To Rebuild or not to Rebuild...

So I did it, I pulled the trigger on buying a used rear axle from a 2nd gen TRD-Offroad to put in my Prerunner. Well, really my girlfriend pulled the trigger for me, paid over the phone then drove 3 hours to pick it up in her Hyundai Sonata to surprise me while I was at work. Yes it was a disaster, yes it's still in her car, yes (thankfully) her car is the beater between ours so nothing of real value was lost, yes I have no idea how I'm going to get it out but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Anyway, now that I have it in my possession I'm lost as to what to do next. I know I'm going to clean it and possibly sandblast it once I get it out of her car but I have no idea how to test anything on it with it on jackstands. It has the actuator motor but I have no idea how to test it. This inability to test things on a differential from a truck with 242k miles makes me nervous about draining it, filling it, then slapping it in once my wiring harness arrives. I also am but a glorified lube tech in terms of actual skills, I could follow a youtube tutorial but anything on my own would leave me lost. I do have access to a shop and those beautiful shop discounts on new bearings and such so rebuilding it myself would save me a ton of money.

So what I really need help with is:
How to test the actuator motor?
Should I rebuild it?
Where should I stop if I do it myself, do I stop at replacing bearings? New gears? etc.
Should I attempt it myself?
Should I send it off somewhere else?
Should I sandblast it?
How do I get it out of her car?

 

Pretty impressed your girl friend went to get it!

Two people should be able to lift it up. Here is a video on bench testing that may be useful.

https://youtu.be/OhIPf4_B23M

 

Can you borrow an engine hoist from a friend/neighbor?
Or buy one from HF?

Will likely be the easiest way to unload it, unless you have a buddy with a service truck and crane.

This is the best time to regear if you're considering that.

Any idea what she paid for it? Need to sell mine.

 

Yeah, she paid $450 for the entire assembly down in Orlando. An engine hoist was the first thing I thought of too, my friend from work has one but it’s currently holding the engine for his 2014 Focus that he blew up

 

Scratch that. Just remembered the rear end I bought didn't have axles or brake drums - so two people could lift it. With axles and drums, I suspect yours is quite a bit heavier.

 

Don't have answers on rebuild. Like the hf engine hoist. Pretty bad ass girlfriend if you ask me. I used to have one of those... she became my wife.

 

Sounds like the beginning of a Tylenol commercial.

Try to get it on some plywood so you can pull it out instead of having to lift so much

 

Two people can lift it - we did when swapping mine - but it's a pain.

Also OP, HF has these Get two.




The lip around your drum brake fits nicely into the handle hole and stabilizes the unit, while making it much easier to push around.

 

That’s the plan, as long as she doesn’t get sick of me

 

Update:
My girlfriend was in a car accident on Monday, she is fine but her car was hit side on so it’s sitting in a tow yard. On Sunday I need to get the axle out so I’m probably gonna buy some plywood and bring a floor jack. The yard is very open so I could definitely get my truck back there and try to just transfer it directly into the bed.

 

We got the axle, you guys were right. I brought 3 people and all my dad did was help guide it out of my girlfriend’s car. Me and the other person were able to carry it. I got the 3rd member separated from the axle in my garage and I’m still not sure what I should do. I’ll probably end up sending it off to ECGS as it’ll only cost like $800 for them to rebuild it and the cost for all the tools and bearings is quickly approaching $700 as I’m adding everything up. I’ll do the work on the axle myself as that’s all work I’d actually do at my shop, but we don’t do differentials. Thank you guys for your help.

 

Progress update: I got the axle seals replaced and sent the diff off to ECGS. I’m getting a 4.30 gear ratio and it should be finished up any day now. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to ensure this swap is only a 1 day project so my idea right now is to swap over the axle shafts from my current 8.4” rear to the new axle housing. That way I can avoid taking my drum brakes apart. Do any of you know if the axle shafts from an elocker rear end are the same as the axle shafts from an open rear? Both Toyota’s parts website and NAPA prolink only list one part number for axle shafts for a Prerunner so I assume they’re the same but I thought I would ask the experts before jumping into anything. Thank you for any information you guys have.

 

Yes, they’re the same.

However, you’ll end up taking the drum brakes apart to disconnect the e-brake cable.

Your drums are quite possibly reusable, but I’d recommending getting a new parts kit and shoes ahead of time, plus several cans of brake cleaner.

 

This was the problem I was trying to circumvent. If I take the axle shafts out of the axle currently in the truck and set them on the ground without disconnecting anything I may be able to sneak the current axle housing out and put the elocker axle housing in its place. Then it’s just a matter of putting the axle shafts back in with everything still attached. I already have new drums and shoes (and all new hardware) from powerstop and I work at a mechanic shop so we have pallets of brake clean in the closet.

 

I don't think you'll have enough slack in the e-brake lines to remove the shafts from the housing.

 

They only need to come out about 6 inches to clear the 3rd member right? Only need to disconnect hard lines at each wheel cyl

 

Yes, but no.

Yes, there is enough slack that you can pull the 3rd without completely removing the shafts.
However, OP is replacing his prerunner 3rd with a OR with locker which means the entire axle housing needs to be swapped, not just the 3rd.

I did this in December.

 

So when you did yours how long did it take you? Was it a one day project or a multi day project? I can probably bribe my service manager with chick fil a to get maybe 10 hours on an off day to work on it but if it’s not finished by the end of that I’ll get chewed out.

 

Just the axle swap can probably be done in a day if you bust ass.

@Jkriegs.13 and I did mine in two (or was it three?) days, but we also did hydro bumps/new shock tabs/rebuilt drum brakes/watched football/took care of baby/went out to dinner, and drank a lot of beer.

 

And thinking about it, if you prep the donor axle as much as possible ahead of time, you should be able to do it in a day.

Are you using the donor axle shafts or the ones currently on your truck?