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Regearing a Taco in the SF Bay Area - any recommendations?

3K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  crolison 
#1 ·
Posting this in the newbie section because, well, these are sort of newbie questions :D

Truck: 2002 V6 Tacoma DC, 4x4, 5 speed with 285/75R16s. Stock 4.10 gearing.

So I now have some miles with my 285/75R16s. I'm happy with them but the stock 4.10 gears are a bit too tall, so I intend to regear (F & R) when I can afford to, likely to 4.88s.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for good shops in the SSF/Burlingame/San Mateo/Redwood City area that do differential work? I spoke with SF Differential Repair in SSF, which is just up the street from where I work, and he seems competent if a little pricey (he quoted me $1200-$1400 labor (plus parts, which I may supply) to regear both diffs, drive in/drive out. Is that a reasonable price for this area? Is there another shop anyone can recommend? I typically do all of my own work but I'm slammed with stuff at the moment and hope to get this truck regeared before we head out on vacation in August.

Also, thinking of getting the gears from Marlin (Yukon Gears). I know Marlin's rep., obviously, but I'm wondering if anyone has opinions one way or the other on Yukon gears? The truck has a TRD E-Locker in the rear. I may leave the front diff open, or may stuff it with an old RWD Celica 7.5" LSD I have lying around. Still mulling that over...

Thanks for any input on this!

Jeff
 
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#2 ·
There's a place in Santa Rosa that does good gear work...check with Peter Parks for the contact info.

Toy Connection in Santa Clara...Jeff

labor should run around $250/diff if you hand them the diffs...add another $100-200 if you just drop off the truck. parts...$400 or so/diff. (gear set and master install kit)
make sure to add a solid spacer in the rear diff (replaces the crush sleeve) and replace the rear axle seals at the same time. (around $10ea, no extra labor cost)

$1400 just for labor is nuts...and you can tell them that ;)
 
#3 ·
I also suggest ECGS and have them drop ship you two diffs and then you can just instal them and ship your cores back.

They come with a 5 year warrenty and I havent had any problems out of 2 of my diffs. I have another ECGS diff coming in the mail to me monday.
 
#4 ·
Thanks, guys. I'll give both ECGS and the shop in Santa Clara a call and see what they have to say. If ECGS can give me a good price on ready-to-install, assembled diffs, that would be ideal. It's a shame the shop near my work is so outrageous because he'd be very convenient, but on the phone he was making this sound like an epic task, and I know it isn't that bad...

Thanks again,

Jeff
 
#5 ·
It'll be about 1200 bucks to your door
 
#7 ·
OK, I poked around their site a bit more and see that for me, the price is going to be more like $1300 + $600 in core charges, plus return shipping on the cores. Still, that's not too bad, and the convenience factor is huge. Thanks for the tip!
 
#8 ·
they are probably the best deal around is you don't have a great gear shop nearby. By the time you factor mileage and your time into finding a "local" gear shop you'll have brand new diffs done right. I believe they also have a much better core return rate than you could get via ups or other. This also leaves you with no real down time ;)

If you need some help on the diff swap just post up either here or on the norcal board.
 
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