Cost of replacing rear differential on 2008 Tacoma sport 4x4

My rear differential went out and i brought it to a friend’s shop. I’ve done lots of contractor work for them at a reduced rate in the past so was expecting a bit of a discount for the repair. They said a used differential would be 2500 and a new differential would be 3500 for part and labor. I said to replace with the used differential as Im on a budget. They said ok then said after taxes and fluids etc. it would come out to 3300. Does this seem like a discounted price or am I being taken advantage of?

 

Fucking hell no! They’re cleaning you out. No way a used diff is $2,500.

look up east coast gear supply. You can get a built diff from them to your specs for less. Either swap it in yourself (that part is kinda easy) or bring it to a DIFFERENT shop to swap in.

 

One quick eBay search:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185704746280?epid=658671391

 

Or this, and configure for your truck:

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-788575-tacoma-8-4-non-eld-t100-tundra-3rd.html

or a third option would be to just rebuild your diff. Might just need new bearings and seals if your gears & housing are still good.

 

while im not likely the best judge of parts cost as i was a tech and still pay cheap pricing, i got a whole rear axle for $75 from my local dismantler. seems a bit high for the cost of the differential and fluids since fluid is like $20- $60 a bag and cant remember the exact amount i grabs in the rear think 3, or 3.5. but i would call around.

ARB Toyota Tacoma Rear Air Locking Differential - RD129 | 4wheelparts.com

i mean that is an ARB locker. think the added compressor is like another $600ish

 

Thanks for the quick response. The 2500 was for the used differential plus labor to install. I felt like that price wasn’t so terrible but then he said it would be 3300 out the door which he attributed to taxes and fluids and such which seemed to not add up. Just frustrating as I’ve saved him thousands of dollars in work on his house.

 

Holy hell you're getting ripped off. ECGS 3rd member would be a 1/3rd of the cost if you have someone install it.

 

That differential won’t work.
It’s a 4.10 ratio.
OP a 4.0L engine, it has a 3.72 ratio.

Is the shop replacing the whole whole differential?
Why not just replace the 3rd member? That would be much cheaper?

 

Yes to my understanding they are replacing the entire differential, came out of a truck that had 52,000 miles on it.

 

Cool “friend”. Yeah total rippof

 

One problem you might be facing with a “used” setup is the fact your truck has a Mechanical LSD.
It was only offered in 2005-2008. So locating one might me more difficult. You could go with a 2009+ differential. But you will loose the LSD. And I’m not sure that’s something I want to loose.
My truck doesn’t have the LSD. I have to switch to 4WD in soft slick terrain, other wise I sit and spin one wheel.

 

Yea I made sure to specify it was a mechanical lsd. Been waiting a week for the part to arrive, whole thing just leaves me frustrated as I had always given him a deep discount.

 

I can understand that, I’ve been in similar situations.
For me, it’s usually that’s no one “is available” when I need help.

Sometimes, life teaches us lessons.
Since the parts have been ordered, I’d just pay it and let it be a lesson learned.

 

Yea I don’t think I’ll be doing anymore work for him, he can find another contractor and I’ll find another mechanic. Bummer.