Lancruiser 100 IFS Front Diff strength

Nope, it's not an issue with having tyres with too much grip, it's the "Toyota" bit that's the issue !
Wait for it.......I think I can hear the yota owners rampage coming now, it should be here soon, he he.

Avagoodn
Pezza

Eric, one of the problems with limited wheel travel is when you get a front wheel in the air and you've got a fair bit of throttle action, the loose wheel spins quite quickly, then when it comes down and hits the deck the front diff gets more torque thru it than it was designed for and SNAP BANG CRUNCH.

A diff lock can alleviate this by ensuring both wheels spin equally.

apparently its very common with them... speak with darren at ATS in geelong about them.. he had one customer go thru about 5 rebuilds.

has been discussed plenty of times previously.

Hi Eric,

Check out http://ivan.wys.com.au/photos/CapeYork/RepairTimeLine/default.htm. There are plenty of stories out there (like the early 3.0l Patrols) but very few documented.

Regards
David

Common problem. They have a weak front diff. Mate blew his backing his boat up his driveway, 3 days before a Cape York trip. Apparently they hate reversing in 4wd.

A certain Member of this forum who drives a Toyota LC 50(sic) series(he shall remain nameless) blew the front diff on a downhill saunter a while back.

It appears that the front diffs of LC 100's could have been sourced from the Hilux production line....true!!!

Cheers

Australian 4WD Monthly ran an article in vol 94 July 2006. Conclusion is that there are fundamental differences between a Hilux and 100 Series front diff. They sought opinions from Craft Diffs in Sydney, Hornsby Diffs and Gearboxes and Bosnjak Engineering who also engaged engineers from Dana Spicer. Yes they are weak in reverse. The Gall Bros doing a Kedron Caravan video blew one and recorded it all. I have a 100 Series live axle - I never go backwards. LOL.
Mike.

You've got to laugh Eric.........just about every response you've got so far was from a Nissan or Mitsubishi owner. You'd think they would be better at answering questions on 3 litre engine failures :-)))
The 100 & 105 series Cruisers certainly have a weak front diff & seems to depend on the tolerances they were set up to from the factory as many people have no issue despite giving them a flogging offroad. The key time they blow is when lifting a wheel whilst climbing hills then the tyres get traction suddenly shearing the teeth off the crown wheel. I have only heard of it being done in Low 1st gear. (at least Toyota do have a REAL low 1st gear;-)
Contributing factors are having the car heavily loaded & possibly oversized tyres. I doubt the fact they were Mud Terrains specifically added to the problem.
There are reports of diffs blowing from snatching in reverse or backing up steep hills but from what I've heard it is rare.
The main problem as I understand it is that the diff is pretty much too small, it's not exactly a Hilux diff but fairly close, in fact the ARB difflock part number is the same for both. What happens is under stress the pinion gears seperate from the crown wheel due to the flex in the cast diff centre housing shearing the teeth off. But it's not all bad news as there is a reliable fix. By fitting an ARB locker the centre housing is apparently 10 times more ridgid than standard then by adding a machined spacer instead of the crushable one any slack is then taken out.
The locker on its own is no gaurentee of it being fixed properly as I have blown one up which I put down to poor fitment by the local Toyota Dealer. Setting up diffs properly (Particually Landcruisers) is best left to the experts.
Without doubt the best person to speak to about upgrading 100 series diffs is Darren at ATS in Geelong. He's done well over 40 that I know of & has next to none back.
The gearbox failure following the blown diff could quite possibly be caused by continuing to drive with the broken front end. I've never heard of that before. The front diff must be isolated from the drivetrain by removing the front tailshaft & hub bodies. You then simply drive in rear wheel drive by selecting the 4WD button.
My suggestion is that if you use low 1st regually that you get the diff lock mod done before it breaks. It costs alot more when they have to pick the teeth out.
Cheers Craig..........
HZJ105 Vic. 4 blown front diffs :-((

get a nissen diff housing welded in , then put a nissan diff centre in ,about 3 grand,guy in bris does them ,but dont know anywhere else,me -iam going to get a pajero

The original post was about an IFS 100 series, not the live axle version or the 78 or 79 etc. Most of the discussions in this thread are about the live axle versions, from what I can make out. What about the IFS models (ie, the turbo diesel and V8 100's)? Do they tend to break front diffs as well? I know that there's an issue with the lower wishbones and shock mounts, but I haven't heard much about the front diffs.

Andrew

I have done a front diff in my 04 79 series at 110.000 lucked it under warranty but.

I killed the front diff in my 100TD with about 35000k (from memory) on the clock.
I had a rear air locker at the time. Steep, rough hill. Had to give it some stick about 2/3 way up. Bounced front up over a step, came down, BANG. Trailer home.
Toyota put new diff in, and paid for tilt truck haul to dealership from home, no questions asked.
Immediately had front air locker fitted.
I've been led to believe that the locker makes the diff "stronger" too, but even if it does not, it will still reduce the chance of damage. With the twin lockers, I can now just dawdle up slopes that previously would need right boot and bouncing around. Less chance of front wheels being lifted and coming down hard still driving.
Gotta be better.
That was the justification I used for the front locker to my bride anyway.
Tuck