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I already have 4.88's, but in the article the gears were bought with the locker, is it too much trouble to buy a Toyota e-locker w/o the gears? And if so, shouldn't an e-locker (out of another Toyota 8") fit any gear set? The gears are different, but aren't the dimensions the same?


If you have V6 third members currently, then you can reuse your ring and pinion. If you have 4 cylinder third members, I do not believe that the gears can be used in the electric locker (or V6) third member. From the factory, the e-lockers are only available as complete third members. They will come with 4.10, 4.30, or 4.56 gears. 4.88 was not a factory option with an e-locker, so you are going to have to regear this new differential. You will probably be money ahead to sell your complete third members and buy some new gears.

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From what I can tell, with the minor modifications mentioned in the article any e-locker from 97 4runner's and on should fit, correct? I'm assuming a rear e-locker should work up front too, right?


Yes, that is correct. The only issue may be the bolt pattern on the pinion flange not matching up with your front driveshaft, but that is easy enough to fix. Toyota also made a high pinion e-locker third member that was available in the front of FZJ80 Land Cruisers. They use their own unique gears, but the raised pinion definitely helps the front driveshaft angle.

Harry Wagner
Harry Situations
4x4Wire's Toyota Section