Fix or sell 2003 Taco TRD rear diff is bad

L2R

He had a Toyota tech diagnose it.

 

Rear differential, not sure the specifics yet. Hoping the axle spindles aren’t damaged.

 

Had a guy (owner/manger) from Master Tech in Missoula, Montana look at it. NOT the dealership. Master tech is a Toyota specialist who only works on Toyota’s and Lexus vehicles.

 

Haven’t opened the carrier yet. Not sure how extensive the problem but it’s surely mechanical and not electric.

 

I have a 3rd member I'll sell cheap. PM you.

 

I guess it depends on your area but I picked up a complete e locker axle out of a Tacoma with 100K miles for $500 and one out of a 4runner for $350 in the last month and a half...

 

I guess that depends on what led up to the damage. Is there something specific that led to you taking it into the shop? Were you doing burnouts and heard a loud thunk, wheeling it and out got bound up, or just driving it "normally" and started hearing noises.

I wouldn't recommend driving it anymore, just to prevent any further damage, so you may as well take the thing apart and check it out.

 

I’ve been looking high and low and cant find too many with the e locker listed let alone at that price... If you’ve got a lead I’d gladly take it!

 

Do you go off-roading? Do you use the locker much?

If not, I would cast a wider net and look at the 8.4" diffs, too.

If it were me, and my TRD diff was bad, I'd go to a non-locker diff and put in an ARB or something. The TRD lockers are good lockers, but ARB is superior. My locker is usually a little finicky to engage, but the ARBs are instant. Might be a little stronger, but not like people are breaking the TRD lockers, they're plenty strong for most people.

 

Off Road, not in the sense that I’m climbing/crawling but I drive a lot on snowy/muddy roads that require 4x4 but rarely, if ever, do I use the locking diff. I’m not super skookum on the 3rd sizes and ratios. The B03A is an 8” 4.10 correct? How would the 8.4” compare? Would it have the same ratio? Could it be mounted on the rear axle assembly?

 

The difference between the 8" and the 8.4" is unnecessarily confusing. They are both 8" ring gears. The size difference just denotes the locker and non-locker 3rd members aren't interchangeable. IIRC there are some "mods" you can do to get an e-locker to fit in the non e-lock housing (or the other way around), but don't quote me on that...

You may have seen this already but here's where to decode your axle code (you are correct, your code = 8" ring gear with 4.10's, 2 pinion)

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-gear-ratio-chart.365138/

I little discussion of the 8" vs 8.4":
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/8-vs-8-4-diff.325590/

The ratio (4.10) is independent of the size of the ring gear. It's a ratio of how many turns the pinion gear turns (4.10 times) to 1 turn of the ring gear. This needs to be matched for the front and rear for 4x4's, and typically when you get larger tires you should consider getting lower gears (higher ratio number) to compensate for the larger tires (which is essentially increasing your overall gearing - lower diff gears compensate for this).

So, the MOST important thing is to get a differential that matches your front diff. It's not the end of the world if you find a good diff with 3.91's or whatever, but it needs to be regeared to 4.10 to match what you already have. Doesn't matter if it's the "8" or the "8.4". They both bolt up to your driveshaft the same.