80 Series Front Diff Side Gears

[Simmo88]

Hi guys,

Over Christmas I had the front drive splines wear out on my Cruiser. I ended up replacing then with newer ones with longer splines and no wear from a wrecker. When I took the diff out to install the new axles (and inspected as we had initially thought the diff had gone) I noticed that the side gears on the front diff had worn splines, like the axles and drive flanges. Over Easter I was planning on addressing any diff backlash in an attempt to reduce my drive line slop as much as possible, and thought I might look into doing the bearings and side gears aswell. I expect a wrecker might not be that keen on selling me just the side gears out of one of their prized diffs, I was wondering are 80 Series Front Side Gears the same as any other models? 60 Series? Hilux? Does anyone know what someone would charge for a new pair.

[old lux]

is it constant 4x4? or have you got manual locking hubs?

if you install a locker you wont have to worru about side gears. just a choice i would throw out there

cheers
old lux

[Simmo88]

Yeah it's constant 4wd. I have definitely considered the locker option. it might be abit $$$, and I am not sure if I would rather front or rear, it appears to be a great debate. I guess 1 locker is better than no lockers, and I did try 'shimming' up my rear LSD when I did the bearings in that.

[Simmo88]

BUMP!

Sorry to bring it up again, but I was going to use my time off over Easter to look around at some parts or spare diffs for other models (Pretty sure I have a pair of 60 series diffs at home), so any knowledge would be appreciated.