Diff mount

fsbrain03

Well-Known Member
I may have a problem. Not sure the technical names, I'll say diff mount or brace. On the bottom of the truck, near te front. There re 2 arms that are attached to the diff. The driver side mount took a hard hit on a rock, and the bolt is bent. This mount has been pushed back. Does this cause problems with the diff/cv's? Both of my cvs are pulled out about an 1/8-1/4" from the diff. Don't know if that mount being pushed back could have caused this, or something else.
 

Silverback

Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Without pics it's hard to say, but if you bent your shit that bad that's just one more reason people should invest in skids BEFORE they wheel
 

fsbrain03

Well-Known Member
2c92e3cc.jpg

ebe8c40a.jpg

b2338b66.jpg
 

taco4x4rar

Well-Known Member
Yup you fubared that thing but shouldnt be a problem in the short term replace it when you get a chance and while your at it remove those different drop spacers as well it has been proven that they do not help.
 

yotarob

Kiss My IFS
remove those different drop spacers as well it has been proven that they do not help.

Link? I would like to read up on that, my CV angles are pretty steep right now and I was considering throwing some drop spacers on. I know that they just tilt the diff and don't really drop it, but didn't know they where proven useless.
 

fsbrain03

Well-Known Member
Link? I would like to read up on that, my CV angles are pretty steep right now and I was considering throwing some drop spacers on. I know that they just tilt the diff and don't really drop it, but didn't know they where proven useless.

Yeah, i've heard both sides of the story on them. For and Against.
 

taco4x4rar

Well-Known Member
Link? I would like to read up on that, my CV angles are pretty steep right now and I was considering throwing some drop spacers on. I know that they just tilt the diff and don't really drop it, but didn't know they where proven useless.

It was on TW MJP2 guy that was doing the baja racing in primm seriously fucked up his truck by having the spacers, no spacers prolly would have finished the spacers lead to him putting one of those spacers through his oil pan. See if I can dig up the link
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/118545-remove-differential-drop-your-05-tacoma.html
 

taco4x4rar

Well-Known Member
For those you can't access it I'll quote it
Grab a beer, pull up a chair, and let your helpful uncle Mike tell you a story.

Once there was a guy who didn't take his own advice and left a differential drop kit on his 2006 Tacoma 4x4. He put lots of time, effort, and cash into modifying his skidplates to work with the kit that he never should have installed, He did it to protect his precious CV boots.

Then he went offroad, after which he could no longer drive his truck. The end.

When told that the diff drop does nothing but pivot the front differential, there are always a pile of people that say "Even if it only helps CV angles just a little, I'm going to use it." They can kiss my ass. (that's probably the beer talking but the sentiment is not that far off )

This is not a debate. Remove those spacers.

My truck looked like this:
IMG_2463_800.jpg


Then I hit a rock because the differential mount was sticking too low. My truck then looked like this:

IMG_3025.jpg

IMG_3022.jpg


Let's pull that skidplate and see what we've got...
IMG_3042.jpg


^ Note that the passenger side is no longer lower than it would have been had I left it alone. It's right where it should have been all along.

It got that high by pushing through the cross member.
IMG_3027.jpg


It didn't just push up either. It pushed backwards, and the differential became intimate with my oil pan.
IMG_3051.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh149/mjp_2/IMG_3053.jpg


The bottom end on my engine is playing peek-a-boo:

IMG_3055.jpg

And to those that swear these things actually help, look at where the dropped mount is relative to where the front axle inserts into the front differential:
IMG_3058.jpg


Pretty nice looking mount too, huh?

So...how much of a pain is it REALLY to replace a CV boot?
 

Mauzer

Pitter Patter. Lets Get at Er
So I need to take my diff drop off b/c that guy built a shitty skid? If you've seen a budbuilt installed with a diff drop it leaves room so that if by chance you hit a rock (hard enough and at speed) the plate has room to give before it meets the arms that are lowered by the drop. I guess anything is possible but I've seen a before and after pic of the cv boots transparently imposed on top and it does reduce the angle. The scenario needed to tear a boot is much more prevalent than the scenario of smashing your belly on a rock in just the right place to cause that sort of damage.


Now having said that I'm sure next time I wheel I'm going to smash my diff up and Randy is gonna make me eat my words
 

taco4x4rar

Well-Known Member
So I need to take my diff drop off b/c that guy built a shitty skid? If you've seen a budbuilt installed with a diff drop it leaves room so that if by chance you hit a rock (hard enough and at speed) the plate has room to give before it meets the arms that are lowered by the drop. I guess anything is possible but I've seen a before and after pic of the cv boots transparently imposed on top and it does reduce the angle. The scenario needed to tear a boot is much more prevalent than the scenario of smashing your belly on a rock in just the right place to cause that sort of damage.



Now having said that I'm sure next time I wheel I'm going to smash my diff up and Randy is gonna make me eat my words

Indeed I will, and the angle isn't that much different. If it's bad enough to need correction lower the front and break out the sawzall to make whatever you were trying to clear fit at the lower height. The same damage could easily occur from a 1' static drop on the diff which has a high potential of happening when rock crawling.
 
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Mauzer

Pitter Patter. Lets Get at Er
Indeed I will, and the angle isn't that much different. If it's bad enough to need correction lower the front and break out the sawzall to make whatever you were trying to clear fit at the lower height. The same damage could easily occur from a 1' static drop on the diff which has a high potential of happening when rock crawling.

Don't you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby!

If I take off my diff drop then I wouldn't have to worry about modifying the stock skid...hmmm...damn you Randy!
 
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fsbrain03

Well-Known Member
Ok with all this talk on drops, and such. What would cause both of my cv's to pop out while wheeling? Have the wheels turned, while maxing out the suspension?
 

taco4x4rar

Well-Known Member
Ok with all this talk on drops, and such. What would cause both of my cv's to pop out while wheeling? Have the wheels turned, while maxing out the suspension?

Too much travel or the snap rings wern't engaged. It is one of those 2 things. Pop both CVs back in and tap them with a hammer to make sure the snap ring seats then see if it happens again, if it does then you have too much down travel.
 

yotarob

Kiss My IFS
Thanks for the diff drop info Randy

Isn't too much down travel a negative side effect of using coil spacers to get lift?
 

fsbrain03

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the diff drop info Randy

Isn't too much down travel a negative side effect of using coil spacers to get lift?

I don't have coil spacer anymore. I just have the 5100's maxed out, which is probably the same thing. I may go back to the spacers, because I didn't have this problem with them.
 

yotarob

Kiss My IFS
Trust me, you are better off with the 5100's
 
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