A beefier higher angle inner CV Joint

I figured if anyone would have messed with this, it would be second gen guys.

Has anyone used the inner CV Joint from a 100 Series Land Cruiser? It's a 6 ball plunging joint, 105 mm OD. Inner stub is 30 spline and all dimensions of the stub appear to be the same as the Tacoma unit. So it should pop right into the 8" front differential. The inner race of this CV Joint takes a 30 spline shaft, so plenty of options.

 

What makes the LC joint stronger?

 

I can't answer your question but I'm intrigued by where you're headed with this.

The usual thought process is that a CV is an easy to change weak link. Making the CV beefier may cause your front diff to become the weak link which is not an easy trail fix.

 

Total length of the axle may be different. If so switching the shafts might not work due to the cage having a different spline count or dia. I don't know. Probably wouldn't hurt to go buy 2 reman units tear them down and go from there. Not really sure about the strength being any greater than a tacoma one though not really sure on that either.

There was a discussion about the "fuse" in a bunch of other threads. It seems like it's hit or miss if you should rely on the stock axles being the "fuse" as others have broken other stuff with stock axles. The "fuse" conversation is always an interesting one. I'm not sure there is accurate data to go one way or the other. You also have the U-joints which "should" be weaker than the diff.

I'm with you though I'd rather break an axle or DS than anything else on the front end.

 

Thanks for replies.

The design and the larger size are where the strength comes from. More importantly, it may also operate at increased angles w/o binding.... more droop is always nice if other parts will allow.

Diff strength is on the radar. The 100 Series Land Cruiser also has a reverse rotation 8" diff, though it is not the clamshell, more like the 86 -95 7.5" diff. The weak link with the early 8" in the 100 was the 2 pin diff, Toyota upgraded it to a 4 pin and things were much better. Locked up heavy rigs with 35" tires do fairly well.

I already have a 100 axle on the shelf. Over all length looks pretty close, if not spot on. Taco has a 29 spline axle, but the 4-Runner and GX use a 30 spline here, should slide right in.

 

The u-joints are subjected to at a minimum 3.73 times less torque than the CV axles. In the front, I've never seen a front u-joint be the weak link. Me personally, I shattered the entire axle tube where the passenger side half shaft connects in, the CV axle itself was fine. For my preference, I'll leave the stock CVs in for fear of breaking something more expensive.

 

There is also no issues with binding on the OEM setup. You will hit the steering stops before the birfields will bind, and even with extended travel shocks I've had my UCA hit the coil spring and the inner joint is not binding.

It would be nice to know if these inner joints were compatible though, at least from a spare parts perspective. They are probably cheaper than tacoma parts.

 

Just thinking out loud... what if the tripod joint created the forces that shattered that axle and extension housing? While it may operate at the angles we ask, how efficient is it at those angles? No one upgrades to tripod joints... Time for research.

 

Stock vs uzj100.

 

beefy. Are the splines the same and shaft diameters equal where it fits in the side gear and rides on the seal?

 

The stubs are identical, except for the machining at the tip, which doesn't seem to bother anything. This was verified/measured with a Mitutoyo 500. The LC and Tacoma diffs even use the same part numbers for the inner axle seals. It's all typical 30 spline 8" diff stuff.

 

Here is the remainder of the uzj100 axle.... ALL 30 spline 1.31". Yes, the UZJ has a full floating front end. I smell manual hubs that won't disintegrate with a little throttle. Don't let the boot on the Taco axle fool you, the UZJ outer CV is substantially larger (3rd pic).