4.10? Or 4.56?

Recalibrate it.

 

How?

 

Hyper Tech or Dakota Digital boxes I think can correct the speedometer.

There is also the ScanGaugeII approach, since it can display mph and correct for a percentage or mph off. It wont fix my speedo or odometer, but not a bad solution that doubles as an OBD reader and such.

 

I am still saving but I think my next truck will be a tundra. I will regear in 2018 though just waiting for xmas to get it done. Gonna drive this 5 lug till it dies.

 

Do they make those for a 1st gen?

 

I'm pretty sure they do. In fact they may be the same device as the method of recalibration is quite basic (though does require chasing wires behind the dash).

 

What exactly makes the manual 3.31 5lug nonupgradeable gear wise?

 

The issue is related to the teeth count and pitch of the ring and pinion which renders it incompatible to swap out any gears above the as-equipped 3.31 gearing ratio. 3.15 gearing from an X-Runner would fit in the 3.31 3rd member, but you obviously want to go up, not down.

A 3.58 auto transmission 3rd member would fit right in unmodded, or throw in 4.10 gears into it, or whatever - I simply had a 4.10 3rd member pulled from a late model 4x4 SR5 trim-level (NOT TRD) wreck with known low km's, and went from there.

 

i have some 4.10 im willing to get rid of from my 04 tacoma 7.5 rear end

 

So does that mean a complete 3rd member from a 6 lug will swap right into a 5 lug manual, as long as its not from a TRD?

 

In theory - the issue with differentials out of TRD spec Tacomas is the e-locker. As such, up to 2008 Tacoma TRD Sport should work, since it was 2009 that they went to an e-locker. All TRD Off-road trim packages are incompatible.

So, Base or SR5 trim level Prerunners with a 3.73 (V6 equipped), 3.90 (if so equipped - i think that's a 1st gen thing), 4.10 or 4x4 Base or SR5 trim level's with the 4.10 3rd member.

 

No TRD sports come with an e-locker. Those are only the Off Road. What you may be thinking of is that the sports went from a mechanical LSD to an electronic LSD (just a simulated LSD enacted by the brakes) but there's no physical size difference.

All V6 come with 3.73 gear regardless of prerunner or 4x4

 

Thank you. Corrected - as such, up to 2008 TRD Sports will work.

 

All sports should work, because they're all the same thing size wise. The difference would be the 05-08 has a mechanical LSD and 09-15 would be an open diff, since the "electronic LSD" isn't linked to the 3rd member really.

 

Information on this is spread far and wide, with lots of half-truths and falsehoods lurking - as such i did my best with info at hand.

As a caution - i have read posts indicating that the 09 and up Sports are in the same category as the TRD Off-roads, in terms of incompatibility.

My safe bet was just to get a known SR5 3rd member, pulled.

 

Yeah that's the unfortunate reality of forums sometimes. It's hard to wade through and figure out what is and isn't correct. Best to go with the known truth and what works.

 

I like to think that i have a better handle on it (in regards to the 5-lugs at least) than average, but i'm a social worker not a mechanic, dammit. I've spent enough hours wasting time trying to sort it out for my own needs, that's for darn sure.

In the end, it was a search on car-part.com, finding a likely donor and confirming with a conversation on the phone, and a known good pull delivered from a fresh-wrecked 2014 4x4 SR5 located about 3,000 km away.

 

I guess that I have sufficient time and mileage elapsed now to leave a bit of a mini-review on this that may or may not influence the 'to gear or not to gear' conundrum - my final changes (including regearing to 4.10) occurred mid-Sept 2017.

I've run 5 tanks through the Tacoma since. Influencing factors in changes, include exhaust system work with header, heavier 10 ply 235/85's at 31.7" diameter, which technically calls for 3.91 gearing, making the truck mildly overgeared at 4.10:1. A LSD was also installed in with the 4.10 third member. I also have a fuckton of additional weight and parasitic drag hanging off my 5-lug, and that has an influence on the whole package.

As compared to before regearing, the truck went from being sluggish, to running somewhat like a raped-ape off the line. I am a lead-foot, and for a 4 cylinder, the gearing satisfies. I usually top out and run at approximately 120km/h .. it can get higher, but that's it's 5th gear sweet-spot. Acceleration is still ample, with a kick down to 4th gear. With the snow we've had the past 2 weeks - putting in the LSD at the same time, has been a God-send. I live in a region of relatively level terrain, except for a big arse bridge smack dab in the middle of my commute. 90% of my driving is either highway commute, or alternatively, highway turned parking lot commute.

There is a cost. Wave bye-bye to good gas mileage. It looks like i'm down approximately 20% in overall mpg, based on average kilometers travelled per refill, before and after gearing and tire changes occured. Relatively tall high-geared 3.31 ratio certainly worked to my advantage with the previous set of lighter weight 29.3" tires, at the expense of acceleration. I could easily improve the current gas mileage by not burying the pedal into the firewall quite so enthusiastically, or quite so often.. but that is my habit in going through the gears, two wheeled or four.

Was the re-gear, attendant LSD install, and everything else worth it? It better be, for me. I purpose built the truck as it is, and i'm keeping the truck until it, or i, expires.

Your needs and circumstances may differ - consider them first.

FWIW, and IMHO..

 

So, the part that has been throwing me is that, as I understand it, all 4X4s come with an 8" ring gear third member. Is the diff housing for the 7.5" the same? So, as long as you change the complete 3rd member, you can put an 8" one into a formerly 7.5" axle and everything else (housing, axle shafts) will be compatible?

 

No idea on that one.. i never went down that side-alley in my search. I believe that you can use the 7.5's ring and pinion gears in an 8.0.. but anything beyond that, would be purely speculative. Sorry.