Mr Polytech

Hi, all. I need axle parts, & can't figure out where to get them. I purchased a toyota heavy duty 6 lug full floating dually axle which came off of a 1 ton dually truck from a guy who got it out of a wrecking yard to replace the semi-floating 5 lug axle in my 84 motorhome....I pulled the third member for an inspection as I was checking out the (new to me) axle, & it turns out the ring & pinion are badly pitted; apparently water had gotten into the differential housing; probably while this axle sat in the junk yard for many years... Anyway, I have searched all over the net to find a third member assembly, including ring & pinion for this critter; & I have no idea what toyota axle crosses over for parts with the dually RWD axle used in the 1 ton dually trucks & motorhomes (same axle). I would prefer a third member set-up w/ ring & pinion; or even just the ring & pinion that will fit these axles. These dually axles are full floating w/ an 8" ring gear; & are not listed by any replacement parts suppliers! I was told by a buddy that the third member or ring & pinion for the rear full floating axle in the FJ80 landcruiser should fit; but I can't find one that is 8"! Also, all the 8" ring & pinion sets for 4WD hi-Lux/ pickup rear axles are semi floating; which I doubt would work, as they use 27 spline axle shafts, & the full floater for the dually uses 30 spline axle shafts! HELP! Where can I find a third member w/ ring & pinion; or even just the ring & pinion for my toyota motorhome 6 lug full floating dually axle! thanks in advance, JD.

Got ahold of the parts manager after posting here- he has now ordered one for a 87' Toyota 1 ton pickup w/ duallys and we'll see if that matches my template that I made be tapping a piece of cardboard into the studs on the rear axle housing...If that does not match, I guess I'll go w/ the Permatex orange heavy duty RTV sealer. I prefer to use the correct factory gasket if I can find it, however. I feel lucky that NAPA auto parts was able to match up the hub/ axle shaft seals.

Hi. My local Toyota dealership cannot find me the gasket that goes between the differential carrier and axle housing on the 6 bolt dually full floating rear axle. They want a VIN, but that does not work as my unit is an 85' New Horizon which came equipped w/ the semi-floating rear axle. My replacement axle is a 6 bolt full floating dually axle which came off of a toyota dealership courtesy bus which was wrecked in 87' w/ 278 miles on it, and is identical to the replacement full floating 6 bolt axle for Toyota motorhome. The dealership ordered up gasket for a 79' Landcruiser full floating axle which had the correct number of bolt holes but was too large in diameter (wrong size). They tell me they cannot order the correct gasket w/ out a VIN # or year and model # of vehicle (excluding motorhome, which they cannot reference in their parts database).... Does anyone know what the full float Toyota replacement axle Toyota part# is??? HELP!!!

Picked up 1 ton rear axle assembly from Mid-America Landcruiser yesterday.. . I got the complete assembly including the spring packs and dually wheels and also included is an install kit w/ new U-bolts and nuts for the spring packs. Only 248 original miles on the unit assembly! Frame size and all other dimensions related to shock brackets and such are basically identical (the donor vehicle seems to have been some kind of Toyota courtesy bus or some such unit; but frame dimensions are identical to my motorhomes)... Looks like it should be a pretty uncomplicated change over. Nice addition is that this axle set up came w/ a rear anti-sway/ stabilizer bar, something that my present unit does not have. It also has an airlift suspension unit; which I have not decided yet if I will or will not use. I am hoping that when I pull the drums the brake shoes are still in nice shape and usable. I would think that they would be seeing as how the mileage on the donor unit is so low. I'll post a picture tomorrow; J.D.

