Rear diff is getting replaced.

Could It be due to the fact that I don't engage 4wd for 10 miles every month like the manual says?

Long story short I went wheeling and then my diff started making a grinding noise after the trip. Now Toyota says it needs to be replaced and they won't know what went wrong till they take the old diff apart.

Kinda worried as that day I went wheeling was mainly rocky fire roads and light rock crawling.

Hoping for the best as I love this truck.

 

no......that engages the front diff.

 

And here I was about to to do a bilstein lift with new wheels/tires, but now going to hold off.

At 16k miles btw.

 

How hard were you flogging on it while 4x4'n?

 

Which diff started making noise? Front or Rear? Engaging 4wd every once in a while helps lubricate the “front” diff.

Check this out if you haven’t already.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCMN-17V285-0727.pdf

 

Not hard at all, and I have never floored it in 4wd.

2wd is another question though as spin the tires any chance I get in the dirt.

 

Thanks and it's the rear diff.

 

Might have went low on fluid if it was leaking. Let us know what the tech reports to the service rep.

 

My rear dif was 1 quart 8 ounces low from the factory when I checked and filled it myself at about 200 miles. It has no leaks and is making no noise.

In looking at the parts list on page 4 of the recall notice it shows 3 liters of gear oil required.
Is that recall just for non dif lock models?

3 liters equals 3 quarts 5.4 ounces.
Both dif lock model Tacomas listed in the manual require 3.8 or 4.0 liters of rear dif oil.

The Tacoma manual on page 576 shows up to 4.2 quarts, or 4 quarts 6.4 ounces capacity with rear dif lock.

Just asking. Are rear difs being serviced at dealers going to be filled properly when replaced? Or, is your fine Toyota technician just going to add 3 liters as listed in the notice and call it good at 1 quart short?

Perhaps it would be good to check their work by checking it yourself after service is performed.

 

Most definitely going to check it after they are done.

 

In that safety recall doc. I interpreted it as: when the tech inspecs it for leak, finds a leak and measures the amount lost and the amount of oil left is less than 2.0L, they are to proceed by replacing the diff carrier.

 

While not abusive, that can be tough on the rear diff. Shouldn't break it though.

 

Any serious wheel-hop?

 

And you wonder why your rear diff is messed up?

 

Just a screen shot.
If they replace the rear differential carrier, they need to remove the rear differential cover rendering the rear differential empty and visually in an open state.
That’s why the parts list requires 10 new nuts and a new gasket. They are then also replacing some other gaskets and o-rings for the axle shaft.
When refilling they would need more than 3 liters, unless they capture and re-use your old dirty gear oil.
That wouldn’t be cool.

 

I dont know what wheel hop is?

 

It’s a third member so it does not have a diff cover.

 

These don't have differential covers. You have to remove the drive shaft, pull both axles out a few inches, then remove the entire 3rd member as an assembly to see any of the internals.

 

Did a tire bounce and grab really hard?

Reason I'm asking is because my father has an '09 and has had no issues what so ever aside from needing the rear diff replaced at 113k due to that. He was racing a Silverado, and of course won, but at the cost of a repair.

 

People wonder why I never do burnouts and donuts in the dirt when everyone else does them on a trail run...for this reason.

True, a brand new, well-built and cared for differential "shouldn't" break doing these things, but it puts a crazy amount of stress on it and every now and then you hear of something like this happening. Then again, I beat my truck up in other ways (mostly crawling over rocks).

Good luck getting them to warranty it...I hope you washed it well before taking it in (if they see any signs of recent offroading they'll probably use that as an excuse to void the warranty).