35s

[Sprockett]

Ok, this is going to look like a stupid question but I've done searching on the subject but there are some technical guys here whose opinion I respect so I thought I'd check here.

I'm very seriously looking to buy a Toyota over winter. Particular vehicle fitment and opinions on the necessity of 35s aside :), I am wondering which Toyota diffs are really capable of handling 35" tires? I am not too worried about the rear of course, but front? If I want reliability with 35s, are the land cruiser diffs really the only way to go? For the diffs that won't handle it, can anything be done to strengthen them?

Thanks,
Ryan

[874runnersr5]

all i know is that 7.5 ifs front diffs dont like 35s

[Sprockett]

Yeah, I blew my 95 Runner front diff with one bad hop on 33s

[874runnersr5]

Yeah, I blew my 95 Runner front diff with one bad hop on 33s

oooo.. not fun:mad:

[freeze]

It depends on the diff. The new 8" reverse clamshell IFS diff in the FJ cruisers and Tacoma's are able to handle 35" no problem along with the CV's. The older 7.5" IFS clamshell don't like 35"s too much if you're hard on the peddle.

The older 8" Solid Axle V6 diffs are fine with 35"s. The older 8" Solid Axle 4Cyl. diffs end up wearing out the pinion bearing over time with 35"s.

So in a nutshell to run 35":

05+ Front IFS 8" clamshell diff = Good
Solid Axle 8" V6 3rd's = Good
Solid Axle 9.25" (94-97) = Plenty Good

With 5.29 gears the pinion get's on the smaller side resulting in less teeth and more potential of breakage. They need to be really strong gears at that size.

A good set of axles and Birfield's will save you from breakage with 35's, however with the 80 series axles you'll be able to get by with stock Birfs. If you're light on the peddle and not cranking the wheel at throttle you can run stock birfs with the mini truck axles as well.

With the mini truck axles, you'll want to run at least an 84-85 front axle as it has more gusseting along the axle tube. There are weld on gussets as well that can strengthen the knuckle and the tube. Chromo axles and birfields will provide enough strength to run 37"s with strength to spare. If you build a mini axle right they can be really strong. Now given that, if you build an 80 series axle right.....!

[Sprockett]

Thanks for the detailed post.

So, basically without doing big swaps up front, the actual vehicles are basically early solid axle trucks and runners or an 80 series? Or a really new
Taco, which is not what I had in mind.

There is no way to realistically strengthen a 7.5" IFS diff or CVs?

Thanks,
Ryan

[Andyl]

I know a couple guys who run 35s and IFS... As long as your running a more or less stock scenario - you're probably ok as long as you don't do stupid things (ie get bouncing and on the skinny pedal).

But if you start hanging a bunch of weight, or feed some steroids to the 22RE's Hampsters (cams, headers, intakes blah blah blah). Or start squeezing in 4" suspension lifts... Things start to self destruct...

33s are a safer bet - but 35s can be workable if you work with it... One of the biggest issues I've seen with the 7.5 ifs - is the weight factor... Hang a big bumper & winch on the front - you're asking for trouble...

Edit to expand a little:
One of my favorite trucks yet was setup this way - 86 4runner; he started out with the typical IFS & 35 scenario - blowing stuff up every run... Eventually we did get it sorted out, largely with a weight reduction of the front end - Batteries got relocated to the rear; 3" superlift (?) suspension lift was ripped out and returned to stock - 3" body lift & fender trimming + little torsion crank. A/C got fully removed along with some useless emissions stuff that didn't work anyway... Big arse 350lb winch bumper with a warn 9500 got tossed for a tube style bumper with a 8000lb winch....

After that - he was safe, though he did blow some CVs doing stupid stuff (ie charging logs in mud with the skinny on the floor). But really came out to 100% improvement in reliability...

We always forget when building toyotas, that toyota built it the way they did for a reason, it's not so much the toyota design that's failing - its our additions that toyota couldn't forsee that's causing the problem... If you keep the weight, height and power down - problems cease... This is partly why I'm doing the VW turbo diesel in my truck - weight reduction is a factor (that 1.6td is lighter than the 22RE - and the weight is farther back). I'd like a little more power - but to go with the extra power, I know going in I need to balance that extra power with changes elsewhere...