Tacoma Prerunner Locker Install

So i have never changed a ring gear not in a RWD vehicle anyway. Is installing a locker in a Taco Prerunner mostly just installing a new ring gear or the spider gears or axle gears need to be changed too?
Also will any rear end parts from a TRD Taco fit my 2008 Prerunner ? Or only 2005-2015 or what exactly ?

 

The locker and non locker axle housings are different, you would need a whole axle to swap out.

 

The carrier assembly in the 3rd member is the part that does the "locking", locking the two axles together. The gears are what get locked by the carrier, so changing gears has no impact on whether your carrier locks.. If you know what you are doing, you can pull the 3rd member and then replace the carrier with the locker of you choice (pneumatic, electric, lunchbox etc)

You can also buy complete 3rd members with the locker installed and then just swap the 3rd member. Check out East Coast Gear Supply. Or as mentioned above, you can swap out the entire rear end.

 

Sounds like I would be unbolting the leaf springs then to take the whole mother out of there, in that case i guess there really be no disassembling or reassembling of the actual differential and the accompanying axle gears.

 

you should be able to disassemble the 3rd member to change the gears. But no, you cant just bolt on a locker. You would have to get a 3rd that has a locker already

 

If you replace the whole differential, Remember that the 4 cyl trucks had 4.10 gears.
The 6 cyl trucks and 3.73

You don't to make the 2.7 any weaker than it already is.....

 

Have a Prerunner so I wont be using any parts for rear end off a 2.7 liter Taco but thanks.

 

I think he was getting at the fact we don't know what you have. The prerunner came with both engines as options. Which one do you have?

 

Either install a locker of choice in your current 3rd member or replace the entire axle assembly from a 2nd gen that has a locker in it(trd Offroad model) youll then have to run the wires to activate the locker and a switch.

 

Prerunner V6. They made Prerunners with 4 cylinders too ?

 

What you mean by 3rd member Im a GOLD member. You mean the axle gears or the pinion gear ?

 

Yes. They made a 4 cylinder PreRunner.
Most were manual transmissions.
I owned one, it was a great truck.
Easy to work on. But it didn't have much power.

 

They made too many versions its confusing on top of fact that apparently they made 4 cyl Prerunners I have a Prerunner V6 thats 4 doors and long bed. Then get into crew cab, full cab, half cab access, non-binary cab its crazy. They should just made each cab a different trim.

 

There's only 4 possible cab/bed configurations.

Regular Cab Long bed
Access Cab Long bed
Double Cab Short bed
Double Cab Long bed

Pre-Runner is just Toyota's term for a 2wd truck with a 4wd suspension, both Pre-Runners and 4wd trucks are 6 lug. Non Pre-Runner/4wd trucks are 5 lug.

Your axle code is on the VIN tag inside the door, there's an axle code list floating around on here somewhere. @TnShooter probably knows where it's at.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2005-2016-tacoma-axle-codes.408019/#post-11465611

All the 4.0 - 6 cylinder trucks had 3.73 gears, EXCEPT the X-Runner.

 

ShooterG what does this mean? I still havent determined whether i can just take all gears and axles from a TRD and transfer them into my rear end housing.

 

No. You can not.
There have been members claim you can swap the 8" carrier into your differntial housing IF you grind down areas in the housing.
But I never done, never seen it done, and I would never do it.

FWIW, the differential in your truck is stronger than the TRD E-Locker.
Your truck is a 2008, if it has a LSD in it now, the E-locker will be WORSE unless it's locked.

I'd go with a truetrac and be done with it. No buttons to push and you'll have good steering.

 

Trd sport has the lsd. Sr5 pre runner is peg leg. Same housing and gear ratio.