Topic: Marlin's complete diff.

[Night_Wolf84]

When it comes to Toyotas I know a little, but obviously not everything. I've ordered a couple things from Marlin in the past. To start off, right now I've got the ARB high flow compressor and I'm just about ready financially to get the locker to go with it. I was wanting to purchase Marlin's completely built third member with air locker and 4.88 gears.
I have an '87 4Runner with the 22RE, however, I managed to get myself an '89 V6 pickup rear axle housing, with shafts, that I was going to throw under my 4Runner.
I need to know do I buy the 8'' V6 ARB equipped diff....or the 8'' 4 cyl. one...or does it even matter? Reason I'm asking cause I don't know if the stud pattern on the housing is different or not.
I also need to know, what is in the "setup kit" that comes with the complete diff.? Do I need to buy the solenoid, switch, and air line with it?
I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel comfortable spending $1600-$1700 on a complete diff. then finding out it's the wrong one or it doesn't fit, then I have to buy more to make it work. I've called and asked, but didn't get a simple straight answer.

[pumkin toy]

a v6 or 4cyl third member will fit in the housing you are going to use.  As far as the other questions about the setup kit, i'm not sure

[BLACKDOG]

According to the website, it sounds like a plug and play operation.  do you know who you talked to at Marlin?  Ask for John or CJ, they should be able to help you answer all questions. 

[wesley]

either one will be fine. the complete kit is probnably refering to the air line and fittings. and maybe they give you a gasket or some rtv for install. who knows. but be careful when installing your air line. if you dont get a perfect, straight cut they usualy leak.

[Travis H]

you have an 87 4runner, so why are you putting the different rear axle in from the 89? they are the same width. if you are only doing it for the v6 3rd member then you dont have to change the housing just the 3rd member. 4cyl and v6 3rd members swap out just fine.

[woodfella]

you have an 87 4runner, so why are you putting the different rear axle in from the 89? they are the same width. if you are only doing it for the v6 3rd member then you dont have to change the housing just the 3rd member. 4cyl and v6 3rd members swap out just fine.

According to the website, it sounds like a plug and play operation.  do you know who you talked to at Marlin?  Ask for John or CJ, they should be able to help you answer all questions. 

Whatever swag you didnt get with the compressor you should get with the diff

[woodfella]

I know its none of my biz. But did is it solid axled? If your buyin lockers I would assume it is. If it's not you should put your endz into a swap first. If it is swapped consider welding/affordably locking the rear and put the arb up front. But I dont know anything so....

[Night_Wolf84 [OP]]

you have an 87 4runner, so why are you putting the different rear axle in from the 89? they are the same width. if you are only doing it for the v6 3rd member then you dont have to change the housing just the 3rd member. 4cyl and v6 3rd members swap out just fine.

Cause my buddy, who knows a lot more about 4Runners than I do, told me the rear end in my 4Runner was a 7.5''. He also told me that the V6 one was stronger.
I probably got screwed on that, but give me a break, I'm still learning stuff. Well, I can say one good thing about it, I now have spare axle shafts if I ever need them 

I know its none of my biz. But did is it solid axled? If your buyin lockers I would assume it is. If it's not you should put your endz into a swap first. If it is swapped consider welding/affordably locking the rear and put the arb up front. But I dont know anything so....

No I didn't do the SAS. I'm going a different route on the IFS and going to see how well it does with a LSD in it.

[woodfella]

Cause my buddy, who knows a lot more about 4Runners than I do, told me the rear end in my 4Runner was a 7.5''. He also told me that the V6 one was stronger.
I probably got screwed on that, but give me a break, I'm still learning stuff. Well, I can say one good thing about it, I now have spare axle shafts if I ever need them 

No I didn't do the SAS. I'm going a different route on the IFS and going to see how well it does with a LSD in it

Whoa whoa! No one is attacking, just asking. But good luck

[BLACKDOG]

Cause my buddy, who knows a lot more about 4Runners than I do, told me the rear end in my 4Runner was a 7.5''. He also told me that the V6 one was stronger.
I probably got screwed on that, but give me a break, I'm still learning stuff. Well, I can say one good thing about it, I now have spare axle shafts if I ever need them 

No I didn't do the SAS. I'm going a different route on the IFS and going to see how well it does with a LSD in it.

good luck on the IFS.  Check out my build and wheeling pictures if you'd like, I ran IFS hard for several years before I went to 1 tons.  Had duals, 5.29s, and was locked front and rear, front with a lockrite, rear with a detroit. 

