within a couple days. But when we get a big blizzard (and I think we're due this winter), the snow will get packed down into ice, and we will have very difficult sidestreets for weeks. Since I lost my rocket engineer career in 2010, I've been scrapping here and there to make ends meet, and it looks like I may be going back to throwing a morning newspaper route. I delivered papers once before in an '88 Toy EC 4x4 pickup into which I had installed a Truetrac. That worked really well in the snow / snow & ice / ice & dry pavement environment. Before I'd have to constantly shift in and out of 4x4 which is a pain. (I had, in fact, installed a Lockrite locker in the back, but it broke within a few months, so I went to a Truetrac.)

When conditions get bad -- either really deep snow, or offroard, locking the center diff basically gives me the same 4x4 setup / capabilities as an H1 Hummer, and not too many people sneeze at it's capabilities.

Now if I had a locking Torsen center diff ('03+ 4th Gen 4Runner), I could keep the rear Elocker, put a Truetrac in the front and just run open in the rear (unlocked) and I think I'd have very good performance in the snow/snow+ice/ice+drypavement. I don't know if the 4th Gen 4Runner Torsen center diff will mate up with my A340F tranny in my '04 Taco. Also, there is more wiring to be done; looking at my wife's '07 4Runner Sport 4x4, the 4x4 controls on the dash/console are totally different than my 1st gen Taco, so I'm unsure I really want to go there. That's what got me thinking about the 3rd Gen 4Runner locking center diff in the '00-'02 models (maybe also in the '99 4Runner too, I'm not sure.)

 

i think your reasoning is a bit off there...if i understand all of the 4 runner options correctly...locking the center diff would sinply give you the same ability you have in your truck now, which is part time 4wd.

with an unlocked center diff power is transferred from the front to the back, when you lock the center diff you have guaranteed power front to back.

When it comes down to it...the amount of work being put in for what you think is increased snow driving ability is not worth it....because you are not gaining any ability.

and on the topic of the locker...I can not think of any situations when an auto locker is better than a select-able locker.

 

Yes, a locked center diff would be the same as my putting my truck into 4HI. But what I want is the option to send power to both the front and rear axles all the time without binding up my transfer case. My understanding of the 4Runners ('99 or '00 through '02) was that they could be in 4WD without the center diff locked, and power would go to both front and rear axles. But I thought these model years did not use a Torsen in their center diff, so when unlocked, they are simply an open differential and if the rear was entirely on ice, the front would get no power since it would all go to the spinning rear. In that case, you'd have to lock the center diff to guarantee power to the axle with traction (the front axle in my scenario.)

I'm unsure what you mean by "with an unlocked center diff power is transferred from the front to the back"? My understanding is that with an unlocked center diff, power is sent to the axle with the least amount of traction. Having front and rear Truetracs would maximize the traction at both axles (assuming all wheels are on the ground).

I gained a lot of ability previously with one Truetrac in the rear when driving here in the winter. I thought being able to utilize front / rear Truetracs (stretches of patchy ice/snow) without binding up a chain-driven transfer case (followed by a couple streets of dry pavement) would be an improvement. I could be all wrong.

I agree with your statement. But, then, a Truetrac is an LSD, not an auto locker.

 

Maybe I missed something, but you're tight on cash while looking at spending $1k so you don't have to push a button or move a lever to shift in or out of 4wd?

 

I've seen some posts here about how TW just magically opens guy's wallets. One guy was $2.5K in a couple months, another was like $14K in nine months. So your point is well taken.

At the same time, my finances are not open to debate. I have some liquidity and wiggle room here and there. If I am going to end up throwing papers again or other delivery services, having driven a Truetrac in the past, I think it would be worth it to install it. IMO, a Truetrac fits my needs better than an Elocker. Heresy, I know. If I could pull the Elocker and replace it with a Truetrac for around $700, I'll probably do that. If I've got to purchase a new third member or do an axle swap and the $$ climb ever higher, might not happen.

