94 rear end gears?

[BADSON2000]

I own a 1994 4runner SR5 v6 2wd with 160,000 miles on it. I started having a loud noise in the rear end. I have two friends, one is a mechanic and the other one is a body shop/mechanic owner. Both told me that the rear end needs to be replaced, but neither have ever replaced a rear end in a toyota before; so neither one knows what gears are in the rear end. One was going to call and see what kind of gears they were, but I have not heard back from him. Could someone please help me out by telling me what gears are likely to be in the rear end?

Thanks alot,
Brandon

[Brian R.]

See if this is helpful:

http://www.downeyoff-road.com/Chassi...ferential.html

I would call a Toyota dealer parts department with your VIN and get all the part numbers of what you need. You don't have to buy the parts there.

[BADSON2000]

Thank you for the post. I have contacted 2 toyota dealerships with my VIN #, both say that even having the VIN # still wouldn't help with what gears are in the 4runner. I even asked what were the common gears for this year 4runner and yet again said that the only way they could help is by bring the 4runner in (just want to make $$$). Thanks for the website.

[crazyz4rider]

I just put new yukon gears in my 95 4runner. I had 4.56 and went to 4.88's. your 4runner is running 4.11 or 4.56 from factory. The gear install was actually real easy.

JJ

[Brian R.]

Jack up one of your rear wheels in neutral (level area, chocked wheels, parking brake off ) and rotate your driveshaft by hand and count how many revolutions it takes to make the wheel go around once (or rotate the wheel and count the revolutions of the drive shaft). It will be easy to tell the difference between a 4.11 and a 4.56 gear.

From the website, looks like you have 7 1/2" ring gear.

[SEAN_at_TLT]

Your truck has an 8" ring gear and most likely has either 3.90's or 4.11's, depending on you factory tire size and transmission type. 4.33's and 4.56's were typically reserved for 4x4 models with larger tires and automatic trannies. You can easily decode the exact gear ratio and diameter from your vin using this link TOYOTA Diff info

You can most likely find a used complete third member for sale with the same gearing (or different if you want to change it) on any one of many Toyota forums on the net. You could easily bolt in a complete third with only simple hand tools in under an hour. once you know your ratio, check

http://www.yotatech.com for used parts cheap.

[Brian R.]

Good link

(thanks for the correction)

[SEAN_at_TLT]

Thanks!

(forgot to mention, I hate that the dealer won't just tell you this info is out there, SOB's. They one time quoted me an hour labor to pull engine codes from a pre OBDII car, I did it at home in ten seconds!!!)

[BADSON2000]

I would like to thank all of you for the help. I now know know that I do have a 8" ring and 3.90 gears, just like sean said I would.

Thanks,
Brandon

[SEAN_at_TLT]

Cool, glad that worked out for you. If you are looking to get a new set of gears, I would check http://www.Yotatech.com and http://www.pirate4x4.com in the classified sections. You can find a complete third member for very very cheap and you can easily install it yourself because the gears will already be setup!

Just post a new thread in the wanted section titled exactly this,

"WTB: Toyota 8" Complete Rear 3rd w/ 3.90's"

I bet you can get one with low mileage for around $100. Also, don't forget that you can easily go to 4.11's or any other different gear ratio that you might like better.

Good Luck!