Enthusiast III
Well, the day has come. The rear diff is going bad on my 3rd gen 4Runner with 230k miles on it. It has 285/75/16s on it. It’s a pleasure truck, not a daily. I swore years back if the diff ever gave up I would regear to 4.88s. It’s mainly a local camping truck and pulls the SoCal teardrop. Averaged 5k miles a year for the past 10 years. Pulls the camper 400 miles or so to the mountains of North Carolina two or three times a year. Does some mild offroading and forest service roads. Now, our forest service roads are crappy at best. Big mud holes and ruts. So, that’s the story of how it’s used. We also have a 2004 V8 4Runner that obviously tows the camper better. We have been using it for the longer trips. It’s bone stock and the XReas shocks are toast. It is the daily for the wife and will not go near any mud or ruts at this time. She doesn’t even like it on gravel. She thinks she would like to have a bit of lift and one size over on tires. It is way more comfortable to travel in than the 3rd gen, but I actually had rather drive the 3rd gen. I just like it better. Now, all that said, I can replace just the rear diff from East Coast Gear Supply for roughly $800. Or regear to 4.88, add a limited slip and of course the front diff for roughly $2000. I’m torn if I really want to spend 2 grand or just fix what’s broke and then replace the shocks on the 4th gen and ditch the XReas. Maybe not lift it but just upgrade, but still run an AT tire one size over stock. Just not sure I want to spend $2k on a rig that spends the biggest part of its life in the driveway. Open to any discussion.
