Step by step removal and installation of e-locker 3rd member

K.

 

Great write-up man! I used it to remove my third member on my '08 Prerunner today. Couldn't have done it without this so thank you! @MonkeyProof

 

So I moved the engagement fork as far as it can go towards the right (away from the diff) but the wheels still move in the same direction. Any input on this? yes, the engagement for is ALL the way to the right.

 

This was an AMAZING write-up! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. Among others, I accepted the challenge after gaining confidence from how easy you made this look. I didn't beat your hour completion time, but am still completely satisfied I didn't have to pay some else to do it. All in all - it was about 6 1/2 hours and roughly $36 in parts. My diff was leaking at the E-Locker. I'll post pics for reference.

 

Very good write up indeed, I just wish I didn’t have to replace my ring and pinion on the Tacoma I just bought

 

Dealership just quoted me $4,000 for a new 3rd member, yes I laughed too! Ill be referencing this when the rear diff gets too loud to ignore.

 

4K is insane! Do it yourself for $1000 or less and half-full day of work. On a hoist I had mine out in about 45 mins on a Canadian rust belt truck. Then had to wait 3 weeks for parts lol

 

@MonkeyProof Is it bigger tires(more rotational weight) that causes these ring and pinion gears to fail? Are there not stronger options or does this require a gear ratio change to avoid this?

 

Awesome writeup @MonkeyProof.

I'll be swapping out my third member in about a week with one built by ECGS. Any particular reason you left the brake lines connected when you pulled the axles? Most people I've seen have suggested disconnecting them but it looks to me like you had plenty of slack to work with once you unbolted the mounting brackets for the hard line.

 

If you can manage to leave them connected you don’t have to bleed brakes when you’re done and have one less thing to clean up.

 

Just did mine this afternoon first time on a Tacoma took about 3 hours and I was visiting with a bud while doing it. I left the brake lines attached and had more than enough slack in the axles

 

This is posted in the second gen taco page. Is the process the same for a first gen taco? I’m very handy, I change all my brakes, radiator, oil changes, etc and have more than enough tools to do the job I just want to make sure I’m not in for any surprises if I order a built third from east coast and go to install. I know all the tacoma axles are pretty similar and this is by far the best write up I’ve found.
Thanks

 

As it is Thanksgiving I am thankful for your brake line tip, saved me a bunch of time. Great write-up, third member swapped!

 

Going to use this to swap my new ECGS third member in, thanks 8 years later!

 

I too will be using this write up when I replace mine. Thanks!

 

@MonkeyProof - I got my truck (2006 TRD) with ~225,000 miles on it and it's currently at ~239,000. Without knowing much about the maintenance that was performed before getting the truck, is there anything you'd recommend replacing during my 3rd member swap based on mileage? Not sure I'd be able to figure out if something needs to be replaced while doing the swap so I'm trying to figure out where labor may overlap.

Thanks in advance, really appreciate the time you put into this write up and answering follow up questions!

 

If you're swapping thirds you're pretty much replacing everything. Check the axle splines and that's about it.

 

@Rakso - Did you ever get the part number for your broken stud? Planning on having a few on hand for replacement as I assume I may break a few.

 

Tagging this so I can find it easy tomorrow when I play musical diffs with my trucks