Edited to add: I'm not talking about moving a lever once every so often, I'm talking about constantly having to shift in and out of 4x4 as I move from dry pavement to ice and back again. Sometimes several times a minute. That gets old quick. Not to mention the safety aspect while I'm juggling a route list and keeping papers from falling over on me. I don't get paid by the hour, I get paid by the paper. So paper carriers tend to try to finish sooner rather than dawdle.

 

This.

 

What about a $1500 beater with snow tires? Better fuel economy out of an old Civic, will do great with snows, may save you money on gas - but then insurance/registration..hm.

 

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Yea....your over thinking the crap out of this.

Your current setup is MUCH better then what your going to spend all this money on and down grade the capability of the truck..

If moving a lever and pushing a button or two is really that difficult for you and all time consuming...get a different vehicle. Someone out there would love to have a selectable locker 4wd tacoma.

 

He already said it's not difficult for him. The problem lies in him needing to do it several times in a short amount of time due to the nature of his routes.

 

just leave the thing in 4wd drive...i do that all the time back home when driving on snow and ice. and im open/open and never have issues.

 

To answer my original question, I called East Coast Gear Supply and spoke with Chase in their technical support department. Chase said replacing the elocker with a Truetrac could be done but that the bolt mounting patterns don't line up. Now I'm not 100% sure if he was referring to the bolt mounting pattern of the elocker onto the ring gear as not matching the truetrac bolt mounting pattern or if he was referring to the bolt mounting pattern of the 3rd member mating up with the outer housing. However, the gist of our conversation is that it would be easiest / most straight forward without a lot of custom work to replace the axle outer housing (into which the 3rd member mounts) if I really have to have a Truetrac. So that means finding a rear axle off a 2WD Tacoma or a 4WD without the elocker (4WD Sport or non-TRD-OR).

Then we got to talking about why I want to ditch the elocker for a Truetrac. I described my desire to improve my onroad traction in the dry/wet/icy/mix-of-icy-snowy-wet-dry conditions without having to go in and out of 4WD. His reply was to leave it as is and drive in 4HI open/open. I was under the impression that driving on the dry pavement in 4HI would bind up front/rear and break stuff. He said if I keep it under 30mph, I should be fine in the conditions I described.

For anyone else that might be interested in a 3rd Gen 4Runner locking center diff, Chase said such a swap should be doable, i.e. the 4runner center diff should mate up with the Tacoma transmission (since I believe the Taco / 4runner trannies were the same units - A340E/A340F for the V6 auto units), but that there is some electrical / electronics involving the ECU on the center diff. He went on to add that the 4Runner locking center diff's "are great until" they break, and then they are like $3K to repair.

Another reason to stick with the tried-and-true Taco transfer case.

So I think I'll leave it like I have it (Open / Elocker) for the time being.

 

THIS!

IF you are on icy roads, then keep in in H4 (4WD HIGH Range)... When you are on dry pavement and are driving slow to make a sharp turn or parallel park, then take it out of 4WD for that purpose.

In the future if you want ALL WHEEL DRIVE (3 differentials), then that is a different system for different uses. Tacomas have 4 WHEEL DRIVE (2 differentials and a transfer case) for off roading, since 4WD splits the power equally between front and rear differentials, but doesn't allow slippage between the two, as needed when turning on dry roads.

 

I don't know where you think having an auto locker makes your truck handle better in the snow. Having the back end locked makes your truck more squirrelly an easier to fish tail. You don't want to drive on the road with the ass end locked.

You are right about the center diffs. No matter what year they work the same. Power goes on the end with the least amount of traction and the axle diffs send it to the wheel with the least amount of traction. I don't see anyway having that can enable you to run 2 trutracs to improve your driving ability.

Sorry to rain on your parade but you would do all this work and have a truck tht performs no better than your current set up. You would have just gone through a ton of work not not. If you really want to go through this you should just buy an 03 4 runner. But it still won't be any better than your truck is now.

Get some good tires, maybe add an abs kill switch, throw some weight in the bed, and just put it in 4wd like the rest of the world does and you will be just fine.

 

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