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TG vs Diamond vs ???

I have TG housings and think they're great....buuut, I'd go Diamonds if I were to do it again. TG you get what you get and ready to assemble. Diamond you tweak it perfectly to your needs (width/caster/pinion angle), but more labor.
I heard some people talk about TG housing cracking at the welds. Do those claims hold any weight ?
 
I've never seen a tg housing ever fail, know a bunch of people running the 8"and 9"stuff.

Edit: I've seen one front 8" rock assault fail but dude put the truck into orbit.
 
I put this together years ago. There has been a lot of 'width' talk in this thread. I will post it in case it helps others. The 96-04 Taco rear is not only 1.5" wider than the previous generation 'IFS' rear, but the 3rd member uses M10 mounting hardware instead of M8, and the bolt circle is larger. The third member also has girdles.

1706729213397.png
 
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I put this together years ago. There has been a lot of 'width' talk in this thread. I will post it in case it helps others. The 96-04 Taco rear is not only 1.5" wider than an 'IFS' rear, but the 3rd member uses M10 mounting hardware instead of M8, and the bolt circle is larger.

1706729213397.png

Mini truck front is 55.5, not 56.5.
 
Its true, 55.5” is all over the internet but they do measure a bit over 56” stock.
 
Didn't want to start a new thread on this but i have a question. People say that Rock assault front axle housings decrease the turning radius. Do the Diamonds have the same issue? and does anybody know about the Ruff Stuff housing?
 
It's all the same from what I know, my RA has no issues at full lock.
 
I heard some people talk about TG housing cracking at the welds. Do those claims hold any weight ?
No way man. Very nice welds on mine. It definitely doesn't look like an 8 year old Chinese sweat shop kid made the blue light flicker, if that's what you're worried about. Looks CAT certified to me
🤷😁
 
Didn't want to start a new thread on this but i have a question. People say that Rock assault front axle housings decrease the turning radius. Do the Diamonds have the same issue? and does anybody know about the Ruff Stuff housing?
The Diamond Axle does not limit steering more than stock. Brian (Diamond axle) has put some work into maximizing the steering angle on mini truck knuckles.

I’m not sure on the others. You’d have to measure a stock housing in that section and compare. new knuckle balls and also limit the steering with the shape of the opening on the knuckle ball. This can be ground for clearance though.
 
No way man. Very nice welds on mine. It definitely doesn't look like an 8 year old Chinese sweat shop kid made the blue light flicker, if that's what you're worried about. Looks CAT certified to me
🤷😁
I'm really looking I to getting a custom housing, where would you recommend getting a third member, knuckles, hub and brake parts. I'd really prefer new.
 
Didn't want to start a new thread on this but i have a question. People say that Rock assault front axle housings decrease the turning radius. Do the Diamonds have the same issue? and does anybody know about the Ruff Stuff housing?

Diamond resuses stock balls, so same angle as stock.

A guy on pbb years ago claimed his TG housing limited his steering more than stock because the balls were thicker. Makes sense to me, but I have nothing to back it up.
 
I'm really looking I to getting a custom housing, where would you recommend getting a third member, knuckles, hub and brake parts. I'd really prefer new.
Man, that's all personal preference as to where to buy. For diffs, I'd call Yukon/Randy's R&P or East Coast Gear Supply. For knuckles/outers, trail gear really is a one stop shop. I'd run RCV 30 spline shafts but wouldn't use TG for that. Probably RCV direct.

Both housings being discussed have pros and cons, you just have to decide what works best. Sourcing knuckle balls for a diamond is gonna suck, setting it up correctly is gonna suck. TG is ready to assemble but you get what you get for pinion angle and caster.
 
Diamond resuses stock balls, so same angle as stock.

A guy on pbb years ago claimed his TG housing limited his steering more than stock because the balls were thicker. Makes sense to me, but I have nothing to back it up.
The way the knuckle balls mount to the axle tubes is thick AF and does cause steering issues with the wiper seal/clamshell seal guards. A lil bolt/clamshell clearancing helps. The TG HD knuckle ball wiper/guard set is really really thick and definitely causing steering angle issues. The best bet for Max steering is stock wipers/guards. I bet you lose 4-5° of steering with the TG wipers. Definitely a suck ass design on their part. I can attest to the shitty steering angles. It takes work to get stock turning angles
 
Man, that's all personal preference as to where to buy. For diffs, I'd call Yukon/Randy's R&P or East Coast Gear Supply. For knuckles/outers, trail gear really is a one stop shop. I'd run RCV 30 spline shafts but wouldn't use TG for that. Probably RCV direct.

