Anyone put a Kazuma LSD in a 4 cyl Prerunner?

I've found a little bit of this discussion here and elsewhere, but not much. I"m looking to swap that Kazuma TRD LSD into an open diffed Prerunner ext cab with the 2.7L and an auto. This was the one combo that did not come with the e-locker. I'd like to hear from someone who tried this, or any LSD in that diff, really. This could be done pretty cheaply, as compared to the Detroit LSD and definitely to any kind of decent locker system. As much as I love my Pre, it has gotten me stuck in the snow for the last #*^$ time, regardless of how much weight is in the bed, and how good the tires are!

 

I thought about doing this for a while, but didn't. The Tundra TRD models had an LSD (Kazuma I think). The nice thing about those, you can swap in the entire third-member yourself into your non-elocked axle housing. The problem was I wouldn't be able to match the gears to the front axle (mine is 4.56). The Tundras were all 3.92 or something like that. On your pre-runner thats not an issue, but if the ratio is different from yours, then your odo and speedo will be off.

 

I ran a Kazuma LSD in the rear of my for a few years, and keep it as a spare 3rd. (Note: I'm a 4wd V6, but I don't think that matters)


My opinion is that it helped a lot over the road and in the snow. It allowed some wheel spin but transferred a fair amount of power to the opposite wheel. So, for snow, I really liked it.


Also, tan4x4, you don't need to buy a tundra 3rd... I bought my LSD new for $250.


Here's one for $300
http://yhst-99618682857744.stores.yahoo.net/trdkazamalsd.html

 

Odo and speedometer isnt controlled by gear ratio. The rest what you said is correct. Tundras are 3.92 or 4.30. I put a 2005 tundra 3.92 with lsd in my truck.

 

I disagree. Changing either tire diameter or gear ratio will change the rpms of the driveshaft for a particular vehicle speed. That will throw off the speedo/odo.

I agree. I was just pointing out that using a Tundra third was an option. With an LSD in-the-box, you'd have to pay someone to install the unit into your third. Most folks, like myself, don't have the skill and tools to do that.

 

Gears will not change speed reading. You're correct about tire size changes.

 

I must give my opinion on this, if you want a little more traction then I highly recommend the Detroit truetrac. It's a little more expensive but it's a great LSD. I absolutely love mine. Great traction in the snow.

 

If not sure about a Prerunner, but I always thought that the speed sensor was connected to the back of the transfer case. This means that changing gears or tires would affect the speedo.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on my question. I was researching the differences between the two (clutch packs vs. torsen) and while the Truetrac seems to make more sense, mechanically, my Prerunner is a utility vehicle in the city, i.e., never goes off road. That, plus the fact that I only put about 6-7k miles per year on her, I don't think I need the heavier duty Truetrac. In this case, I think the cost is the determining factor.

AFAICT, they both have similar performance for my application.

 

Not sure how your Dodge senses speed, but most vehicles sense the RPM of the driveshaft. I've heard that some newer more-computerized cars have a built-in means to re-calibrate the speedo when tires or gears are changed. Did you do the swap yourself?

There are plenty of aftermarket devices to recal the speedo after tire or GEAR changes. Here's an example (read the first paragraph) :
http://www.jegs.com/p/Hypertech/Hypertech-Speedometer-Calibrator/1173113/10002/-1

 

Tire and gear swaps have changed the speedo and odo on every vehicle I've done it on. If you regear to compensate for larger tires and bring the ratio back into the original range the speedometer will be corrected.

 

all this talk of LSD......

 

Did you do this swap yet? I am wanting a mechanical lsd instead of the crappy electronic one on my 2011