Ring and pinion replacement?

So on the way to work this morning all of a sudden there's a loud clanking/clunking sound. My immediate thought was that I blew a piston or something in the engine because it only happened when I hit the gas. I pulled over and investigated the truck and read some internets and realized it wasn't the engine and most likely it was something in the rear diff. Very gently drove to the transmission place nearby and they say I need to replace the ring and pinion gears in the diff, probably bearings and bushings from taking it apart, and labor is going to be nuts. Ballparked it somewhere around $1500 most likely. Potentially $700 if I'm really lucky but huge possibility to double that, so probably at least $1400.

So my concern is, can I do this myself? I don't have a ton of tools and I'm not a mechanic but I've done a bunch of repairs on a bunch of vehicles (including this one) and I'm good at taking things apart and putting them back together. If I did this myself what parts do I need for ring and pinion. It looks like on the internet there are a few different types. My truck is a 2003 Tacoma, extra cab, V6, manual, TRD Off Road 4WD, electronic locking rear diff. Is there a particular model number I can search for? I really just want to make it driveable again. I don't plan on putting many more miles on it, planning to get a brand new one soon.

Sooo... any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

Unfortunately its a very hard job if you don't know what your doing and you will need certain tools.

 

well that was helpful...

 

Obviously, it depends on what needs replaced, but you can easily replace the 3rd member yourself with a new one from ECGS, Read over this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...d-installation-of-e-locker-3rd-member.193828/

 

now this was ACTUALLY helpful.

Thanks!

 

So... I think I could probably do this over a weekend... but my real problem is finding out which parts to order. I don't know specifically which actual parts are broken but it is a very good assumption that it is either the ring or pinion gears or both. SO assuming I replace those, which set does my truck take? it seems there are a few different types of differentials for Tacomas. Is it the 7.5"? 8"? V6? something else?

 

You have the 8" elocker axle front is 7.5 reverse clamshell. Just order a complete differential from ECGS. Easy to replace. Disconnect driveshaft pull axles pull diff replace with new one then send old one back to get core charge back. Make sure to clean out the housing real good and axle tubes before installing new diff. Might want to replace axle bearings if the is any play in the old ones or they are, not smooth. I would at least replace the axle shaft seals. If you really take your time should only take a couple hours to do.

 

You won't know the extent of the damage until you get in there and take a look around. Then go from there. The most important part is to make sure the gears mesh properly. There is a ton information on the interwebs on how to do it. People have a fear of rearend work for some reason. Same for Automatic trannies. It's a transmission, not a rocket engine.

 

Replacing the gears is the easy part. Reseting the backlash and preloads requires a few special tools and patients. Not saying its the hardest thing in the world but it can be intimidating for alot of people.

Really if the r&p are broken and chewed up then bits of that metal has been thrown around possibly damaging the bearings so, to be safe those would need to be replaced.

 

Thanks for the replies everybody. I'm not too scared of doing the work, just never did it before. It'll be a learning curve for me but I have plenty of patience and a knack for mechanical stuff. Plus I have a cousin who rebuilds jeeps for rock crawling. He's done quite a few so I know he'll help me if I need it.

Found some really helpful information as far as determining which ring and pinion to get. There is a code on the sticker in the door jamb that relates to the axle as well as the transmission. My code is B03A. If you look at this website (http://www.risingsun4x4club.org/forum2/attachment.php?attachmentid=41449&d=1429223988) you'll see that my ring and pinion is an 8" with a 4.10 ratio. That was some of the toughest information for me to figure out. Now that I have that info I can follow along on a lot of the write ups and videos. The write up from kodiakisland above was great. And I found a video on YouTube that I think was from some university on how to preload the bearings and setting the backlash. Thanks again everybody

 

Here's a great site for gear R&R's. Not a how-to, but loaded with pictures of numerous 3rd member gear installations
http://www.gearinstalls.com/

If you're capable of doing brake work, etc. - then removing and reinstalling 3rd members is well within your skillset.

 

DO NOT under any circumstance tear into this project.....

 

Well that's confusing...

 

Think he was just talking about swapping the 3rd for another not regearing existing one.

 

It's just that one guy says it's a do-able project and the other guy says don't even attempt it. I was just being a little facetious. It just amazes me that some people are so short-sighted and would rather throw around their baseless opinions than to possibly try and help or offer information to support their opinion.

 

Hopefully I'll get started this weekend. Maybe even sooner. My plan is to at least get the third member out and see what's actually broken. At that point I might take just the 3rd member to the transmission shop to have them work on it or I might try and attempt it myself. I have learned that I need to set the preload and the backlash. I also have learned that preload is the pressure on the bearings via shims that translates into an amount of rotational resistance measured in inch-lbs at the pinion nut, which is also measured before and after the ring gear is in place. And I learned that backlash is the amount of play between the pinion and ring gears which is measured in thousandths of an inch. Luckily for me my brother and my uncle are both machinists so I know they have the right tools to measure these tolerances. Like CD20H said above, this isn't a rocket engine. No reason to fear

I'm eventually going to try to put together a list of all the helpful information that I find along the way but for now here's some installation instructions:
http://www.rockauto.com/info/USAStandardGear/USAStandardInstallInstructions.pdf

 

Not really, from your first post you site having lots of tools & stuff ,being mechanically inclined but not doing this before, it's not as cut & dried as you've been told, hit me back when you start trying to R&R the inner bearings or setting the gear lash & pinion preload, the Elocker is a bit tricky..

It IS doable, if you have the knowledge & tools to do it, providing your gears are in good shape you can get a bearing kit for $200 & change...

It'd be a piece of cake if you just changed out the 3rd...

 

So, do you have an ELocker??

Nevermind...I see that you do.
I'd look around for a used 4.10 elocker 3rd and replace it myself. Changing out a 3rd is a piece of cake for anyone with ANY mechanical sense.

 

he said he did in 1st post..

 

I edited...