Toyota Thinking of going part-time...

[Lka1988]

For those of you who don't know, 1991-1997 Land Cruisers are full-time 4WD. They use a locking center differential in the transfer case (think of the drivelines as axle shafts, and the t-case as the pumpkin, with a locker).

Well, about a month and a half ago, the splines on my front axle shafts were stripped. Pulled everything out, and with 265,000 miles, the birfields are basically trashed. I won't be using them again, except for trail spares.

So...

I can get OEM Toyota birfields and shafts, keeping the full-time setup. OEM FJ80 birfs are 30-spline, as opposed to typical 27-spline minitruck birfs, and are larger/stronger overall. Average OEM birf lifetime is ~150,000 miles. Total cost: ~$1800 (I can get a bit of a discount, however).

OR

I can get a part-time kit that will replace the center diff inside my transfer case with a spool of sorts, basically allowing for push-button 4WD. Comes with FW hubs. With this setup, I can run chromoly birfields without worrying about them wearing out after 15,000 miles. Total cost: ~$1400 + shipping.


So what say RME?

 

[solidfrontaxle]

For that price, couldnt you find a junkyard axle with an elocker?

 

[Lka1988]

That's beside the point. If I went that route, I'd need to get the harness to go with it, and upgrade the wheels to 16's. Not to mention tear the axle apart and check over everything.

EDIT: You know, after thinking about it for a few minutes, that's actually starting to sound like a good idea.... Already have a rear Aussie...

 

[solidfrontaxle]

Make your own harness, theres plenty of instructions online. Wheels are a dime a dozen. You'll need to rebuild your axle on both other options too...

Good luck finding one though. :greg: Thats the hard part.

 

[Lka1988]

I was gonna rebuild the axle anyway. Got the kit from Kurt and Marlin seals to go with it.

Now... You think a 1991 hub would fit on a later locked housing? I know the later knuckle had the ABS sensor stuffed in it, would the later housing be built differently to accommodate that?

 

[jeffsclan]

Lane, if you go the part time route, post up so we can see how you do it. I think that would be sweet!