I'm looking at buying a used 3rd member Toyota 8" with 4.88's. How can I tell if the gears are in good shape and setup correctly by looking at it? Thanks for any help..

Here are the pics:


http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears001.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears002.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears003.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears005.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears007.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u282/djdigi44/gears008.jpg

Check for chipped teeth, uneven wear. You can hold the pinion and move the ring back and forth to estimate the backlash, shouldn't move too much. If the seller will let you put some marking compound on them and run a pattern

Check for chipped teeth, uneven wear. You can hold the pinion and move the ring back and forth to estimate the backlash, shouldn't move too much. If the seller will let you put some marking compound on them and run a pattern

Thanks for the info, which teeth should I brush the marking compound on and what am I looking for when I turn the gears?

Read this: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

Shows patterns at the end.

Read this: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

Shows patterns at the end.

Wow, that's a great article there, thanks for the link.

Yep, more to Pirate than just the bulletin board: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/