Diff Rebuild

I’m looking to put a trd e-locker on my truck and was wondering what parts will fit. Can I take an e-locker out of a truck with different gears and put the locker into my diff? Can I take gears from my diff and put them in the e-locker housing? I assume it’s all compatible as long as it’s still an 8” 2 pinion diff right? The gears and locker can be swapped?

 

Unfortunately, you can’t do any of those things. The axle housing, 3rd member, carrier, and gears are all different between the e-locker and open diffs. You would have to swap the entire e-locker axle and get new gears specifically for the elocker carrier (assuming you have a non-stock gear ratio in the front diff).

You would be much better off getting a locker installed in your current diff, such as a Harrop or ARB.

 

https://www.lceperformance.com/tech-articles/differential/differential-information/

 

The TRD elocker is more than sufficient for 99% daily/offroad use. I wheel for many years with the TRD elock rear end on 35 without any issue.

Find yourself a complete TRD locker and swap the entire axle. Depending on where you’re at, price can range anywhere from 800-1200. You can recover some money by selling your old axle for a few hundred buck.

 

I found this axle and it has same gears as mine. I just wanted to double check that I could swap it into my truck.

 

As long as the gears match, yes. 4.30 pretty rare

 

if that’s a TRD elock rear axle with matching front ratio (if you’re 4x4), I would hop on it. If you’re a prerunner, it wouldn’t matter.

As for engagement, you can buy a premade harness (+/-$250) or make it yourself using a DPDT relay and a factory RR switch (<$100). Making your own is simple.

 

Also, make sure you know how an elock third look like. You’ll be surprise at how many people don’t know. Just because it’s advertised as a TRD elock doesn’t mean it is.

Picture elock vs open axle -
Top axle: elock third will have an actuator attached to the driver side on the member itself with 2 separator pigtail/connector

Bottom axle: open third will not have any thing attached, fully rounded

 

Did any e-locker axles come with 4.30 gears? Thought they were all 4.10.

OP, are there more photos of that axle? Can’t see the other side of the diff where the actuator would be, and I don’t see the wiring harness or clips which indicates it’s not a e-locker.

 

it’s missing the actuator but it’s definitely got the oem diff housing for an e-locker.

 

Looks like the seller is into rock crawling and collects parts. I see an 80 front axle too

You can manually engage/disengage the locker to test it

 

Interesting thread! I'm looking to do the same with my 2013 TRD Sport. Been flip-flopping between the options of e-Locker, ARB, TRD-OR axle swap.
A complete is hard to come by, so I've been looking at options for a RTD-OR axle housing and a rebuild 3rd member from https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/

I realize that pretty much every thread concludes that I should just go ARB. But the idea of a complete axle swap sounds appealing. Especially since it seems that the 3rd gen OR rear axle is a straightforward swap for the 2nd Gen TRD Sport.

OP - what was your motivation for a complete axle over an eLocker?

 

Can’t answer for OP but majority of folks who went with the complete OR axle/elock is due to low cost compared to Eaton/arb. With that route, they can recoup some loss by selling the existing axle for a few hundred bucks.

Only you can decide what you really want. Would you need/use the Eaton/arb that much to justify the cost of $1400-$1600 for the locker/accessories? Or will a complete OR/elock for $700-$1000 justify the purchase? I have front and rear TJM lockers and they get use maybe once or twice a year honestly. I use the crawl box more than anything.

People will say OR/elock are weak compared to the non lock but it’s the R&P that break, not the locker itself. I have my fair share of 2 arb lockers from 2 different truck that leaks over time, like many others had experience with arb air leak. I have buddies with Eaton that hates it when the vehicle is on a steep climb and they have to back down slightly to readjust their approach angle and the locker will disengage before re-engaging. That loss of momentarily traction is love hate too for the Eaton. They each have their own pros and cons.

 

Thanks for the insight @02hilux - yes, I think an OR/elock rear axle would be good. I had figured the price was comparable, but hadn't factored in the savings of selling the original axle. I guess have of me always has a mind to restore to stock before selling.

On that note - I wonder if I am in the same boat as the OP. I have a RWD 2nd-gen TRD Sport and am torn three ways:
- go for an ARB/Haroop for the truck
- trade the entire truck for a 4x4 TRD OR
- purchase a TRD OR rear axle

I don't do any serious off road, but spend a lot of weekends in the Sierras and typically camp through the winter. We even spent New Years Eve knee deep in snow on the Sonora pass last year, and have started to dabble in dirt roads and mud.
I've been out with the shovel and traction boards a few times now and wonder if I'm just ill-equipped - that I should have bought the 4x4 (and maybe OR).

Would a rear locker be a good stop-gap until the right truck comes along, or am I wasting time/money.
My son is pretty attached to this one - so if I change it'll have to be another 2nd-gen DCSB, so I can transfer all the add-ons, and probably also have to stay the MG-1G3 grey.

@Bryce Dahlstrom - sorry, I hope I'm not hijacking your thread. But I think I am about a few weeks behind you on doing the exact same axle swap. I have lead on a 3rd gen TRD Pro axle...

 

Again, 4wd is nice but I don’t know what type off “offroad” you do. Personally, it’s one of those things you rather have and not need it versus needing it and not have it. Or solid axle and not have to find another matching Tacoma.

Regardless, having a rear lock is preferred vs an opened. Rear lock can get you farther than an open diff. That being said, you can still swap over to an OR axle with your current truck, there’s benefits to that. The pro of doing that now is, later on, when you do find a 4wd that isn’t OR, you can swap the axle over too.

 

I think thats leaning towards wasting time/money on a 2wd truck, unless there is significant attachment to it. 2WD with a locker can go a lot of places, a 4x4 with open diffs can go a lot of places, both will leave you itching to have the other though. Maybe 4x4 and locker swap it? At that point I'd probably just say sell and buy a different one though. Coming from someone who did an elocker axle swap.

I've also never heard of elocker swaps on 2nd gens, granted I don't spend time on that side of the forum. Make sure its just as easy a swap for 2nd gens as it is for 1st gens.

Maybe keep the axle swap axle idea in your back pocket when looking at trucks, so if you can save a few $k on a 4x4 with an open rear and then do the swap on that truck.

 

Thanks for the insight guys - much appreciated. Yeah, I see that this is at risk of becoming a bit of a money pit.
Honestly, I think I'm just itching for some time under a truck to get my grease-monkey fix, a bit of a winter project.

Riding above posts, I hear "if you can find a reasonably priced OR axle, then grab it"!

Most likely I'll buy an axle and it'll sit int he corner for the garage for months.

Just to understand a bit more the LSD in the TRD Sport is applied via the brakes, right? So swapping an OR axle into a TRD Sport would give a wire-up for the locker, and retain the LSD?
Just the same as adding an ARB/Haroop?