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diff drop spacer debate

8K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  BLACKHAWK250 
#1 ·
Okay guys, a decent amount of people on this site complain about differential drop spacers. So I made a comparison of with and without them on my truck for everyone. Yes they do infact work, But you lose some ground clearance. Now im not sure if there really "needed" however. A little different considering im LT but you guys get the point.

I want to hear everyones input on diff drops and why they are for or against them. Just to let you know im not for or against them so "internet toughguys" dont post. This thread is intended to show the spacers and hear what people have to say, most importantly on WHY they are bad for the truck and useless or WHY they are good becasue they save your boots

Comparision


Diff. spacer on, inner CV


No Diff. Spacer, Inner CV


Diff. spacer, Outer CV


No Diff. Spacer, Outer CV
 
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#2 ·
Before saying anything else, I want people to know I had the Total Chaos Diff. spacers on my truck for almost a year, back from when I was mid travel and to LT. I never had any differential trouble or issues with 4wd or anything with them on so no rumors saying they kill your differential, I also havnt come close to tearing a CV boot.

Once again I want to hear why people love em or why people hate them. This thread is not entended to be an argument, but instead to hear other peoples views on them.

Now it seems clear to me they work, look how the boots rub without the spacers but with them on there spread out a bit to give them longer life. What do you guys think?
 
#5 ·
looks great so ya someone buy the diff spacers that i have for sale.
 
#13 ·
The Diff Drop Debate!

I did the diff drop. Do I NEED the drop? Probably not. I think it is cheap/easy insurance. It should prolong CV life.

I dropped my skidplate and did an oil change. I didn't remove my diff drop and measure but as others have said you aren't dropping the whole diff, just rotating it. The rear, driveshaft side, mount is 6" from the axle centerline. The front, where the drops go in, is 7" from the axle centerline. There for when you drop the front 1" the actual axle centerline only drops .462" (~15/32") Just under 1/2". It's hard to tell what strain it takes off the CVs when wheeling and you have full droop.

Is it worth it? That is up to you. I'm leaving mine in.
 
#14 ·
I'd much rather hit my diff a few extra time (or properly place my tires;)) than ruin CV's every trip or wear them out early, i think manual hubs or not, at full droop, it's like over extending a u-joint and driving on it, it's an exponential factor at which they deteriorate...

EDIT:

I have the diff drop kit to be added (new to me truck) the PO didnt have them in and the CVs are dsetroyed, i'm going to replace the CV boots with the AllPro ones and put in the diff drop at the same time (for the summer, SAS coming soon) and i bet i wont have an issue...
 
#17 ·
I'd much rather hit my diff a few extra time (or properly place my tires;)) than ruin CV's every trip or wear them out early,
You'd rather crack your diff instead of changing a CV boot? It only takes one good hit to do bad damage.
 
#18 ·
its weird bc on some trucks they do like above and work wonders, but on other trucks they dont do shit. Seems like they are hit or miss, wouldnt know how to explain it but have installed 50+ and seen both good and bad results. Made a huge difference here though, nice!
 
#21 ·
with a 1" puck I'd be interested in seeing how many of you (and how soon) either wear out your rear mount bolt bushing or snap that bolt...it has been done ;)

The other interesting thing to see in those pics is the seeming drastic difference in boot fin spacing...many years ago a member had to us a micrometer to measure the difference. When I experimented with the diff pivot the only way to get any noticable fin gap was to go with a 1" puck and that put the rear of the diff firmly into the xmember.

have fun ;)
 
#24 ·
and im not sure if i should run the damn things. I mean i had it en there for a long time, taken it to the dezert, hit whoops and jumped it and everything and zero problems and my boots thanked me. but if it really is fucking my rear end of the diff. then im consurned.

And eitherway the skid slides over the diff. drops just like it does without em on there, so u have the same amount of clearance. If i had a skid on in the pict, u couldnt tell the one side had less clearance
 
#25 ·
FYI: '96 Tacoma 2.7L ADD w/ 3" Allpro/Bilstein lift coils.

Ok, so i replaced my CV axles and got the Allpro diff drop in. With the skid placed back on, the ground clearance change NONE.

Before.


Drivers Side: it's hard to tell with the boots shredded...:rolleyes:


Pass. Side:


Before measuerment:



After Overview: Truck still needed to be wiggled about and settle in after having it all apart.


After Measurement:


After Drivers Side:


After Pass Side:


All in all it took about 20 minutes to do while chatting with a friend. Super easy, Super reversible. :saw:
 
#26 ·
Doesn't really look like they do much IMHO...

Anywho, I'd still recomend before buying a diff rotation, to just put a jack under the diff, pull the front bolts, lower the diff till you have a 1" gap, and see for youself. I saw Zero diference when I was IFS.
 
#29 ·
Well, you heard it from someone else now that the spacer does indeed rotate your differential. I hope that you believe what they are saying now because you didn't seem to believe me before.

Your drop did seem to make quite a difference on your CV angle which is good to see. However I think I am just going to leave my coilovers at a lower preload setting to essentially accomplish the same thing with a little less overall front end ground clearance.

The other dude's diff drop didn't seem to make any difference, and I also don't really know why he changed his entire CV axles out when he could have just replaced the boot. Well I hope those CVs are Toyota (although they don't look like it) because with any other kind, the joints are going to bust WAAAAAAAY easier..
On second thought though, his original CVs look like crap. But I still stand on the Toyota CV argument.
 
#32 ·
I replaced the whole axle because replacement boots locally were $25 each, then I had to get grease, or i buy the whole assembly for $60 each and not have to fawk with getting dirty.
Work Smarter, Not harder.:rolleyes:

Besides these CVs are just for the summer....:saw:

Actually took the rig out last night after doing the CVs and diff drop, I felt no binding at anytime, had tires off the ground a few times (as any good IFSer does.)

And ya, the boot angle has nothing to do with joint angle, it's a reference. no need to get powty. ha ha.
 
#33 · (Edited)
'would seem to me... that the LT's extended axle length is a contributing factor to what looks to be a slight improvement of boot angle.

But when maintaining the stock oem suspension, and it's perimeters, and in utilizing this diff drop, there's no significant improvement of the boot angle nor rib spacing or decreased wear,
if/when ride height (4X) is set at a reasonable 2" - 2.5", there should be no premature wear.

More likely, accelerated boot wear could be contributed to excessive preload and ride height adjustments, a lead foot, and the proverbial "numb skull". ;)

That said...
I have a diff drop for sale...
came off a '00
PM me an offer $ :)

Now, that they're becoming popular again... I hope to sell it ! :D
 
#35 ·
IDK i havnt look into the binding, but after i put the axles in i had to readjust my limiting straps cuz i would bind, but im wonder if the diff was only making it worse. So now that i dont have em on i wonder if i could get a bit more travel out of the truck befor they would bind
 
#36 ·
if your CVs are binding something is very wrong. are they binding just the outer joints or the inner tripods as well?

what exactly do you have for a lift? Are those aftermarket or OE axles?
 
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