2015 2wd rear end gear swap

Hi guys,

I have a 2015 2wd Tacoma. A while back I lifted my taco with the fat bob’s kit as well as put on some 30” A/T KO2’s. I love the look and stance however I’d like to regain some low end power back. My plan is to do a gear swap on the stock rear end. Has anyone done this? My car is primarily a daily driver. I do not drive far to go to work. I do not off road the truck however I do have a noticeable power(torque) decrease in lower gears especially going up steep hills. I am not unhappy with my taco just want to improve it if possible. If you guys have tips tricks or part numbers I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

 

How many miles are on the truck?

 

Low mileage I think roughly 26,000 give or take.

 

What size tires did you start with? 30" sounds kind'f OEM.

 

I started with stock wheels and tires. Only did one switch after the fat bob lift kit and black box mod. So I have the 30x9.5’s now

 

The reason I asked, I thought 2015 Taco's came with 265/70/16, that size tire is 30" tall.

 

I’m gonna take a wild guess that he has a 5 lug.

 

Anyone with some helpful info would be much appreciated.

 

Pic of rear diff

 

Spring under=5 lug.

 

Pics of 2015 Tacoma 2wd

 

Wow,that's a rare truck man. As far as re-gear,I'm sure there's some good off road shops in your area. Surely there's some local members to give a recommendation.

 

This thread has some good info. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hackds-ongoing-5-lug-armored-slug-build.368928/
He pretty much has the same truck with a similar issue. 5-lugs are geared for the smaller tire/wheel combo that they come with(I think it’s a 3.31-1 rear end) and so you’ll probably want to go a lower ratio with the larger wheels. I think 5-lug automatics have 3.55 gears and the next after that is 3.73. The tire size tool can help you figure out where you’ll end up. https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc
If you don’t spend much time on the highway but do drive in hilly areas the 3.73 might be the preferred option but don’t take my word for it, I’ve only done some reading and not the actual swap. 4.10 gears seems excessive if you don’t off-road and don’t get tires any bigger but that will give you even more low end torque.

 

If you have a 5-speed the simplest diy would be a rear axle swap for one from an automatic. That eliminates any work on the third member or the axles/seals.

 

All Reg. cab Taco 4X4's for the past several yrs., come with 4.10 rear end gears & at least 30" tires. Auto. or manual all get the same gear ratio. Strange but true. These little Taco's with the auto. are really weak, I know, I have a 2013. If you had a manual, it would be better, as the manual trans. is geared lower than the auto. In D mine runs down around 1850 or 1900 rpm @ 60 mph. below the rpm where the little 2.7 makes power. If I run in 3, the thing runs up around 2500 rpm @ 60 mph. A little higher than I like, but it just cruises along in no strain at all. when in D it seems to be straining just to hold it's speed. I think the best would be a rear end gear that would put me at around 2200 or 2300 rpm. @ 60 mph. Find one of the rear end ratio charts, put in your tire size, & rpm & it will give the rear end gear you need. There is one at "West coast differentials". Sounds like a 4.56 may be good for you. Figure, by the chart, what you have now, to start with & go from there. If you were satisfied with what you had before the tire change, get it back as near to what it was as possible with a rear gear change.

 

Just looked it up, 30" tires @ 60mph W/ 3.55 gear = 1670 rpm 3.73 gear = 1755 rpm 4.10 = 1929 4.56 = 2145 4.88 = 2296 5.29 gear = 2488 rpm. That's with an auto trans. W/OD. Manual, manual W/OD, or auto. WO/ OD will be different. Now if you were happy with your orig gearing, find your orig. tire size & rear end gear, then figure it's orig. rpm. @ 60 mph. then pick closest from the above ratios. Hope this helps.

 

He has a 2wd so not a 4.10 3rd member. Either 3.31(5-spd) or 3.55(auto) but all the other stuff on using the tire chart is spot on, thanks.

 

The truck will have come with 3.307:1 (M/T) or 3.583:1 (A/T) and 215/70R15 (Dia = 683 mm) tires.

Moving to 30" (762 mm) is an 11.6% increase, and so to keep everything the same, you'd need to move your final drive gearing to ~3.69:1 (M/T) or ~4.00:1 (A/T).

Closest options from Toyota would be 3.727:1, 3.909:1, or 4.100:1, part numbers as follows:

41201-80212 - Gear Set, Final Drive (3.727:1)
41201-80144 - Gear Set, Final Drive (3.909:1)
41201-80594 - Gear Set, Final Drive (4.100:1)

$17 42181-34011 Differential Gasket

42181-34011 - Gasket, Differential Pumpkin to Axle Housing

$14 12157-10010 Toyota Oil Drain Plug Crushable Steel Gaskets Set of 10 OEM 12157-10010

12157-10010 - Gasket, Drain/Fill Plugs
90301-83002 - O-Ring, Wheel Bearing Housing to Axle Housing (Qty: 2)

Alternate options for complete assembled differential instead of gears only:

41110-35A50 - Differential (3.727:1)
41110-35A70 - Differential (3.727:1 with LSD)
41110-34400 - Differential (3.909:1)
41110-34420 - Differential (3.909:1 with LSD)
41110-34341 - Differential (4.100:1)
41110-34320 - Differential (4.100:1 with LSD)
42181-34011 - Gasket, Differential Pumpkin to Axle Housing
12157-10010 - Gasket, Drain/Fill Plugs
90301-83002 - O-Ring, Wheel Bearing Housing to Axle Housing (Qty: 2)

I would probably recommend replacing other bearings and seals when doing this, but they wouldn't be strictly required.

Jeff