Third rear diff has failed again

21 TRD manual is howling in the rear again. 35000 km. Dealer replacements seem to be great for about 5000 miles. Between 50 -60 mph feathered throttle. Gets to the point the radio doesn’t mask it. Last removal showed the pinion not running centred on the ring gear. Waited 90 days for a replacement. Seems to be more of a problem with the 4:30 gear set as installed on the TRD off road and manual transmissions as mine is. I’m not sure this complaint has been officially investigated by engineering? They just keep sending out bad diffs. First 2 removals showed metal in the oil. They flushed and dried the housing at the last install, didn’t help. I’m told the oem diff oil is synthetic. Not sure who to contact at Toyota Canada. Prolly can’t get an inside number anyway without a dealers assistance.
FRUSTRATED
Dan

 

This will help

 

This seems fishy...toyota supplying 3 faulty differentials for the same truck. Its not like them to do that. Only howling i'd get from truck is when i remove the front air dam.

 

it seems it’s common to whine a little, mine does, as I don’t want them tearing in to it. Unless it’s really loud (everyone has their own opinion) I wouldn’t say it failed.

I’m surprised they even broke in to it once, let alone replaced it three times, and bet they damn sure now regret it.

 

Mine has always howled quite a bit...but so did my Jeep's. Always thought it was kindof normal. My fluid looked fantastic when I changed it, but no change in howl. Just a small bit of metal on the drain plug which is pretty normal.

My Jeep dif made it to 183k when I sold it. My Tacoma has about 42k miles on it.

 

Ask the dealer tech to pull the third member, run a gear pattern, and check?

Did you follow break-in procedures for diff gears after yours was replaced? (Basically taking it easy for 800 kms, no towing)

And for what it's worth, metal content in the diff oil doesn't mean much. Mine had 1/2"-long slivers stuck to the magnet when I drained the oil earlier this month at ~40,000 km. It's more metal than the drain I did after break-in at 1000 km. Diff runs fine and doesn't howl.

 

Its normal.

 

mine doesn't whine

 

After 3 different attempts to resolve the issue without a fix id say your only option is to demand Toyota to give you a new truck.

 

Nor mine with 55k

 

Could it be an out of spec axle housing?

 

My '16 OR did it, and my 19 Sport does it. Both with 4.30 axles.
The 16 was noticeably louder, though.
No problems other than that with the rear axle.
There was a TSB to help dampen the noise.
I think it IS normal for the trucks that exhibit it.

 

Mine whines and, just like the wife, I ignore it.

 

Between my stereo, all terrain tires and exhaust, I would never notice if mine was whining or not!

 

It's not normal if its super loud and they keep finding metal shaving after replacement.

 

Long time ago (2015-16l) a guy named smitty99 brought up the howling diff and he was flamed for being a hater. Hope you get something figured out.

Might be time for an ECGS unit and send toyota the bill

 

How much metal shavings is the question...its normal to have a little metal shavings in a NEW diff. So if they keep changing it out, and he keeps finding metal shavings in a NEW diff, thats normal. Now repeated checks and diff fluid changes and still finding a lot of shavings, no thats not normal. What are the chances of that happening on every single diff he's had put in? My money is on unlikely....

 

Do they have Lemon Laws in Canada? In the U.S. if you have to get a specific part fixed three times within a certain time frame (usually 1 yr), the manufacturer has to buy it back and make you whole again.

Maybe that is your best option? (if it's an option)