Options for a beefier front diff?

I know no front diffs just bolt in, but has anyone ever swapped say a Tundra or 3rd gen Taco front diff in a 1st gen? I know the 7.5" diff is pretty weak. I'm thinking about when I inevitably shatter it on 37's.

When that happens my buddy and I are going to slam something bigger in it, we just don't know what yet. We were thinking of making a kit to swap diffs too it it doesn't require too much fabbing.

 

Probably like a solid axle or something

I dunno, might as well figure something out for the steering rack too

 

Yeah yeah yeah but what about those wanting to send it on 4D's and IFS??? We need options...

 

I’ve only broke 1 diff, but I wanna see someone actually put something different in.

 

I think the only 2 options are a 3rd gen 8" and a Tundra 8". I wonder which one would fit better. I know the tundra diff will work directly with our CV axles too, which would be a plus. I think Marlin Crawler sells their RCLT kit for use with the factory 8" front, so it must be strong enough.

EDIT, the 9" front from the newer tundras may work too, they are reverse geared like our 7.5".

 

They're also at least partly aluminum cased, still stupidly heavy and *FEKKEN YUGE*

But yeah I would probably do Cryo and REM treated gears before trying the hassle of larger stuff if you're looking for more strength.

 

At the end of the day, you'll probably spend as much as $$$ and can get a solid axle swap instead. 8" 9" front, yet tacoma still have a weak lbj and sloppy designed rack. You'll need a whole front end tweak.

 

I'd guess you'd need a new oil pan to fit them boys under the motor.

Hmm hadn't considered that, might be a good option...

 

Very true. Maybe I need to work on a complete Tundra front end swap!

 

CV axles will be an issue long before the front diff will.

 

I popped my diff way before I ever broke a cv

 

Yeah definitely need a new oil pan for clearances, or maybe like a custom drop bracket, but drop brackets are

Just buy a Tundra and drop the Tacoma body on it, problem solved and more power to boot!

 

Rust was the real enemy

 

Definitely didn’t rust a hole in the diff

 

If I recall correctly, Brian at FROR did a custom setup for this 3rd gen 4r using a 8" replacement. He was suppose to come out with their "kit" to replace the weaker 7.5" but I think after R&D and putting everthing together, cost was too higher for your average Joe.

Theoretically speaking, you can get a solid axle swap for roughly ~5k using used parts and run a waggy44. It'll be a no brainer to go that route than running a "bigger" clamshell. Remember, running a larger clamshell is not a drop in setup.

 

how much oil was in the diff when it blew up?

 

If it leaks, there's still oil in it

 

This

 

Are they actually "weak" tho? The weak point is the CVs, not the diff. People break CVs with 33's, so expect to go thru CVs like candy on 37's.

But sure, if you throw some super strong CVs in there, yeah, you'll probably start breaking diffs. But when you put tires that are half a foot bigger than stock , of course you're going to find the weakest link in the system.

Depending on what Tundra you get a diff from, the 1st gens use the same diff (7.5") anyway. So no advantage there, and the 8" I would argue don't offer that much of an advantage anyway, at least not enough of a benefit to justify the cost.

A whole tundra front end swap is not going to see much (if any) benefit over *existing* aftermarket solutions, (i.e. long travel).

Just SAS it.