Hi, Christian. I am not an "expert", but I do have experience w/ dropping rear axles to swap out spring packs and install lift kits on 4x4 trucks...Also, coincidentally I am basically in the same boat you are (84' New Horizon 21') -except the previous owners who had mine experienced rear end failure at around 60,000 miles. They then took it to a Toyota Dealer in San Diego who replaced the rear axle w/ another semi-floating junkyard unit from a Toyota 2 wheel drive truck (basically the same unit as failed but w/ an incorrect gear ratio which makes it almost impossible to climb even slight hills in 4th gear). My post is about halfway down the page- through my post I met Matt from Mid-America Landcruiser. He supplied me w/ a unit from some kind of Toyota courtesy bus or some such unit- it seems a little different from the standard full floating motorhome unit, but the chassis/ frame width is the same so hopefully I will not have too many issues to deal with ( I have about 35 years automotive mechanical experience, mostly engine/ suspension/ steering/ gearbox and chassis), working on my own stuff and building street rods for fun. If you have very limited automotive mechanical experience or almost none at all I would reccomend you NOT attempt an axle swap; especially in a situation where you must move or fabricate shock mounts or leaf spring brackets to get things to line up right (didn't you mention that the dimensions of your new/ transfer axle are different; or incorrect for your motorhome chassis?) or where you just saying that the outer dimensions are different? Or both? The outer dimensions will be different between axles as they are two different engineering designs and to accomodate functionality for each different type (semi-floating vrs. full floating) they must be... However, this does not necessarily mean that things will or will not line up, either... If you cannot facilitate determining if things will line up or not between your motorhome chassis and your new axle with or without modifications; this is definately not a job for you. You can always find someone in your area who is familiar with this type of work (like guys who build street rods for fun and could use a few xtra bucks) a lot of times these guys have done axle swaps and the mods needed to facilitate the swaps as needed; and will work for a quite a bit cheaper than so-called professional mechanics (a word about so-called professional/ dealer mechaincs; many of them are terrible; not because the dont know what they are doing; although sometimes this may be the case; but because they really are sick of working on cars day in and day out and just dont care any more). Finding a good mechanic can often be difficult- the best way is to talk to people you know and STAY AWAY FROM THE DEALER SHOPS! A perfect example is the Toyota dealership who replaced the rear axle in my unit for the previous owners- being a Toyota dealer and fully (more than likely) aware of the axle recall, instead of replacing the axle w/ the correct full floating high-ratio axle; instead they replaced it w/ a junkyard axle w/ a low ratio (O.K. for two wheel drive pickups but out to lunch for a heavy motorhome) that would be destined to fail again; but not only that; what they charged them for the junkyard axle and the work was the same which it would have cost for the correct replacement axle installed! This is what I would call outright dishonesty on the part of the Toyota dealers service dept., plain and simple. If they didn't know about the recall (highly unlikely as they ARE a Toyota dealership), they definitely should have known enough to match axle ratios between the old axle and the replacement unit. Anyway, I have seen more customers ripped off and more vehicles screwed up by idiot dealer mechanics than I have small local independent mechanics...Local independents have a reputation to uphold; where dealer mechanics are basically "faceless" and all you have for recourse is the bureaucracy of their service dept. capitalizing on the unfamiliarity of most customers w/ the field. (otherwise the customers would do their own work, right?) So whatever you do STAY AWAY FROM DEALER MECHANICS! I cannot over-emphasize this. Good luck, James.

The single wheel 1 ton 2 wheel drive Toyota pickups where known as the "Stout" model in the early 80's...They have the 6 bolt hub which extends "out" past the rim. It is a full floating axle system; not semi-floating but was OEM w/ a single; not dually wheel system...Also, there were 1ton Toyota 4x4's back in the early to mid 80's that had a 1 ton full-floating axle system... Yes, they are rare but highly desirable amongst toyota four wheel drive enthusiasts...Both are rare and very hard to find. I live in MT and the closest Toyota 1 ton "Stout" mosel raer axle assembly I could find was in a wrecking yard in Modesto, CA. Unfortunately, they refuse to ship. Does anyone know if the guy in Elkhart, IN who is mentioned in the axle sticky above and had the Toyota Dually free-floating rear axle assembly's; still has any for sale?

Hi, all... I am the new owner an 84' New Horizon 21 ft. Toyota motor home. I just bought it a couple of months ago; but when I did; I was not aware at all of the rear axle issues w/ these critters. I was recently going through the repair receipts that the seller gave me along w/ other info; and noticed that the whole rear axle assembly had been replaced in 99' due to differential noise. This was at odometer reading 65,495. Mileage now is at 67,479. Unfortunately (after looking at my motor home) I noticed that what they replaced it with was a semi-floating 1/2 ton 5 lug Toyota rear axle assembly that (still) has the wrecking yard parts inventory # written on it in white grease pencil. There do not "seem" to be any issues w/ the rear axle at this point in time... What's stupid about the whole thing was that they spent $1095 on the replacement rear axle assembly; when for that much they could have gotten a full floating 6 lug rear axle assembly... Anyway, my question is: Can I use a 1ton 6 lug hub rear axle assembly from a Toyota "Stout" 1 ton single wheel 2WD truck as a replacement axle assembly? Or does it have to be a dual wheel assembly? How about a full-float 6 lug hub axle assembly from a Toyota 4x4??? Would this work? What is exactly recommended if the above are not appropriate? thanks in advance, J.D.