Both housings being discussed have pros and cons, you just have to decide what works best. Sourcing knuckle balls for a diamond is gonna suck, setting it up correctly is gonna suck. TG is ready to assemble but you get what you get for pinion angle and caster.

Brian has has balls available for a while...

 
Anyone care to weigh in with their experience on wait times with Diamond axle? I have managed to get a few emails back and forth from Brian since October. I still haven’t been able to finalize the order details with him or send payment to get the ball rolling. Do I just have to be patient? Last reply I got was in December. Phone goes right to voicemail.
 
I know someone who currently ordered a front for his taco and they straight up ghosted him. Diamond only does email, no phone calls.

I beg to differ on the TG RA, mine turns great and the tg whiper is way better design than the 3 piece seal, ring,and felt for the ball.

If you want your rig to turn tight, get rid of the rear spool.

Just my .02
 
Are you really ready to drop $5-7k on a Toyota front axle?

If you're set on it, at least go FJ80 outters.
right?

if i'm starting from scratch im going 609

it's killed me the past 2 times ive had to get 8" toy rear diffs and theyre about the same price as 9" diffs
 
right?

if i'm starting from scratch im going 609

it's killed me the past 2 times ive had to get 8" toy rear diffs and theyre about the same price as 9" diffs

They're cheaper, unless youre trying to go all out spidertrax or similar, 9" is cheaper since it's so common.

Especially if you just use some super duty outters and resplined stock shafts. Which would be similar or stronger than a fully polished Toyota.
 
right?

if i'm starting from scratch im going 609

it's killed me the past 2 times ive had to get 8" toy rear diffs and theyre about the same price as 9" diffs
Yea. The other issue with Toyota shit it's basically impossible to find around here if you need a part. Thata either at a parts store or with a local (I wheel in Appalachia). If you need full size truck parts they can be pretty easy to find either in the park itself (trading beer for parts) or locally outside the parks. I drive my shit pile to and from the trail and damn near carry a scrap yard with me lol.
 
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i run a tundra rear axle and a modified oe front on a 4runner with 40's. been going strung for 5+ years with hundreds of runs on the hammers and other places in socal. trussed oe seems to work pretty well for me so far and way quicker to get parts and cheaper than other options. RCV shafts up front and some no name chrmo shafts in the rear.
 
Anyone care to weigh in with their experience on wait times with Diamond axle? I have managed to get a few emails back and forth from Brian since October. I still haven’t been able to finalize the order details with him or send payment to get the ball rolling. Do I just have to be patient? Last reply I got was in December. Phone goes right to voicemail.
I put my wait time in this thread. Roughly 6 weeks. I did try to order shafts through him and got no response.
 
Are you really ready to drop $5-7k on a

If I was going full custom I would slap some Dana style open knuckles on there.
I don't like full custom axles, I've had to get custom shafts made for axles I didn't mess with but we're already on something. So if I can avoid it I would like too. I need a passenger drop, 6 by 5.5 wheel pattern, wmw to wmw between 56-60", 8-9" ring gear would be nice. High pinion would be awesome. Great aftermarket and oe availability.

Based on what I want, it seemed like an fj60 front axle was the way to go. But they aren't exactly common in my neck of the woods. Then again I've gone through junkyard axles before, and after time. I probably have just as much in them as starting with a trail gear case, or diamond, or a dynatrac. But the idea of the trail gear housing where you could throw in multiple different aftermarket shafts is very nice. I've seen someone break their chromy shaft. But because it was stock lengths. They were able to slide in a oe part and drive home. I really like that idea.
 
I don't like full custom axles, I've had to get custom shafts made for axles I didn't mess with but we're already on something. So if I can avoid it I would like too. I need a passenger drop, 6 by 5.5 wheel pattern, wmw to wmw between 56-60", 8-9" ring gear would be nice. High pinion would be awesome. Great aftermarket and oe availability.
Nissan Patrol Y60 / GQ front axle fits the bill perfectly. 63" WMS though.
And good luck finding one here.
 
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