I've been wondering this for a few weeks and maybe booger weldz and others can answer this question.


Why order the front with a 8in toy diff when they seem to be pretty weak compared to the 8.4 tacoma diff?



Seems alot of people keep the 8.4 in the rear but go for the 8in but now have to carry 2 different spare diffs instead of one.
Some how mine is still alive even after 42s and a problem with the throttle getting a little to happy.

I'd guess most of the people who stick with the 8" front either already have an 8" 3rd built or want to run a high pinion.

They'll build it however you want it though. They'll put a 9", Landcruiser or anything you want in the center with your choice of outers too.

For Taco guys that already have the 8.4 in the rear it would make sense to run another one up front. I'd run it if I built a Toy front, but I'm very happy with my 44.

I ordered mine with the 8" high pinion diff (Fj80). I think this is what most that order for the toyota 8 are doing. With reverse cut gears the pinion runs on the drive side of the ring gear as opposed to most fronts where the pinion runs on the coast side. This makes for a stronger gear setup in the front. It doesn't work the same for the rear though.

I would still consider the 9.5" Land Cruiser 3rd over any of the others. When I order mine that is the route I am going. Then eventually I will go with a new Tundra 10.5" rear axle when the gears and lockers are a little more available.

yes the 9.5" chunk would be my route as well if i were to do it. that with the custom housing, longs, and 6 stud steering....i think you'd have a tough time breaking. that could take some abuse.

I would still consider the 9.5" Land Cruiser 3rd over any of the others. When I order mine that is the route I am going. Then eventually I will go with a new Tundra 10.5" rear axle when the gears and lockers are a little more available.

The new 10.5" would be awesome but like you say there is nothing available for the diff yet. At the time I didnt really know about the 9.5" when I ordered my front but the truck was also street driver to the trails and needed a way of getting home if I blew the rear up. I only wish I could get the toyota hub in a 8 lug to match the 14bolt or for someone to come up with a cheap 14bolt 6 lug.



Thanks for the answers to my stupid questions.

yeah now that I got it done I wish I went with an 8.4 instead of 8", but at the time I had a 5.29 ARB 8" third already setup. I should have sold it and got an 8.4 to match my T100 rear.:shaking:

I run a low pinion e locker to match my rear

I run a low pinion e locker to match my rear

ditto

i already had the 8'' stuff(hi pinion and v6), so i ran it. i had an Elocker in my last taco when it was stock and thought it sucked(for a front application) since it was slow to engage and by the time it locked you were already past the obstacle you needed it on(if you got over it)...

i believe the ARB guys(engineers) arent big fans of the 8.4'' thirds for some reason, brian can elaborate or correct me. i have a pair of them and asked him if i should run them instead and he said run the hi/v6 combo...

if i had to start from scratch id have a pair of fj80 9.5'' thirds(the rear application), but im only running 35-37s so im not worried regardless

For Booger, run what ya got. For the strength gain vs. cost, if I were in Boogers shoes, I wouldnt sell good diffs to go to something else, without jumping up significantly in strength.

For the 8.4, yes ARB doesnt like the shim design, as they feel it looses carrier bearing preload quicker than a side adjuster does. Personally, I would still say the 8.4 is stronger than any other 8". By how much, only speculation and guesses.

To answer the original question, a lot of folks want the high pinion diff, so thats what we build to.