The 5.29 Mega Thread!!

Lid separated.....





Surfaces checked and no burrs.....never any burrs with Nitro





85 ft/lb with red Loctite




New carrier bearings tapped on. They were a tight fit....always a good thing.

 

"old" 430 pinion is out.






Is the flange reusable? Looks kinda grungy.






Amazing what a little wipe-off with a rag will do. This flange is almost like new.





Yep. 3rd gens have this fancy pinion seal.....part # 90311-41015 ....got one coming from LA right at this moment.





old races removed.




And the outer race also. Saved the oil retainer.

 

A little tricky trying to get this big inner race to drop down evenly.....but using the tools shown in the pic it can be done. Key is the round bubble leveller.






,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,






Bingo. No special Toyota SST tool needed.

 

Pinion end is loaded up first




Now this takes a little bit of playing with....have to change out the washer plates to get some preload and some kind of backlash.




Painted some marking paint on 3 teeth and sealed it. This is my fixture for getting a good easy to read swipe on the gears.
Apply some resistance on the rag and turn the side gear....





Backlash was checking in kinda tight at .003 but good enough for a depth check.




Drive side.....beautiful





Coast .............ohhhhh yaaaaaa.




comet tail....swinging out from the root. Nice.

 

This thread convinced me that 5.29 is the way to go with the auto. I probably will only run 33s (255/80R17) load C with these gears. Targeting 2500rpm+ in 6th at 70mph.

 

I’d like to say thank you to @ZUK. I just arrived home from picking up my front clam from Ken’s shop. Both the front, and rear 5.29 gear install went great. He turned around each install in 48 hours, allowing me to use my remaining time off of work this week to get this project buttoned up. I cant stress enough how it cool it is that Ken shares his depth of knowledge, augmented with photos, and notes on the internet. He really brought this thread to next level. I failed to take many photos myself. I’ll let you all know very soon how the 5.29/manual/285-75 combo works out.

 

Shawn--- Your cement floor is much too clean


A little backwards here but here's the gear notes of the front 8" clam.
Notice the first pinion shim of 074 hit it smack on the money. Luck.

And the left and right Washer plates....only took 3 times to nail backlash and the carrier bearing preload. Lucky for sure.

 

With the pinion depth nailed down, now to put the fresh crush sleeve in.








The earlier model Tacos took the usual 29 spline rubberized seal 90311-41009
but the one I removed from Shawn's clam was different so got one at the dealership after a 2 day wait.
It came in a plastic case.....wow.
Old one on the left....new one in the plastic case.




The factory really applies the grease.



The NOK stamped part number. XH1701H



The tool I use to recess the seal evenly. tap tap tap




The pinion flange was almost brand new looking.
Lots of anti-seize on the threads....we have a date with a crush sleeve.



My torque wrench multiplier(x2)
Still took 200 ft/lb to crush that sleeve....even with the anti-seize.




................................



Was happy with 12 inch/pounds of pinion preload..

 

I measured the backlash with this level indicator on about every 3rd tooth. Very stable readings I might add.












FIPG from Toyota.....great stuff.





Blue Loctite and 37 ft/lb on all 10 bolts.





A very strong install for Shawn. I'm happy to hear he uses Amsoil also.

 

Zuk is there a reason you use a crush sleeve instead of a solid spacer like on the old 8” diffs?

 

Are you running 285/75-16 or 285/75-17. I was planning on running the later to be at the sweet spot tires size, gearing, weight, and cost vs running 35s.

 

I prefer to see a solid collar mostly in a rear diff that see's unusual torque levels....such as a trail only rig with manual tranny/double cases/BIG tires. Those rigs see all kinds of "torque spikes" and severe gear multiplication ........ a solid gear install and a solid collar seems the way to go. Now on a daily driver with an auto(liquid coupled tranny), the spikes just are not there. On my own daily driver, 01 Taco with SAS/auto/3.4L/35"/single chain tcase that sees only an occasional trail or camp spot, I have chosen crush sleeves with no expected issues for as long as the bearings last(20 years or so). Let me tell you....I love having 9.5" FJ60 diffs front and rear on my Taco(Nitro529s and Harrops)......it feels like the driveline is now built to take any kind of strain or tugging that my stock auto tranny can dish out

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f152/sas-fj60-axle-housing-flip-front-shackle-my-2001-tacoma-283930/

The front clamshell never sees the abuse that the rear diff sees. So it could be said that solid collars in fronts are a bit overkill....but some of the earlier Nitro gear packages have them so I install them anyways.

 

If @ZUK shares too many details we will be able to figure this all out for ourselves!

Definitely appreciate ALL the info and pictures!

 

Looking for some advice and yes, I’ve read through all 18 pages on this thread and I’m still unsure.

Setup:
Method NV 305 16x8
Cooper STT PRO 285/75/16 (32.99in)
TC +2 Race LT w/ the accompanying Kings up front
AG relocation brackets w/ 12” Kings in the rear
Armor: none...yet and undecided on this.

The front suspension along with wheels and tires are going on next weekend, while the rear is hopefully going to be done by mid-March.
I live in L.A. and drive roughly 60 freeway miles round trip, Mon-Fri. There is an area called the Newhall Pass that I drive through, to and from work, which has a decent incline that’s about 1.5 miles long and I almost always suffer the dreaded 6th to 4th downshift. When I’m not stuck in 10-15mpg traffic, I do have a lead foot and tend to cruise at 75-80mph on a bone stock setup. I’ve had the TSB done and I still hate the gear hunt/shifting as well as how much of a sled this truck is, when it comes to passing slower drivers on the freeway. Full disclosure, the downshifting from 6th to 4th and high rpm rev that comes with it is infuriating.
If my goal is to maintain 70-75mph freeway cruising speed, should I jump to 4.88 or 5.29? I do make 200-280 mile trips to Vegas or San Diego once or twice a year, most other driving is either local streets or DD to work.

Thanks in advance to any of you that reply.

 

If you are on the fence, 5.29.

With your setup it wont be long until you are on 35s anyway.

 

Please don’t tell me that, re: 35’s, I’m all about Smiles Per Gallon vs being handcuffed by MPG but, with the amount of driving I’m doing, and absurd California gas prices, I had to lie to myself by thinking I’ll save a few $$$ per year by staying with 285/33’s instead of 315/35’s.

 

Is it narcissistic to quote my self? I am having the same debate.

@ 80mph and 5.29
2522 rpm 33’s
2440 rpm 34’s

4.88
2327 rpm 33’s
2251 rpm 34’s

 

Is 150-200 rpms that significant to you?

If yes, go 4.88
if no, go 5.29

You wont see a whole lot of difference other than some mpg drop

 

No, this is some good info to have staring you in the face. I certainly appreciate it.

I wish I knew someone local that had this done so I could drive their truck. This is looking to be a ‘sight unseen’ purchase and I’m just going to have to live with the outcome.

Do you have numbers for
285/75/16 diameter 32.99”

 

Ive got an appointment next month at ECGS to get 5.29 with REM polishing installed. I am going to be running 33s but already have a front streamline bumper and rock sliders that are steel,I also have a bed rack and rtt on the back at times, I don't plan to yet but can see myself going to 35s one day. I do plan to add some skids and a rear bumper with swing out as well as plenty of other things that will increase my weight added to the truck. I originally planned to go with 4.88 simply bc I run 33s and what everyone always says, but in talking to ECGS they said 5.29s will fit me much better and I will be much happier especially in the long run. I'll update this thread with my experience and thoughts after install. This thread has helped me make the choice and feel comfortable with what they recommended even more. I as all of you here am not happy with my truck anymore and want to be able to enjoy driving it once again.