I have to admit, it preformed admirably for a long time, before I finally dropped hard on the front end, and tweaked the framework of the IFS.

[Night_Wolf84 [OP]]

Sorry if I seemed to be "defending"...I'm a little ticked cause apparently from what everyone's saying, I bought a $100 V6 axle housing for nothing.
I guess my friend doesn't know everything either. Don't know if I'm correct, the housing that's in the 4Runner now is an 8''...but, the ring gear in it is 7.5''?

Another thing that is bothering me...why does Marlin charge $100 more for the V6 third member with ARB, than the 4 cyl. one with ARB? I forget who I talked to at Marlin, but he told me that the lockers are the same for both.

[-Matt-]

get the 'v6' one its a little stronger because its designed a little different. it will still bolt into your same housing. although the v6 arb diffs are slightly bigger and are heavy. most people have to grind a tiny bit of the opening on your axle housing to get it in because there are slight clearance issues. i has a v6 arb in my 85 runner and i had had to pound it in the housing, but if i did it again i would just take the time to grind it a bit. you can read up about the difference here, erik explains everything pretty well http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/. also when you buy an arb locker (just the locker) it comes with a switch, solenoid, air lines, and fittings to install everything. if you buy the compressor kit it will come with the compressor and whole wiring harness and compressor power switch.

basically if you just want a locker and want to run your own air supply to run the locker you have everything you need if you just buy their locker, you just have to do your own wiring to the locker switch they supply.

[THK Matt]

7.5s are 2wd rear and the size that the front IFS uses.

heck even some 2wd's had 8in... my buddy has an 8in 2wd 5lug narrow axle under his 85 supra.

so yes yours is the 58in 8" 4cyl axle

[twistedtoy92]

IFS ring gears are 7.5'' and Solid axle differential ring gears are 8''
SO if it was solid axle front and rear then you'd have two 8'' diffs but you have a 7.5'' in the front and an 8'' in the rear. 86+ rear axle housings are the wide track with 13'' drums and the 85 and earlier are narrow track with 11'' drums...
Oh and you didnt buy the v6 diff for nothing, the pinions are much stronger and more sought after than the 4 cyl diffs but the housings and axles are IDENTICAL. Hope that helps!

[Night_Wolf84 [OP]]

Thanks for that info Matt. And thanks for everyone for clarifying. I feel a lot better now that buying the V6 housing wasn't for nothing.
I guess I misunderstood my friend when he said that the V6 axle was stronger...now I know it's the third member, not the whole axle. I'll be ordering the V6 third member from Marlin soon.

Correct me if I'm wrong, so...I see now a lot of people go with the V6 third member to swap into where the 4cyl version used to be, but the housing has to be grinded for the V6 version to fit in there. So that means for me, I don't have to do any grinding to make it fit...since I have the V6 housing. (I know I'm really beating a dead horse about this, but like I said in the first post, I don't feel completely comfortable spending $1600 and not getting all the details ironed out)

[-Matt-]

no, im pretty sure you would still have to grind the housing a bit even if its a v6 axle housing. its only when you have a 6v arb installed complete third. for example if you had a 4cylinder housing and wanted to put in a regular v6 third in it (no arb).. you wouldn't have to grind anything. i cant fully remember what was hitting on mine but im almost positive it was part of the arb carrier. so im saying that its only a v6 carrier with an arb installed in it, that you might have to clearance the housing (and when i say clearance im only talking a 1/16th inch.)

put it this way you'll figure it out on your own when you try and install it. if you have the issue im talking about it will be self explanatory for you, im just giving you a heads up so you dont freak out or think you got the wrong thing.

edit- i also wanna say i had an old style arb, so this might not even apply anymore. 

[Night_Wolf84 [OP]]

no, im pretty sure you would still have to grind the housing a bit even if its a v6 axle housing. its only when you have a 6v arb installed complete third. for example if you had a 4cylinder housing and wanted to put in a regular v6 third in it (no arb).. you wouldn't have to grind anything. i cant fully remember what was hitting on mine but im almost positive it was part of the arb carrier. so im saying that its only a v6 carrier with an arb installed in it, that you might have to clearance the housing (and when i say clearance im only talking a 1/16th inch.)

put it this way you'll figure it out on your own when you try and install it. if you have the issue im talking about it will be self explanatory for you, im just giving you a heads up so you dont freak out or think you got the wrong thing.

edit- i also wanna say i had an old style arb, so this might not even apply anymore. 

Ah I see. Thanks a bunch for the heads up.

[Armyrat]

Good luck!