I currently have a 1987 Toyota 4Runner with a 5 speed manual transmission, 31" tires and 4.10 gears. I am looking to upgrade to lower gears and would like to get the front and rear differentials out of a junkyard with the lower gears already in the third member.

Today I was cruising the local junkyard and came across a few 4runners with the following axle codes.

1. G282
2. G292
3. G072
4. G144
5. G254

From what I can figure out the two codes that hold promise are the G282, G254 and G144. Will any (or all) of these codes work in my 87 Runner?

G282 is a 4.300 gearset from a 1987 4Runner 4 cylinder automatic
G254 is a 4.556 gearset from a 1990 (I think) 4Runner (not sure of motor since it was missing)
G144 is a 4.875 gearset from a 1994 Automatic 4Runner (6 Cylinder motor)

What are the possible issues? I know the last number of the code is the number of Pinon gears.....does that matter if I want to swap out the entire 3rd member? Does it matter if the 3rd member is coming out of a vehicle with an automatic transmission and I will be installing it into my 4runner with a manual transmission? Did Toyota use the same axle spline count in all their 4runners?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Gregg

All the 8" thirds swap no problem, axle splines the same. 4-pinion (V6 and turbo) is somewhat stronger than 2-spline, but they all work fine. The OEM 4.88 gears/carrier is somewhat unique, gear-wise, so you are basiclly "stuck" with that ratio. The other ratios are all swappable, though.

What is a good price for the differentials from a junkyard with 4.56 gears? I was just quoted $450 each.....that seems incredibly high.

Sounds like 2-3X too high, but search http://www.car-part.com/ to get an idea of the going price.

Here's some 4.56's (REAR) with the 4 Pinion carrier (V6) Plug-n-play on a 4cyl.



Here's a FRONT 4.56 for manual hubs



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