Replacing rear axle with e-locker axle

I have a 2006 trd sport 4x4 with the limited slip. The limited slip is failing from the sound of it. I have been looking around and from what I have read the rear axle is the same all the way up to a 2015. I found a 2014 rear axle with low miles and the same gear ratio that has the e-locker. Would that bolt up to my 2006 and if so are all the wiring harnesses the same just missing the toggle for the e locker switch in the front and the harness extension for the locker in the rear? I'd rather keep things OEM Toyota on this truck and I do not have the tools to rebuild this rear end at home. I also have new springs to replace in the rear so I figured while I had to pull those anyway I'd go ahead and just replace the whole axle. This seems like the easiest way for me to go unless someone knows where to buy a third member already assembled for cheap.

 

The noise started about a month or so and has continually gotten louder. It sounds like a rotational scraping noise. I jacked up the truck yesterday and had someone turn the wheels while I listened with a stethoscope and the noise is for sure coming from the third member. Also I removed the drive shaft assembly to replace all the u joints and bearing. While the drive shaft was off I put it in 4 hi and drove it to see if the noise was there. The noise is non existent with the drive shaft removed which to me eliminated any wheel bearing or brake failure. With the drive shaft back on the noise is back so it seems as though when it is under load it makes the noise. I changed the diff fluid with what was recommended here after the noise started. I'd have to go back and look to see what kind it was again. There was not any metal other than a little powder on the plug. The truck has 227,000 miles on it so I figured it would have a little there.

The reason I was going with the e-locker was because it seems to be a sought after item but also I was trying to get by with as easy as possible with the axle swap. The axle I am looking at has 40,000 miles on it and the truck was in a front end collision. They are asking 1300 for the whole assembly minus the brake cables. I would like to at least keep the limited slip as I do go off road occasionally on mild trails.

Truck is a 2006 trd sport V6 4x4 with 3" lift and 265/70/17 tires if that helps. This is also a daily driver and we pull a teardrop camper on long trips with it so I want to go the best route.

If you buy a fully assembled third member how hard is that to put in and any idea what the cost would be for a limited slip with 3.73 gears? Toyota wanted 2200 dollars to replace it which I thought was a little high.

 

FWIW, 05-08’ has a completely open diff.
There is no help form the brakes like on 09+ Trucks.

I guess my point is, as @whatstcp said, you may not want the Elocker.
In 2WD, My truck won’t go places the like an LSD will, not until I turn on the E-locker.
And that isn’t always “handy”.

 

Well I disassembled the whole thing. The passenger side wheel bearing is toast, the carrier gears have wear you can feel and the pinion gear has some pretty bad pitting on the race and delamination on the rollers. From what I can see without taking it apart the LSD looks ok and the gears look like new. There is a little wear on the pinion splines and the axle splines which is expected with 227,000 miles. I've ordered new bearings for the diff and new wheel bearings. I also ordered the tool to remove the rear wheel bearings. I'm not paying toyota to do the work. They wanted 200 bucks per axle to swap the bearing out and that is with me bringing them the axle. They wanted 2200 to replace the diff bearings. I'm just taking my chances and redoing it all myself. If the LSD is bad I'm not sure what I'll do about that but at least I know all the bearings are good. I feel like the lsd is still fine, it never struggles off road and it still had a descent amount of tension when I spun one wheel when the other was on the ground.

 

If the LSD seems ok, it’s worth a chance I guess.
Maybe @Larzzzz can help you out with the bearing situation.
He recently went through this with poor results. None of it his fault, the guy that did the bearings bent his axle. NOT GOOD.

Maybe he can help you with “what not to do”.

 

I bought a tool online to do it and a cheap press so maybe I can get them off without bending the axle. I wonder it they got bent going on or coming off.

I guess I won't know about the LSD until I get the truck back on the road which in a way sucks. There was a whine while going down the road but I have been thinking that was the diff or the bearing. Hopefully that will be the case.

 

Here is the thread on it.
Take note of the clip and washer orientation.
The clip is what got him (the guy he paid) in trouble.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bending-a-rear-axle.678609/

 

If you are capable of properly setting up a ring and pinion, disassembling and inspecting the LSD would be a cake walk. I'm sure somewhere there's a thickness spec for the friction disks.

 

Bent coming off. He didn't remove the circlip before tightening the tool to the axle. I had them loosely together to carry 1 instead of 2 things.

 

I'm not sure that is something I would want to tackle. I have rebuilt hydraulic pumps for a living for about 4 years so I know I could do it if I had to but I'm going to wait on that one. It never felt like it was slipping too much or grinding when turning. If it ends up being bad I'll cross that road. The noises I heard coming from always happened when going straight and turning. The noise never changed when you turn so I think it is good.

 

I will check and double check to make sure all is well before I start pressing.

 

That’s like going out for steak and lobster at a classy restaurant by yourself because you don’t want to pay extra for a date. That’s like building a 500hp big block and reusing the factory clutch. Like painting all of a house except the back side. Like building a $80K street rod and using DIY bedliner on the frame. Like I mentioned, if you have the knowledge to check the pattern and backlash and make adjustments to get it right, splitting the carrier to inspect the friction disks is a cake walk.

 

My truck has a rear differential that's " 8"/205mm. 3.727:1 gear ratio and is an open diff.

My question is. If I were to purchase a " 8.8"/225mm 3.727:1 gear electronic locking differential. Would that work out just fine and I would have to wire up a switch or find a harness?