Front Differential Parts

[phlegmie]

Hello!
New to the forum here, so I hope I'm posting in the right section, and I am looking for front diff parts and/or a whole new front diff. Over this past winter I trusted some folks to replace my cv axle and, long story short, it wasn't sealed properly and the snow caused my front differential to pop. I've come to understand that this is one of the hardest parts to find/replace right now, so I'm hoping y'all would have some advice on where to find one or the steps I should take going forward.
I'm also wondering if there are other makes and models that have compatible front diffs I can call the scrap yards about.
Currently I'm rocking a '86 SR5 1.5l

[NWMO]

That shouldn’t be that hard to find. The main question is where are you? With an 86’, you’ll need to find an 85’-87’ front diff to match your rear. Salvage yards are a real possibility, however, I don’t believe any other diff will swap. My other concern would be your transmission. With a shared sump, you’ll want to make sure it’s ok. How do you know it’s a front diff problem?

Chris

[phlegmie]

Thank you for the reply!!
The FWD doesn't work anymore, 4WD has been working, but it's been lurching a bit. No terrible grinding sound! But there is an axle whirl when I make sharp turns (been avoiding those).
I'm over in Bellingham Wa, finding a replacement has been rather difficult and I haven't found anything compatible.

Still need to fully inspect the transmission, it has felt good so far, but again, that is a time bomb if there is metal in the diff.

[dlb]

Based on those sounds and what you described in your first post, it sounds like you might just have a failed CV axle up front, not a destroyed front diff. I would remove the one that seems suspect (look for anything obviously wrong, see if you can spin the axle even when the transmission is in gear, etc) and replace it with a known good one to confirm the front diff is bad before committing to the bigger job of swapping diffs.

[phlegmie]

Sweet!
I really hope it's just that, I'll check that out and give updates.
Would you suggest draining the diff as well? Just to check if there's any metal.

[dlb]

I would check the gear oil level (the trans and diff share the same oil) but as long as it's full (it should be right up to the bottom of the fill plug which is the 24 mm shallow bolt head just behind the driver side CV axle) I wouldn't drain it just yet.

[gonzalez]

Check with local or online salvage yards for compatible parts. Some compatible models might include other Toyota pickups or 4Runners from the same era.