Toyota Tacoma 2006 TRD Differential

I was having noise in the rear when accelerating and decelerating and took it to a local mechanic shop. The mechanic determined it was the differential by looking at the fluid in the rear and it had metal shavings. They were able to locate a used part and the estimate they provided was $4,600+ to replace. Reading another thread on the forum, it appeared to be way out of line. Does this estimate appear high today? Also can anyone recommend a shop in the Easton,Allentown,Bethlehem PA. area that works on Toyota trucks? Thanks.

 

How much metal shaving and how long has it been since the diff fluid changed? I would probably start by dumping the fluid and putting new fluid in and see if that solves it before changing the diff.

 

I don’t think the fluid has ever been changed and it just turned 80,000 miles. Not sure how many metal shavings??? Would the metal shavings cause the noise if significant? Thank you.

 

Not sure if the differerential needs to be replaced or not, but $4,600 if it does need replacement is way too high. A remanufactured diff is less than $800. Good source for diffs here: https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/c-1065072-assembled-3rds-clamshells-05-15-tacoma.html

 

Service interval is 30k so you are a bit overdue. I would start there and see if new fluid that isn’t almost 20 yrs old helps. This is reasonably cheap if you do it yourself, just need a pump and take off the fill screw before draining. I would also make sure ur driveline zerks are lubricated, known cause of clunkiness.

 

Thank you, sounds like a place to start. Hard to describe the noise but it increases with speed and is more of a deep whining than a clunkiness. It also seems to get louder if you let off the gas and it decelerates.

 

I picked up the truck from the mechanic and asked how many metal shaving were in the differential fluid. He said it was loaded as if something broke down inside of it. He said it wouldn’t make any difference if he changed the fluid with what he found. I am going to get a second opinion tomorrow.

 

You need to find out if your truck has a LSD.
Some 2005-2008 trucks had a LSD differential.
If it is, it will be more. But not $4,700. Run away from that shop.

 

It does have an LSD - what price should I expect?

 

New OEM is $2,700
https://www.ebay.com/itm/282367936914

But I'd say you can do much better if you looked around.
If you buy the whole third member like the one above, install is fairly easy.

 

Thanks - let’s see what the second shop says tomorrow???

 

Uh.

1. I have bought and sold such rear diffs for $150-300.

2. I am not a Toyota technician. I swapped my diff. It is not hard. It’s a Toyota. They’re designed to be repaired on dirt with a rock.
Probably could be done by a child who knows how to read. They’d be happy about money for candy and new bicycle.

$3500+ gets you front and rear regear with nice diffs of your choice from ECGS.
With big tires and off roading that is nice.

$3500 for a stock open diff is not nice. That is $150-$300.

now as for paying other people to do things for you I don’t know. Usually don’t do that. Not rich. Must be nice. Jealous of that life.
Gonna have to get gas at some point too. Don’t have a bodyguard to send in the truck to do that. Going to do that myself. Same with laundry.

Sold my old LSD for like max $300. Which is about what they are on eBay or other places.

pulled it out in a parking lot.

 

The second shop gave me a quote of $5,600 and change. I called a Toyota dealer and a new OEM replacement for the entire rear carriage was $3,555 for the part and $1,050 to install. My thought is that I’d rather put in the new OEM then replace the part from a salvage yard.

 

$3600 for a 3.73 clutch type LSD designed for 31’s that’s some nice dope you’ve got

 

Quoting myself to make sure you see this. Can't think of a valid reason to spend $3,555 when you can but a quality rebuilt part (new bearings) that can be purchased for under $800.

 

The problem is that they said something broke down inside the differential and the metal shavings polluted everything in the carriage. This quote is for the entire carriage replacement.

 

Interesting. When I read "carriage" I think of the entire differential assembly (aka pumpkin). The differential assembly is bolted into the axle housing. I've seen lots of pics where a differential assembly blows up and is replaced into the same axle housing. Just need to clean out the metal chunks.

If you post a copy of the quote from Toyota, it will give us an understanding of the parts quoted. $3,555 for an entire axle housing (with axle bearings and axles) and differential assembly new from the dealer doesn't sound that expensive.

 

Here is the part number on the Toyota website that they were ordering. I found out today that if I order it from their site they are offering a 20% promotion from 7/3 - 7/8. I’m calling the dealer tomorrow to make sure they offer the 20% discount since they are ordering.

41110-35A21

 

Post in the PA thread. I guarantee you that someone can do it for some beer and lunch. Dont spend $3k+

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/keystone-state-thread.10467/page-4428#post-29964013

 

Thanks. That part is just the differential not the entire axle housing. East Coast Gear Supply can provide you that part for under $800. A lot of guys on here use ECGS. I would suggest emailing them with details of your truck and get a quote.