Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Basically my front diff is shagged in my 98 75series and im looking for a quick and cheap way to get it back in order, i was thinking of throwing a gq diff in because i hear theyre cheap and easy to find and itl be better for going offroad in. If anyone has done this or knows of any other options your input would be much appreciated.

Forget the patrol diff, go for a CIG diff lock.
Very cheap & can DIY.

when you say shagged...

is it bent?

or bearings or just needs an overhaul??

Well its not even the original diff from it and its not totally shagged, the front pinion has no teeth left on it, its had a butcher of a welding job to repair a crack and some of the stud holes have been warped. Shes quite obviously been through a bit of a thrashing

Depending on how much you want to spend. The quickest [maybe not the absolute cheapest] would be to source a good 2nd hand complete disc to disc diff. By the sounds of things the one you have in there might not be salvageable given the cracks you mentioned. Shop around you will be surprised how cheap you could pick up one if you are not in a hurry.

The 98 model has a high pinion centre which is weaker than the earlier models that used the same size centre as in the rear. They are weakest when reversing uphill. Aftermarket gear sets i.e. slower than the original 4.11 ratios are weaker again and can be broken if you run bigger tyres and have an aggressive driving style. Having said that, I have used 4.88s [air locker] and 37 Krawlers for a while and have broken 3 centres. Some people run 37-38 inch tyres and have not broken a centre yet.

Yes you can weld up the front diff as BeerCruiser says however it will be very hard to steer and perform like a pig on the road. If you want a locker, I’d strongly recommend an air or pro locker for the front. This will give you additional strength.

A GQ front diff has relatively weak CVs and they are significantly wider than the 75. You would have to stuff around with mounting it in there and then compensate for the track difference. Your front wheels will hang out the guards quite a bit as well. If you don’t do the work yourself, that will cost you some $ too.

Some options for you are - In order of cheapest to dearest:

1. Pick up a good complete disc to disc diff and slot it in
2. as per 1 and put an air or pro locker in with a solid crush spacer [have
it set up by properly by someone that knows what they are doing].
3. Have a custom housing made up with a GQ/U centre and 80 series
knuckles/CVs

Just ask if you want to know more….

Cheers

Check out ebay, seen a few diffs there.....the centre can be significantly strengtherned from an air locker install....there are also sets of gears on ebay for $160....best option in my opinion is the second hand good condition diff...put a wanted add on this site...someone might be doing a coil conversion...
Andrew

M8 just remembered thre is a guy in sydney selling a front of 79 series diff....with that you could go coil up front

Another low cost thought that I left out of my last post….

Have a look here:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Landcruiser-Fron ... dZViewItem

A 60 diff is wider than a 75 series by 75mm 1400mm vs 1475. Not too much to cause you too many troubles. The added bonus of the 60 front is it has a low pinion centre which is much stronger than the 75 high pinion.

Cheers

PS I'm surprised that Andrew [dow50r] doesn't have any "spare" diffs at his place